Third Special Session Just Announced!
Dear Friends,
ANOTHER big week of news across the country and in Oregon! Governor Kate Brown issued a video statement yesterday as the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine began arriving at Oregon hospitals. A light at the end of a still-long tunnel ahead.

This morning, the Governor announced the third special session of 2020, to occur in-person next Monday, Dec 21, to deal with our many COVID and wildfire-related needs.

Not a Catastrophic Special Session

As I've stated in previous public statements, including my Dec. 11 newsletter, I had pushed hard for a “catastrophic” special session under Article X-A of our state constitution, which allows for remote sessions when it’s difficult to meet in person. While originally envisioned for use in a major earthquake when roads might prevent legislators from convening, it is appropriate in a pandemic as well.

Since the major reason for not holding a virtual session under Article X-A was confusion as to the operating rules, the next legislative body must pass a bill to refer a ballot measure to amend our constitution to clarify the operating rules. This is another one of several things the state should do to prepare for a big Cascadia earthquake!

Meeting virtually in a catastrophic special session would have given us the time to safely consider more bills that legislators and advocates had worked hard on to address significant pandemic-related needs. The three legislative concepts left off the table in our upcoming session are:

  • LC 2: disconnecting from three CARES Act tax breaks to preserve revenue that could be used to help the truly small businesses left out of those tax breaks;
  • LC 3: launching the “Oregon Critical Disaster Preparedness Stockpile” to increase testing and PPE supplies + “Oregon Resiliency Partnership” to provide guaranteed purchase contracts for surge material acquisition and production during an emergency;
  • LC 17: extending the residential foreclosure moratorium until July 1, 2121.

I hope these bills will pass early in the 2021 session!
Grateful for the Special Session

While I regret that we are not utilizing the Article X-A virtual session or the first time in our state’s history, I am grateful that the Governor called an in-person special session to consider the bills that have the most support of the four caucuses. These will go a long way in helping keep our state afloat as we push for a much-needed federal relief package.

Note that several legislative concepts are still controversial and by no means an easy lift, as noted by OPB’s summary. Here is my summary of what is on the table, and I will provide links to LC (legislative concept) drafts as they get posted online.

LC 18: Extend the Residential Eviction Moratorium

This extends and amends the eviction moratorium passed in HB 4213 in the first special session last June. Originally set to expire on Dec. 31, the new legislation will provide support for residential tenants and landlords through June 30. The previous LC 18 draft we considered in the Housing Committee on Nov. 23 is being tweaked based on feedback during and after that meeting; click here to see written and verbal testimony.

Here are the new provisions of the current concept:

  • Tenants can have experienced financial hardship due to loss of household income or hours, medical expenses, increased childcare costs or responsibilities to care for a person, other income loss/increased expenses.
  • Tenants will have to sign a declaration that after March 16, 2020 (the date of the Governor’s Stay Home, Save Lives order), they experienced financial hardship impacting their ability to pay rent.
  • Qualifying tenants must pay all rent back by July 1, 2021, to avoid eviction. For non-qualifying tenants, protections from eviction for non-payment will end after December 31, 2020, and there will be a three-month grace period until March 31, 2021, to pay back rent accrued from April 1, 2020 – December 31, 2020.
  • If a landlord intends to move forward with an eviction notice due to non-payment, they must provide their tenant with the declaration form and inform them of their rights. Landlords may not move forward in the eviction process if the tenant has provided this signed financial hardship declaration.
  • During the extended moratorium, no-cause evictions (lease terminations) are restored if a landlord intends to sell the unit to someone who will occupy it, demolish or convert the unit, undertake major repairs/renovations when the home is or will be unsafe to occupy, or move themselves or a family member into the unit.

Landlord Compensation Fund

  • To help prevent evictions and stabilize landlords, the proposal will establish a landlord-based compensation fund with an initial $150 million General Fund appropriation, with potential for future federal and additional state allocations.
  • Landlords will apply for rent assistance through Oregon Housing Community Services on behalf of all their tenants who owe rent payments. Smaller landlords and landlords with a higher percentage of unpaid rent will be prioritized for assistance first.
  • The fund will grant landlords 80% of the total unpaid back rent they are owed; landlords will be required to forgive the remaining 20% to make tenants current on their rent payments. The fund is completely voluntary.
  • $50 million allocation will be made for the traditional, tenant-based rent assistance system.

Some tenants and landlords believe the bill doesn’t go far enough to meet their needs. While I agree – since we need a federal package to truly meet the extraordinary needs created by the pandemic – I applaud Chair Fahey and the stakeholders who have worked so hard for this compromise. We will face an avalanche of evictions in the middle of a surging pandemic, in the middle of the winter, if we don’t pass it. I encourage you to let senators and representatives know of your support, and any feedback you have.
LC 10: Restaurant Support Package

This policy package is designed to help the many struggling restaurants and bars on the verge of collapse. The restaurant industry is seeing revenue losses between 40-70% due to temporary closures, reduced indoor seating, and increased staffing and payroll costs to maintain COVID-19 protocols. Outdoor seating is difficult to maintain during Oregon’s wet and cold winter season. Volume driven by third-party vendors (such as Postmates, UberEats, DoorDash, or GrubHub) is often non-revenue generating due to high fees.

