Fair Shot Agenda Update
Our Partners at Fair Shot Oregon are hard at work representing working families and progressive values in the Legislature.
Where the bills are now:
- Ways and means committee: Cover all kids, End Profiling, Reproductive health equity
- Revenue Committee: Paid Family medical leave
- Senate Committee: Stable homes for all (passed the house!)
Cover All Kids - There are 17,600 children, 2% of Oregon kids, in our state that do not have any medical coverage even if they are at Medicaid income levels. Kids are kids. Every child deserves the right to grow up healthy and build a better life for themselves. Cover All Kids corrects the Health Care for All Children in Oregon Act by extending OHP coverage to all low-income children residing in Oregon.
Senate Bill 558 & House Bill 2726 is currently in the Ways and Means committee, where they are discussing the cost of this legislation. In a time of budget cuts this is no small task, but all the more critical that this happens now, before major changes to the ACA can be enacted!
This bill is in strong shape, as it’s been included in the governor’s budget, and has wide bi-partisan support, but legislators still need to hear from you about why this matters to you and your community!
How to support: Join the OLHC Advocacy Day on Cover All Kids- Friday, May 12 at 9 AM - 5 PM, St. Mark Lutheran Church: 790 Marion St NE, Salem, OR 97301
Paid Family Medical Act – Only 13% of people have access to paid family medical leave, but 100% of us have families (traditional or otherwise), and we all need leave at various times to care for our loved ones or welcome a new child into our families. For the 87% of us without paid family medical leave we are forced to choose between providing for our families or giving them the care they need.
HB 3087 proposes a self-sustaining, paid family and medical leave insurance program administered by DCBS.
Program will provide 12 weeks of partial income replacement for family and medical leave purposes and an additional 6 weeks available only for parental leave. Employees can qualify for leave when they or a family member have a serious health condition or to bond with a new child. It includes an expansive definition of “family member” to recognize and cover non-traditional families and chosen families.
How to support: Need to keep pressure on full House and Senate, so call your legislators today to tell them you support this vital legislation! Don’t know your legislators? Look them up here: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/findyourlegislator/leg-districts.html
Reproductive Health Equity - Thousands of Oregonians still lack coverage for the full range of reproductive health services. A family that isn’t finically prepared for a pregnancy or reproductive health issue often aren’t able to make ends meet, hurting our economy, and burdening system.
HB 3391 establishes comprehensive coverage for the full spectrum of reproductive health services, including family planning, abortion, and postpartum care, for all Oregonians, regardless of income, citizenship status, gender identity, or type of insurance.
3391 is a top priority for cost savings and public health Investment. Reproductive health services will save the state money, even within a biennium! Women’s health remains on the federal chopping block, even with the recent ACA repeal failure
How to support: follow this link to get directly connected to your legislator today! https://apano.salsalabs.org/rhenow/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=a17183e8-3f46-4d72-95ab-bf5ad977425b
Stable homes: 40% of Oregonians rent their homes, SB 2004 Eliminates No Cause Eviction after the first 6 months of occupancy. The vast majority of no-cause evictions happen so that landlords can raise rents, or retaliate against renters who complain. Otherwise the landlord has to give a renter cause:
- They or immediate family member want to move into the place or major repairs etc.
- If they give a landlord cause then they pay 1 month of rent for relocation expenses.
SB 2004 also allows local governments to enact rent stabilization if they set a fair rate of returns and have an appeals process. This way Portland can set what it needs for rent stabilization and Bend can do what they need separately, and so on.
The bill is out of the house and now in the Senate!!
How to support: Send your stories of rent increase and no-cause eviction to you legislator using this Legislator Lookup tool! http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6681/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=24261
End Profiling - Everyday, Oregonians are targeted based on their race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, language, housing status, sexual orientations or gender identity. While Oregon has a ban on profiling, there is still no institutional accountability to correct profiling practices.
HB 2354 has two main components:
Police accountability and training though:
- Developing a standard method to be used by law enforcement officers to record stop information
- Dept. of Justice identifies patterns of profiling
- Require profiling preventative trainings
- Law enforcement agencies must respond to intake complaints and report actions taken to correct profiling
The second component is in response to the War on Drugs, which fuels profiling by incentivizing pretext stops and requests for consent searches, which are both instances where profiling commonly occurs. By reducing incentives to profile, we will reduce its occurrence.
- Drug Addiction Decriminalization: Possession of small amounts of controlled substances
- First 2 times -> misdemeanor; 3rd time -> conviction could result in felony
- Reduced sentencing for class A misdemeanors
How to support:
- Share your stories, if you or a loved one has been profiled email [email protected] and I will connect you with the campaign.
- Join our 2nd Lobby Day or major phone bank - stay tuned to join!