By State Representative Rob Nosse
Most of you already know I have been in working in our Capitol in Salem since early January as the Oregon Legislature is now officially “in session.” I am commuting four days a week and so far have been able to spend Fridays in the District.Â
In the January edition of this column, I gave a preview of my legislative priorities, the Democratic Caucuses priorities and what I expected to happen this session. This month I want to highlight some of Portland and Multnomah county’s priorities.
A lot of my legislative priorities revolve around issues that are important to my constituents, but a lot of work goes into coordinating all the different branches of government that touch these issues. For our corner of the world this means trying to make sure that the City of Portland, Multnomah County, Metro and Portland Public Schools are all in regular communication and pulling in the same direction. The more coordinated we are, the better chance we have of getting our priorities implemented.
This is not easy. If you follow the news, you see it play out in the tension between the city and the county and even with my colleagues in the legislature who have different priorities, even though we are all Democrats. That is why it is more important than ever that all the various governments in the metro area try to unite and get on the same page. To that end I have been working with the county, the city and my other Portland area legislators to try to get all our ducks in a row.
To be clear, the city and county have too many priorities for me to cover in their entirety but let me highlight three key ones. The topic I hear from my constituents about the most often is housing and homelessness. The city wants help convincing the rest of the Legislature to fund a request from the Oregon Mayors Association. The request was announced in October. It calls for $100 million in funding from the state to address the challenge of homelessness annually.
Meanwhile, the Governor has said she planned to introduce a $130 million package of legislation that would focus on getting 1,200 unsheltered homeless residents off the streets within a year. The county has not given me a specific dollar ask, but has emphasized its support for building long-term housing and requested an increase in funding for long-term housing vouchers to help stabilize individuals and families, as well as an increase in funding to address the cost of building supplies for affordable housing.
The next topic I hear a lot about is behavioral health. The city is focused on expanding crisis stabilization services, especially for those impacted by methamphetamine and fentanyl. The city is also focused on the funding allocated by Ballot Measure 110 going out more quickly and efficiently to fund these services.
Multnomah County is also focused on getting a greater share of Ballot Measure 110 money and implementation improvement. They are also advocating for a new tax on cell phone lines to fund the new 988 crisis line. For those who don’t remember, 988 is the new number to call if you or someone around you is having a mental health crisis. I have been working to start up mobile crisis and stabilization centers to ensure the 988 system has no wrong doors and can help people struggling with their mental health.
Lastly, I want to bring up public safety. The city wants to see action taken on our current public defender crisis–i.e. get more hired and better compensated. They are also seeking more tools to allow law enforcement to crack down on street racing. The county is advocating for reducing fines, fees and restrictions that prevent formerly incarcerated people from successfully integrating into the community. The city is also hoping to reform statutes that have prevented them from effectively implementing a body camera program for law enforcement officers. Lastly, they are pushing for more gun safety measures and to ensure Ballot Measure 114 goes into effect smoothly.
If you want more details, you can find more information on the county and city’s websites. I wanted to give you a sense of the many ways in which the city and the county are aligned and the breadth of work that they are hoping to accomplish. Both entities also want to see progress on addressing climate change and both are continuing to ask that policies examine the impact they will have on racial and ethnic minorities, being more thoughtful about equity, diversity and inclusion.
It will be a busy session so stay tuned. By the time March rolls around, I am sure there will be an exciting controversy or two to write about.