Beaver State News

Governor Kotek worked successfully with Legislature to deliver on mission-focused agenda

Salem, OR—Oregon lawmakers concluded the 2023 legislative session today, wrapping up a session that included significant progress on the top three priorities that Governor Tina Kotek set at the beginning of her term: housing and homelessness, behavioral health, and education.

“My top priorities since Day One have been to reduce homelessness and support housing development, improve access to mental health and addiction services, and ensure that Oregon’s children are better served by our investments in early literacy, child care, and K-12 schools,” Governor Kotek said. “This session was not without challenges and there is more work ahead of us, but today Oregonians should know the state is making progress on our biggest challenges and working hard to deliver results.”

Governor Kotek advocated for policies and budgets that would deliver on issues of shared concern across Oregon. Highlights include:

Housing and Homelessness
The lack of housing that is affordable across all income levels not only drives the homelessness crisis but is having a serious impact on working families and employers. The state made progress addressing the housing and homelessness crises this session by:

Responding to the Homelessness State of Emergency – Governor Kotek declared a homelessness state of emergency on Day One of her administration, then successfully worked with the legislature to urgently allocate $155 million to support the emergency response and meet the goal of reducing unsheltered homelessness over the course of this year.

Maintaining Momentum Over Two Years – $316 million will rehouse an additional 750 households, prevent homelessness for 11,700 households, maintain shelter operations, create new permanent supportive housing, provide ongoing support for 700 newly added shelter beds, and more.
Building More Affordable Housing – $650 million in bonding will build and preserve more affordable housing. However, the legislature missed a critical opportunity to address housing production by failing to pass House Bill 3414.

Behavioral Health
When someone is ready to seek help for a mental health concern or substance use, that help should be easy to find and available – no matter where a person lives or what they can afford. The state made progress this session by:

Increasing Access to Behavioral Health Care – $200 million will add capacity for detox and substance use disorder residential treatment facilities, provide incentives to stabilize and support the behavioral health workforce, and increase community services for individuals who are likely to end up in the state hospital.

Funding Suicide Prevention and 24/7 Crisis Line – Increased funding will improve the statewide coordinated crisis system, including the 9-8-8 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline, which is available 24/7 to Oregonians in crisis.

Improving Implementation of Measure 110 – Policy changes will help ensure state investments and Measure 110 programs deliver real benefits for Oregonians, reduce hospitalizations and overdoses, and improve timely access to care.

Preventing Overdose Deaths – The state will expand access to overdose reversal drugs, like naloxone kits, to reduce drug overdose deaths.

Education
Every Oregon child should have a safe place to receive a high-quality, culturally responsive public education, and every family needs access to affordable child care options. The state made progress this session by:

Advancing Early Literacy Success – Increased funding for early literacy will improve how we teach kids how to read and write – ensuring educators, parents, caregivers, federally-recognized Tribes, and communities have what they need to support our students.

Building Up Our Child Care Infrastructure – A new $50 million Child Care Infrastructure Fund will strengthen access to physical infrastructure for child care facilities.

Public Safety
Oregonians deserve to feel safe and be safe in their homes and communities. The state made progress this session by:
Clearing the Police Officer Training Backlog – Funding additional training slots will ensure that more officers can move through the academy at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. A backlog in training courses has been slowing the pace of law enforcement coming online to serve Oregonians for too long.

Banning Ghost Guns – Oregon is now the ninth state to ban ghost guns, cracking down on unserialized and undetectable guns that are often used by gun traffickers, violent criminals, and people legally prohibited from buying firearms. 

Original source can be found here.