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• Behavioral Health

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• Gun Policy

• Hate and Bias Crimes

• Housing

• Immigration, Refugee, and Asylum

• Public Safety

Behavioral Health

By Stephanie Aller

On Feb. 3, the House Committee on Education held a public hearing for HB 2596 (Interstate Compact for School Psychologists). There is currently a shortage of school psychologists in Oregon. At the same time, there is an increasing need for behavioral health services for students. The school psychologist to student ratio is three times the national recommendation. Proponents believe HB 2596 would attract more school psychologists to Oregon by streamlining the licensure process. This would improve access to behavioral health services for students. The bill is scheduled for a possible work session on Feb. 10 at 3 pm.

 On Feb. 4, the Senate Committee on Health Care held a public hearing for SB 538 (Tensy’s Law). The bill would allow parents to be paid for attendant care services if their minor child has very high medical or behavioral needs. 

Many parents and children testified at the hearing about problems with the current system. There is a caregiver workforce shortage in Oregon, especially of caregivers capable of safely caring for disabled children with high medical or behavioral needs. When these children are awarded in-home support hours, they often are unable to find qualified caregivers to work all the awarded hours. Due to the caregiver shortage, many parents must leave their jobs to care full-time for their children. Despite the financial hardship imposed on these parents, most are not able to be paid for attendant care. Oregon allows parents of disabled adult children to be paid for attendant care but not parents of minor children. 

During the Covid pandemic, Oregon had a temporary waiver which allowed parents to be paid caregivers for their child. The legislature then passed SB 91 (2023) the Children’s Extraordinary Needs (CEN) Waiver. This allowed parents to be paid for attendant care but with a 20-hour per week limit. Currently, there are 155 children receiving this benefit in the Waiver with over 1500 children on the waitlist. SB 538 would eliminate the waitlist and allow all eligible children in the Waiver. It would also remove the 20-hour per week cap for parent caregivers. 

Upcoming public hearings related to behavioral health:

Senate Committee on Health Care, Feb. 11 at 3 pm.

SB 140 requires the Oregon Health Authority and coordinated care organizations to increase reimbursement rates to hospitals for inpatient psychiatric services provided to medical assistance recipients. It also requires OHA to partner with CCOs, community mental health programs, and acute care facilities to coordinate care for patients being discharged from acute care facilities.

House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care, Feb. 11 at 3 pm.

HB 2013 would amend ORS 743A.168 to include outpatient facilities that employ certified alcohol and drug counselors as providers for purposes of mental health treatment insurance coverage.

HB 2041 Relates to mental health services parity. This bill requires insurers to reimburse mental health professionals at the same rate as physicians and other health professionals for the same services.

Education

Senate Education heard an overview of the status of Student Success  Plans (begin at minute 46), which are equity-driven and community-based.

On Wednesday, February 12 at 3 pm, The House Education Committee will hear a presentation describing Special Education Funding Shortfalls, which is related to several bills being considered this session that propose to raise or even eliminate totally the artificial cap on money that a school district may receive for educating children with disabilities. 

 Testimony is being developed for the February 13th meeting of  the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development regarding:

• HB3182, which directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) to administer a grant program to fund basic needs programming for housing.

• HB3183 which appropriates money to HECC for the Open Education Resources Program, which makes textbooks more affordable.

Possible Impact of Federal actions on Funding for Education in Oregon

LWVOR is tracking federal actions regarding the Department of Education and funding which it manages. Congress would need to approve eliminating the department, but even if that action is blocked, it would be still be possible to reduce the role of the federal government in funding education. Currently Oregon receives about $1B each year from the federal government for our education budget. This includes:

·    Title 1 money which 561 schools use to address needs of low-income students. 

·    Support for 87, 648 students with disabilities under the IDEA program

·    14,159 students enrolled  in Head Start preschool and in Early Head Start

·    279,232 children served by the national School Lunch Program

 While Congress would need to approve eliminating Pell Grants for low-income higher education students, there are other federal student loan programs which could be in more immediate jeopardy. Additionally, federal funding of university research could be threatened. Last year Oregon State University received $370M in federal grants.

Gun Policy

By Marge Easley

HB 3076, a placeholder bill supported by the gun safety coalition Alliance for a Safe Oregon, has recently received considerable attention in the press. The bill seeks to implement a state-based gun dealer licensing and regulation program. The impetus is a 172% increase in firearm homicides in Oregon over the past decade and a finding that a sizable number of guns used in crimes come from straw gun sales (legal purchases with the intent to sell to prohibited purchasers) or gun dealer theft. Federal oversight of gun dealers by the ATF has been notoriously weak, and it is thought that a state-based program, similar to successful programs in other states, would be much more effective.

