From Rep. Tina Kotek: New Annual Session and Upcoming Town Hall

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Legislative Town Hall
New Help for Small Businesses
Focus on Child Poverty
Upcoming Events
Legislative Town Hall With Sen. Chip Shields and Rep. Lew Frederick

The new year is off to a frenzied pace as we prepare for our first annual session in an even-numbered year. As directed by Measure 71 passed by voters in November 2010, the Legislature will be back in session on February 1st. We will have 35 days to complete the state's business.

My focus in February will be on:

* Making smart investments to create Oregon jobs, such as helping small businesses have the capital they need to grow;
* Standing up for middle class families, such as helping families who are either facing foreclosure or in the midst of a foreclosure process; and
* Prioritizing the services Oregonians need by making government leaner, more transparent, and more efficient.

The Legislature will also need to re-balance the state's budget because the recession continues to bring an increased need for services but less dollars to provide those essential services. I will fight for a sensible budget that prioritizes the most vulnerable Oregonians and our schools.

Legislative Town Hall, February 4

Please join me, Senator Chip Shields and Representative Lew Frederick for a North/Northeast Portland town hall to hear what's going on in Salem for the 2012 Legislative Session. We look forward to answering your questions and discussing the issues that are important to you.

What: Town Hall Meeting
When: Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
Where: St. Johns Community Center
8427 N. Central St., Portland, OR 97203 (map)

For more information, call or email my legislative assistant, Michelle Rogelstad, at rep.tinakotek@state.or.us or (503) 286-0558 (district).

We hope to see you there!

BizORNew Help for Small Businesses

Businesses in Oregon got an early present this past holiday season. Business Oregon, a state agency that works to create, retain, expand and attract businesses in Oregon, has received $16.5 million in federal funds to help small businesses borrow money.

When combined with other available resources, the funds will inject $165 million into Oregon small businesses over the next four years through the Credit Enhancement Fund, the Oregon Business Development Fund, and the Capital Access Program. These three programs have helped businesses in this state access an estimated $817 million in financing already, and are prepared to help with more.

Helping small businesses in Oregon grow and prosper is a priority for me, and is something that I believe holds the key to Oregon's future economic growth. Whether businesses are small and local, or iconic worldwide companies, we must ensure that we invest in job-creating companies here in Oregon.

Business Oregon has many great financing options and other assistance for small businesses in Oregon. For more information, call my district office at (503) 286-0558 or email me at rep.tinakotek@state.or.us.

LegFocus on Child Poverty

I'm sure many of you saw the cover of the Parade magazine during the holiday season that highlighted the shameful fact that Oregon has the highest rate of food insecurity for children in the country. I recently attended a meeting of the Metro-area school district superintendents and was reminded about the high percentages of children and youth who benefit from free or reduced-price lunches in our schools, especially in east Multnomah County. I know that too many families in North and Northeast Portland are struggling to provide the basics of food and shelter for their children.

This is unacceptable. We all know we can do better to make sure every child has an opportunity to thrive.

In addition to the things many of you do regularly to help out through volunteering and donating supplies to those in need, I hope you will share your ideas of how we can make a dent in child poverty in our state. For my part, I will continue to focus on reviving our state's economy while at the same time protecting critical services for our most low-income families, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). With 60,000 children currently receiving help from TANF across our state, we have to help their parents get back to work and back on the road to self-sufficiency.

As always, it's a pleasure to represent you. I hope to hear from you soon.

Teacher of the Year and Other News from Rep. Tina Kotek

 Lots of information here:

 