We want to support these small business owners and employees, and ensure a vibrant social ecosystem when we return to life in our communities post-COVID. My preferred strategy to keeping these businesses afloat would have been to subsidize them through a federal relief package, such as the restaurant bill introduced by Congressman Earl Blumenauer. Because that has not yet become law, this LC provides two provisions that would be in effect during and for 60 days following the Governor’s executive order.

Cocktails-to-Go

  • Directs OLCC to devise rules permitting the sale of “cocktails-to-go” (applicable to licensees with full on-premises sales permits).
  • Requires containers to be sealed and/or tamper resistant.
  • Limits quantity of alcohol sold (2) and requires substantive food purchase per alcohol limit.

Third Party Delivery Fees

  • Temporarily caps the fees third-party sites can charge restaurants for deliveries (10% cap) and pick-ups (5% cap).
  • Prohibits a third-party delivery app from garnishing or otherwise reducing a third-party delivery driver’s wages to make up any reduction in revenues due to the temporary cap. Permits contractors to pursue a private right of action if wage garnishment occurs.
  • Provides a 7-day grace period for third-party sites to comply with temporary fee limits.

I strongly support the stricter regulations on the third party deliverers, as several other regions have done.

I have more mixed feelings about the cocktails-to-go, because of Oregon’s abysmal rate of addiction and access to treatment – and the increase in domestic violence associated with increased alcohol consumption when families are stuck in the “stay at home” orders.

We need more comprehensive solutions to our addiction crisis in the 2021 legislative session, which I will write about in my final newsletter. In the meantime, I am working with Oregon Recovers, the Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, Oregon Health Authority Behavioral Health, and fellow legislators to mitigate the public health concerns related to making hard alcohol more accessible. Kudos to Rep. Nosse for spearheading this bill and being so open to public health mitigations.

LC 21: Schools Liability Protection

Currently, no Oregon school district, charter, ESD or community college covered by PACE (self- insured insurance plan) has communicable disease coverage. If a school is sued and found liable for costs, any attorney costs and penalties assessed would come from the school’s operating budget. Lawsuits could range from students, teachers, and guests getting sick, to lawsuits due to reduced access to activities such as sports.

LC 21 liability protection would only last as long as the State of Emergency order is in place:

  • It grants limited liability protection to charters, school districts, ESDs and community colleges for civil damages related to COVID-19 infection, if the school is operating in compliance with COVID-19 emergency rules. If a school is sued but can show it complied with the rules, a court may strike the plaintiff’s claims. If the plaintiff can demonstrate through affidavits and pleadings (i.e., pre-discovery) that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to compliance, the court may allow the lawsuit to proceed.
  • A (third party) person engaged in activities not operated by a school district but on district property may not bring a claim against the school district for damages related to COVID-19 infection.
  • These protections would not apply to reckless, wanton, or intentional misconduct.
  • This does not limit any other cause of action or remedy available to an injured party, including claims under state and federal discrimination laws.
  • Non-profit and represented workers are currently covered by retaliation and whistleblower protections under Oregon law. However, contracted service workers who interact regularly with students (like school bus drivers) and workers who regularly interact with the school facility (like custodial staff) do not have the same protections. LC 21 adds these private workers under existing retaliation and whistleblower protections. An employer cannot retaliate against a worker outside of the emergency period if a covid-19 related complaint was made about conditions during the emergency period.

Representatives Sollman and Power have led the negotiations on this compromise bill and have hit the “sweet spot” for most (though not all) stakeholders. It sounds well thought-out to me and I intend to support it, along with the other bills above.
Budget Allocations

The final reason for the special session is to allocate $600 million to replenish the Emergency Board which just depleted most of its funds last Friday in meeting our state’s urgent needs. $100 million is dedicated to wildfire response and recovery, $400 million is dedicated to COVID response; and the remaining $100 million will be placed in the general emergency fund.

The COVID funds will support the acquisition of badly needed PPE, testing, and contact tracing resources. This will help achieve the goals intended in LC 3, the Critical Disaster Preparedness Stockpile and Resiliency Partnership, that is no longer on the table. I hope the 2021 legislature does pass that more comprehensive legislation that addresses this and future emergencies!

I will be urging for a minimum of $1 million, ideally $2 million, of the E-Board “general emergency” funds to support unaccompanied homeless youth, as I wrote in my Nov. 25 newsletter and other past newsletters. The legislature nearly passed an increase in funding the support system in the 2020 session before the session ended prematurely. In the months since then, youth needs have increased under the pandemic, and yet two youth housing providers have closed due to financial stress. Youth and housing advocates and fellow legislators have urged us to allocate emergency funding over the last several months. We cannot continue to let our system hemorrhage while our youth are in dire straits. $2 million out of $600 million is a tiny but critical investment in some of our most vulnerable youth.

As always, I’d love your feedback on the proposed budget allocation and three bills. I encourage you to watch for the opportunity to provide public testimony on all of these bills – which should occur towards the end of this week.

In the meantime, I'm focusing on the eight public hearings this week for my Health, Human Services, Housing, and Revenue Committees. Tune in to OLIS if you want to catch our House committee hearings!

With warm regards,

Alissa