SB 697, also on the Alliance’s wish list, has hit a potential roadblock due to a recent federal court ruling. The bill seeks to raise the age for purchase of semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. However, on January 30 the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declared unconstitutional the current US government ban on selling handguns to those under 21, in keeping with the US Supreme Court’s Bruen decision that requires gun regulations to be “consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." Although SB 697 applies to semi-automatic rifles and not handguns, the expansion of gun rights expressed in this ruling will undoubtedly have an impact on placing age restrictions on gun purchases.

Hate and Bias Crimes

By Becky Gladstone

Updating last week’s federal notes: all nonprofits need to know about this administrative action:

Ending “Illegal DEI and DEIA discrimination and preferences”. On February 5, the US DoJ issued directives to begin civil and criminal investigations of NGOs and other private firms. The Attorney General’s February 5 memo additionally calls out educational institutions receiving federal grants, See the: Ending Illegal DEI and DEIJ Discrimination and Preferences.

We are researching these upcoming bills with public hearings scheduled:

·        SJM 1 requests congressional action on anti -military bias, with hate-crime protections, including military families. It got a work session to be sent back for reassignment to a different committee.

·        SB 473 was brought to the Senate Judiciary committee for the City of Eugene. It creates a crime of threatening a public official.

Housing

By Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan

At its February 3 session, the Senate Committee on Housing and Development heard an Oregon Law Center presentation about the growing number of evictions in Oregon. This

issue is important because evictions result in increased homelessness, hospital visits, and

reduced earnings. Black women face eviction filings at more than twice the rate of white

renters and having a child in the home increases that risk. Households of color and with

children are at greater risk of homelessness after eviction. Oregon has the highest rate of

homeless youth in the country. Of critical importance is recognizing that preventing

evictions through rent subsidies and other measures is less expensive than re-housing and

avoids the trauma associated with losing a home.

The number of cost-burdened renter households in Oregon has grown as wage gains are

not keeping up with increasing rents. More than half of all Oregon renters are cost

burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing. One in four spend

more than 50 percent on rent. Extremely low-income households experience difficulties in

finding housing they can afford. For every 100 renter households, there are only 26

available units they can afford.

Although the number of evictions continues to grow, recent legislative actions have had an

impact. In March 2023, Governor Kotek signed HB 2001 into law. Among other provisions,

it increased the notification period before termination and requires landlords to participate

in rental assistance programs. Today, more tenants can access advice and rent assistance

before losing their homes. In addition to procedural reform, the legislature also allocated

funding for homelessness prevention funds and rent assistance.

The Oregon Housing Alliance, in which LWVOR is a member, included in its legislative

agenda resources for rent assistance and homelessness prevention. It also supports SB 722

that would reduce the time period new rental units are exempt from statewide rent

increase caps from 15 to seven years. It would also ban the use of software to set rents.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) HB 2958 has been an effective tool in Oregon’s tax

code to help struggling families make ends meet and lift them out of poverty. Currently, the

state credit is 9% of federal EITC, except for families with children under age 3, who

receive 12% of the federal credit. The EITC is only available for hard working families with

earned incomes up to about $65,000. This proposed increase would strengthen the EITC by

raising rates to 25 percent for families with children under 3, and 20 percent for all other

families. Families working hard will be able to pay for essentials like housing, groceries,

and childcare.

The House Committee on Revenue will hold a public hearing on February 18, at 3:00 PM.

Immigration, Refugee, and Asylum

By Becky Gladstone

Updating last week’s federal notes: all nonprofits need to know about an administrative action:

Ending federal funding to sanctuary cities and pauses grants to nonprofits “that support or provide services to removable or illegal aliens.”

We are researching this bill, preparing for a public hearing:

SB 703 directs DHS (Department of Human Services) to provide grants nonprofit service providers for help with immigration status.

Public Safety

By Karen Nibler

The Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response, heard testimony for two bills this week: in SB 236 on delivery and manufacture of fentanyl and HB 3009 on Opioid Use Disorder medications for treatment in jail facilities. Rob Bovett   one of the authors of the legislation on HB 4002 last session, spoke in support of SB236. He  serves as vice chair of the Criminal Justice Commission and is employed as an attorney and teacher at the Lewis and Clark Law School.

The Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee considered HB 3079 on

implementation of youth homeless programs. The intent was to expand funding

to the Department of Human Services to reduce the number of homeless youth

under age 25. Specifically school age children through grade 12 have been

identified as needing this service. Emergency shelters in rural communities

were also requested, especially for veterans.

The administrator at the Oregon State Hospital talked about the commitments

and services for current residents. Aid and Assist cases have shorter terms of 90

days, up to 180 days for felonies or one year for violent felonies. Guilty Except

for Insanity can serve 90 days or civil commitments can stay for 8 to 9 months.

The Public Safety Review Board monitors clients after release.

The Oregon Health Authority described clinics and programs under their budget

bills HB 5024 and 5025. They have provided for additional beds and services in

communities throughout the state, including John Day.