In This Issue  Oregon Teacher of the Year Town Hall Recap   CRC Bi-State Advisory Committee   Portland Financial Planning Day  Cully Main Street & Local Street Plans Project Event  Alzheimer's Disease Telephone Town Hall November Legislative Days Quick Links       Contact Me My YouTube Channel About Us Dear Friends and Neighbors, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather.  While the Capitol is largely quiet during the interim, legislative committee days held every other month ensure that we continue important conversations and stay on top of the people's business (see below for more on this).  In addition to sharing some great news about Roosevelt High School and recapping my recent town hall, there are several events that I thought would interest you.  Please read on!    Roosevelt Teacher Named Oregon Teacher of the Year    Photo courtesy of Brian Christopher Last Thursday, I had the honor of attending the ceremony naming Roosevelt High School's very own Spanish Language teacher Elena Garcia-Velasco as the Oregon Teacher of the Year.  The announcement was a surprise to the students and guests assembled in the auditorium, not to mention Ms. Garcia-Velasco herself.  She captured the moment perfectly by saying to the students, "If I'm the teacher of the year, you are the students of the year." Roosevelt is definitely on the rise.  PPS Superintendent Carole Smith was on hand at the award ceremony to congratulate students for their improved math and English grades.  Roosevelt was also praised by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan before hundreds of business leaders at the Oregon Business Association dinner last week.  Go Riders!!! For the latest about Roosevelt, click here. As Teacher of the Year, Ms. Garcia-Velasco received a $5,000 check and instructional software for her classroom.  She will travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Obama at the White House.  To view the Oregonian's story about Elena, please visit this website.   Town Hall Recap Thank you to everyone who attended my town hall last month.  We had a great crowd.  The event was an opportunity to catch up, recap the 2011 Session, and talk more in depth about issues through roundtable discussions with experts.  The table topics included: health insurance rate review, hosted by Sen. Chip Shields; how foreclosure affects our communities, led by Rep. Lew Frederick; problem bars and taverns, led by the City of Portland; children and toxic chemicals, hosted by the Oregon Environmental Council; and foreclosure protections, led by Economic Fairness Oregon.  The immediate feedback was that people liked the roundtable discussions because it allowed for more discussion and meeting new people.  It was great to hear the feedback from you all on these issues.  Knowing what you think equips me to better represent you. CRC Bi-State Citizen Advisory Committee The Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project is seeking participation from Oregon and Washington residents in forming a Bi-State Citizen Advisory Committee to gain feedback from diverse perspectives.  The committee will be composed of approximately 30 members with 12-15 members from each state.  This is a great opportunity to be a part of the decision making process and to advise CRC staff, represent stakeholder organizations, and report back to constituencies.  An opportunity for public comment will be provided for each meeting.  To apply to be on the committee, please click here.  For more information about the committee, please visit the CRC Bi-State Citizen Advisory Committee website.       Portland Financial Planning Day This Saturday, the City of Portland, CASH Oregon, and the Financial Planning Association of Portland invite the public to attend Portland Financial Planning Day where you'll be able to meet one-on-one with dozens of professional financial planner to discuss your personal finance questions, concerns and interests.  Information and advice is available on a wide range of topics including general financial planning, income tax planning, estate planning; investment planning, insurance planning, retirement planning, and employee benefits.  In addition to personalized advice, Portland Financial Planning Day will also feature a series of classroom-style 50-minute educational workshops.  What:    Portland Financial Planning Day When:    Saturday, October 22, 2011 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Where:   Portland Building              1120 SW 5th Avenue, 2nd floor (map) Cost:      FREE To learn more about the event offerings and to register to the event, please visit this website.    Cully Main Street and Local Street Plans Project Event Come join community members and project staff and share your ideas to improve the Cully Boulevard business district and local streets.  Free refreshments, child care provided, raffle entry and Spanish interpretation provided.   What:     Cully Main Street and Local Street Plans Project                Open  House When:    Thursday, October 27, 2011                5:00 pm to 8:00 pm Where:  Rigler School                5401 NE Prescott Street (map) For more information, please contact the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability at 503-823-6946, the Portland Bureau of Transportation at 503-823-1088 or visit www.portlandonline.com/bps/cullymainstreet. State Plan for Alzheimer's Telephone Town Hall The State Plan for Alzheimer's Disease in Oregon (SPADO) Task Force is seeking input to help craft a plan to address the escalating public health crisis caused by the growing number of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The SPADO Task Force involves numerous community partners who are concerned about the impact of Alzheimer's disease on our communities. SPADO Task Force members include state legislators, non-profit organizations, state government agencies, scientific and academic researchers, memory care providers, individual caregivers and others. What:     SPADO Telephone Town Hall When:    Thursday, November 10, 2011                1:00 pm to 2:30 pm Where:  Your phone!  Please RSVP here to participate or call                Jon Bartholomew at 503-416-0202 Upcoming November Legislative Days The "interim" for legislators is when we are not in session in Salem every day (we won't be "in session" again until next year).  During the interim, legislative committees convene every other month to continue work and conversations about issues carried over from the previous sessions and sometimes to start conversations about important issues as they arise.  Legislative days are predetermined and do not include floor sessions to vote on bills.  The Legislature will convene for full session in February, 2012.  Committee agendas are posted online in advance of the meetings.  You can sign up to receive committee agendas and updates here by selecting the committee you are interested in and in the bottom left-hand corner of the committee page, click on the eSubscribe button and enter your email address. The next committee days are scheduled for November 16, 17, and 18.  If you can't make it to Salem, committee meetings can be viewed online.  Go to this website (the video is live-streaming) and select the committee room you wish to view.  If you need additional information on committees, please don't hesitate to email my office. As always, it's a pleasure to represent you.  I hope to hear from you soon. Best wishes,

