Friends and neighbors,

Things are becoming more contentious as we move into the second half of the Legislative Session. The House is set to vote on divisive bills to infringe on our constitutional 2^nd Amendment rights and expand experimental "gender-affirming care." These two bills are somewhat of a paradox. On the one hand, HB 2005 will raise the age to buy a rifle to 21, while HB 2002 expands access for minors to get experimental life and gender-altering medical procedures without parental consent.

The Oregonian Editorial Board hit the nail on the head this month when writing about the recent population decline in Oregon. They wrote: "As much as Oregon has to offer, our housing unaffordability, homelessness, increasing taxation, drug addiction crisis, untreated mental illness, gun violence, traffic deaths, and educational mediocrity are changing the calculus for many about where to live, raise a family or retire."

Oregon's future depends on people wanting to live here. The last few weeks have been riddled with news of businesses closing and reports of how many Oregonians are packing up and moving. If people don't want to live here, neither will businesses that provide livelihoods. Tax revenue will decline, and we will need to decide which programs to cut. Population decline is a big deal, and not taking it seriously will make for a painful future. We must create policies that make Oregon more affordable and safer. House Republicans have proposed legislation to do this, but it is being blocked in committee. More about that below...

I always welcome your feedback, questions, and comments. Please send me a note at Rep.JeffHelfrich@oregonlegislature.gov or at 503-986-1452.

Talk soon,

Representative Jeff Helfrich

Mark Your Calendars: Upcoming Community Conversations

Bipartisan Virtual Townhall with Rep. Ricki Ruiz

On May 5th, from 12 - 1 PM, Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham) and I will hold a virtual town hall about school safety.

Stay tuned for more details!

Corbett

Welches/Mt. Hood Communities

The Dalles

Policy Update

House Republicans' Tax Day Package

Tuesday was tax day. Oregonians, along with Bay Staters (Massachusetts), paid the largest share of their income in taxes, with middle-tax Oregonians bearing the heaviest burden in the nation. Oregon consistently lands in the top 5 most expensive states to live or retire in.

That is why I supported the House Republicans' Tax Day Package that would have given Oregonians much-needed relief. The bills would have repealed unfair double taxation and given middle-class Oregonians a broad-based tax cut. Unfortunately, all five bills were blocked.

Governor Signs Housing Bill, Distributes Funds

Much of my focus thus far has been working on homelessness (House Bill 2001) and semiconductors (Senate Bill 4). Both have been bipartisan affairs, and I am proud of that work. The Governor has signed both bills into law and has released funding allocations for the homelessness package. Clackamas County has been allocated $4.4 million to rehouse 130 homeless. Multnomah County and Gresham have been given $18.2 million to rehouse 275 households and create 138 new shelter beds. 

Interstate 5 Bridge Replacement

Last week, the Transportation Committee began a public process of getting feedback on House Bill 2098. Amendments to the bill outline how Oregon plans to pay for the I-5 Bridge replacement between Oregon and Washington.

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) expects the federal government to open up applications for relevant infrastructure grants in May. This bill will serve the purpose of showing the federal government we are serious about paying for our portion of the project. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity for unprecedented federal investment on this project.

Everyone agrees we need to build this bridge now for several reasons:

• It's 106 years old. In the case of a significant earthquake, it would almost certainly kill people and bring a massive portion of the west coast economy to a standstill. The bridge is built on wooden timbers that don't extend into bedrock.
• It's a massive source of congestion. The American Transportation Research Council lists the nation's 100 top bottlenecks annually, and the I-5 Bridge is listed as #31, only slightly behind the Rose Quarter bottleneck listed at #28.
• It's a major transportation corridor for our economy. Recent analysis by the I-5 Bridge Replacement Project team shows that about 10% of the daily traffic over this bridge is freight, totaling about 13,500 trucks daily. The daily value of this freight is over $70 million, and expectations are this will double by 2040. Congestion increases the cost of goods, creates unpredictability, and increases the emissions of both cars and trucks.

Resources and How to Get Involved

Some Oregon taxpayers were unable to make tax payments during the late evening on Tax Day, Tuesday, April 18, due to a vendor internet service outage impacting state government websites. The outage made it impossible for taxpayers to access the Department of Revenue website and the internet portal, Revenue Online. The department’s website and Revenue Online are back online now.

To accommodate affected taxpayers, the Department of Revenue will accept tax payments through midnight, Friday, April 21, without assessing late penalties or interest on taxes owed. Affected taxpayers who see penalties and interest when they view their account on Revenue Online, should pay the tax amount only.

If affected taxpayers receive a bill with penalties and interest due to the April 18 outage, they should contact the department for a waiver – Phone: 503-378-4988 or 800-356-4222; Email: questions.dor@dor.oregon.gov

Honorary Page Program

The House of Representatives hosts an Honorary Page program whereby students can sign up to volunteer in the House Chamber for a day. 

If you are a student or know of one that would be interested, I would love to host you.

To sign up to be a Page for a day, go here.

If you have questions, email Civics.Education@OregonLegislature.gov.

Around The Capitol

Big thanks to Mike McCarthy and Pearl's Place Fruit Stand in Hood River for supplying the Salem office with fresh apples and pears from the district! People loved it! Also, thank you, Mt. Hood Roasters, for the Mountain Fresh Coffee - I love showing off the products from the district!

Working with the District

Thank you, Mayor Anderson, for the tour of Mosier and the discussion about the upcoming projects.

Last weekend, I held a community conversation in Mosier. Great conversation with the community. Proud to represent small rural communities in Salem!