Sen. Boquist: Survey on Oregon drug laws, rent cap, more..

By Oregon State Senator Brian Boquist,
Highlights, excerpts from Sen. Boquist newsletter

— From the Oregonian: See how big of a refund you’ll get from Oregon’s historic 44% kicker next year. (that the majority party will then likely steal away in new taxes)

— Gov. Tina Kotek expects to vote against Salem payroll tax.

— The Oregonian reports on a man shot to death in downtown Portland as deadly violence picks up again with, “After a 30-day lull, this is the fourth suspected homicide in Portland in the past 10 days, which would put the city at 57 likely homicides for the year. Portland had a record 101 homicides in 2022.”

— This headline is awesome: “$350k for ‘blobby’ Oregon’s unfunny, costly election mascot.”

— Oregon ethics officials dismiss legislator’s complaint against lobbyist.

— Oregon will get part of $50 million multistate settlement over 2020 data breach.

— OPB reports on how homelessness in Oregon started, grew and became a statewide crisis. While well-written, the issue with the article is in the paragraphs after the first image where addiction and domestic violence are mentioned as reasons for making homelessness “harder to escape,” but describes these key factors as “personal challenges,” diminishing the real impacts of addiction to drugs and alcohol. Even for people who did not become homeless because of their addiction, the fight to stay sober is ongoing and lifelong.

— The same OPB article continues with an interesting paragraph: “It’s more likely that personal challenges like a mental health crisis, job loss or a personal injury act as a turning point for people who are already facing housing instability.” This is relevant because many Oregonians have been arguing since 2020 when the government forced people out of their jobs and failed to give them unemployment assistance, that a hopeless population is one more likely to self-medicate in harmful ways. Then, the Democrats who control the state were lured by the out of state money that funded for Ballot Measure 110, which decriminalized hard drugs like meth and heroin, making Oregon the failed experiment state. Anyone with an ounce of commonsense saw that a state like Oregon, mid-lockdown with thousands out of work, combined with legal hard drugs would lead to a zombie land of addicts. Hopeless people often seek to medicate their sadness to stop the pain, and the Oregon government gave them a FREE pass to do it. Time to stop pretending like addiction and homelessness don’t have anything to do with each other, or that it’s just a coincidence.

— A recent survey shows how Oregonians are concerned about homelessness and drug addiction.

— Second arrest in school fight video, main reporting on this breaking news story here.

— Senate GOP celebrates National Manufacturing Day.

— Groomer high school teacher suspect moved to elementary school. Probably can’t be fired due to unions… so the solution is to move the allegedly problematic teacher to be by even YOUNGER children?

— Proposed rule would make hospital prices more transparent.

— Oregon rent increases will be capped at 10% in 2024.

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