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More from Tina Kotek Rep. HD 44

Special Session Wrap-Up

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In This Issue Town Hall this Saturday Highlights of the Session Other News from Salem Quick Links Contact Me My YouTube Channel About Us Dear Friends, The February Special Session of the Oregon Legislature wrapped up its business last Thursday, passing 120 bills in an intense 25-day session. Our focus was on jobs, the economy, and helping struggling Oregonians. We balanced the budget and reined in the cost of the Business Energy Tax Credit. We held true to our commitment to K-12 schools to provide the dollars necessary to ensure a full school year in the coming year. And we passed bills to protect job applicants and consumers in these difficult times. I hope you will join me at my town hall this coming Saturday, March 6th, to hear more about the session and to add your ideas to our preparation for the 2011 session. Please see the details below. Legislative Town Hall this Saturday, March 6th with Rep. Tina Kotek, Rep. Lew Frederick, and Sen. Chip Shields 10:00 a.m. to Noon Portland Community College-Cascade Campus Terrell Hall, Room 122 Please join your North/NE Portland legislators for a report on the February Special Session and a discussion about community issues as they prepare for the 2011 Regular Session. Highlights of the Session These are tough times for lots of folks. My priority during the session was to pass good bills to help people and our state recover from the economic recession. We did that, despite limited resources, and my hope is that our efforts will keep the recovery moving forward. Here is a summary of some of those actions: Extended Unemployment Benefits - Unemployment benefits are extended until mid-April for 19,000 unemployed Oregonians, helping them make ends meet while they search for employment (HB 3655). Balanced the Budget and Filled Some Gaps - Even with the tax measures passing, we came into the session approximately $190 million short because of another drop in state revenue. We tightened our belt to balance the budget, but we also restored child care assistance for working families (theEmployment Related Day Care Program which would have been cut July 1st) and made sure Opportunity Grants promised to college students would be available through the end of this school year. Provided More Resources for Small Businesses - Knowing that small business growth and hiring will drive the economic recovery, we passed legislation to provide new loans and grants to small businesses who create new jobs and hire Oregonians (BOOST, HB 3698) and increased access to loans from the Oregon Business Development Fund for capital investments (SB 1017). Protected Job Applicants and Consumers - I was the chief co-sponsor of the Job Applicant Fairness Act, which restricts employers' use of pre-employment credit history checks, thereby removing an obstacle to employment for many Oregonians hard hit by the recession (SB 1045). We also passed bills to protect consumers from unlawful trade practices by banks and other financial institutions (HB 3706) and tightened up requirements for lenders to explain to struggling homeowners why they were ineligible for loan modifications (HB 3610). Other News from the Session In addition to my work on the Job Applicant Fairness Act (see above), I was pleased to pass a bill that makes a one-time investment of $150,000 to implement a demonstration project to create a cost-effective, evidenced-based vision screening program that can, eventually, be duplicated statewide (HB 3626). When one in five children have undiagnosed vision problems that are keeping them from succeeding in school, it is essential to explore ways to provide vision screenings on a regular basis to Oregon school children. I was also excited to work on and pass an expansion of Oregon Health Plan coverage to young adults aging out of the state's foster care system (HB 3664). This was a follow-up bill to legislation I introduced in 2009 to make sure former foster care youth continue to have access to essential health care until they turn 21. Senator Jackie Dingfelder's bill to reduce exposure to radon in residential buildings and public buildings will be important to North/NE Portland residents because of the prevalence of radon in our end of town (SB 1025). The Senator and I also teamed up to re-introduce a bill to provide the Oregon Liquor Control Commission with another tool to work with problem bars and taverns (SB 1026). The bill had a hearing, but didn't advance, so we will be strategizing on new approaches on this issue for the 2011 session. Finally, at nearly the close of the session, we referred a measure to the voters who will decide whether the Constitution should be amended to allow the Legislature to meet every year in time-limited sessions. The measure calls for 160-day sessions in odd-numbered years and 35-day sessions in even-numbered years. I believe this change would provide more efficiency and regularity to allow the Legislature to meet the complex needs of our state. It's an honor to serve you in the Legislature. Please contact my legislative assistant Alex Berke at our district office, by phone, 503-286-0558, or email, if we can be of any assistance to you and your family. Best wishes,

From Tina Kotek - our state representative

Representative Tina Kotek D-North/NE Portland District 44 Phone: 503-986-1444 900 Court St. NE, H-281, Salem Oregon 97301 District Office: 503-286-0558 Kenton Firehouse, 2nd Floor Email: rep.tinakotek@state.or.us Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/kotek E-Newsletter July 1, 2009 Dear Friends, The Oregon State Legislature adjourned Monday night, closing out a productive session during a challenging time for our state and the country. We finished a day ahead of schedule, and I'm proud of the work we did to maintain and create jobs, protect vital services, and move the state towards economic recovery. I look forward to spending more time at home and catching up with individuals and community groups in the district. There's always more work to do and problems to solve. I hope you will join me at my upcoming town hall to debrief about the session and discuss ways I can be helpful to our community in the months ahead. Wednesday, July 15, 7:00 p.m. Session Wrap-Up Town Hall Kenton Firehouse, 2209 N. Schofield Street I will also be attending the following neighborhood association meetings: St. Johns NA, Monday, July 13, 7:00 p.m., St. John's Community Center, 8427 N Central Street Arbor Lodge NA, Thursday, July 16, 6:30 p.m., Kenton Firehouse, 2209 N Schofield Street Overlook NA, Tuesday July 21, 7 p.m., Kaiser Town Hall, 3704 N Interstate Ave Session Highlights from My Office We passed hundreds of bills this session, ranging from a variety of minor technical things to some major policy initiatives. I personally worked hard on dozens of bills and spent a good deal of my time focused on the Department of Human Services budget as the co-chair of the human services budget subcommittee. As the Majority Whip for the House, I also played an integral role in managing how bills moved and how we worked in a bipartisan fashion on the House floor. Here are a few of the bills I considered priorities this session: Health Care Reform and Expanded Access to the Oregon Health Plan (HB 2116 and HB 2009): I served on the House Health Care Committee, where we did the bulk of the work to craft bills to increase access to health care by enrolling an additional 80,000 kids and 35,000 low-income adults in the Oregon Health Plan and create the Oregon Health Authority and implement cost-containment strategies to reform health care in Oregon. Nutrition Information for Consumers (HB 2726): I led the fight to require chain restaurants across the state to post calorie information on menus and menu boards and provide additional nutrition information to consumers to empower them with the information needed to make healthier choices. School Nurses (HB 2693): I sponsored a bill to implement task force recommendations to improve the availability of school nursing services across the state, including establishing timelines for the state to achieve the national nurse-to-student ratio (1 nurse for every 750 students) over the next decade. Neighborhood Livability (HB 3201): I co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Sal Esquivel from Medford that would have allowed the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to exercise greater enforcement authority over serious or persistent problems with licensed bars and taverns. The bill passed the House, but died in a Senate committee, so I hope to bring this bill back in the future. Foster Children and Psychotropic Drugs (HB 3114): I passed a bill that addresses the overmedication of children and youth in foster care by requiring a mental health assessment before the prescription of any new psychotropic medication and an annual review for children under 6 and youth who are taking more than one psychotropic drug. Metal Theft (SB 570): My bill dealing specifically with catalytic converter theft was addressed in the bipartisan comprehensive bill that strengthens protections against metal theft by clarifying the role of scrap metal dealers in reporting suspected stolen metal and keeping records of transactions, banning cash payments which incentivize metal theft with immediate reward, and increasing the tools that law enforcement has to combat the growing problem in our communities. Farm-to-School and School Gardens (HB 2800): I worked with co-sponsor Rep. Brian Clem from Salem to seek additional investments in farm-to-school and school garden programs in Oregon. Although our bill did not make it out of the budget committee, we were successful in making sure the statewide positions in the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education were not eliminated so we can keep momentum on this important initiative. Facing the worst economy in generations, the Legislature was tasked with prioritizing essential services: health and human service programs, education, and public safety. My colleagues and I focused on passing smart policies that improve the quality of life in Oregon. We asked big corporations and households making over $250,000 a year to contribute their fair share in taxes, minimizing the burden for working families while protecting the small businesses that will be the engine of our economic recovery. And we combed the budget for ways to do more with less so we could make your tax dollar go further. I hope you are pleased with the work we accomplished in Salem. Thanks for reading and please let me know your thoughts. Best wishes,