2008 Legislative Session Wrap-up

Submitted by Shelley Joyce on Mon, 03/17/2008 - 11:20am.

The three-week 2008 Supplemental Session ended Friday, February 22 2008. It is still unclear whether this experiment with annual sessions will convince voters or legislators to make the constitutional change required to make legislative sessions an annual event.

Legislation moved very quickly and many complained there was simply not enough time to address complex issues. The downturn in the Revenue Forecast dampened hopes for the availability of much additional funding.

Highlights / Lowlights of the Session
Rebalance of the DHS budget:
• The Department of Human Services “rebalances” their budget several times a biennium. This means money unspent in one part of DHS is shifted to budget holes in other parts of DHS. Despite tremendous needs in the developmental disability service system, the DD Program lost over $6 million in this rebalance. For a number of reasons, the money had been unspent in 2005-07.

• Restored: 12 percent funding reduction in Lifespan Respite Programs was restored.

Seniors and People with Disabilities:
   • Added: $12.2 million for adult and relative foster care, assisted living service rates, and senior in-home care.
   • Passed: Comprehensive plan for long term care services (SB 1061)
   • Failed: Quality Care bill that created a Quality Care fund and a data base of individuals / providers found to have committed substantiated abuse and neglect. (HB 3617)
Children:
   • Added: $7.3 to child welfare services
   • Establishes and implements the Oregon Farm-to-School Garden Program to get local produce into school meals
   • Passed: Closed loopholes in sale of unsafe / recalled toys
Housing:
   • Added: $2 million increase in tax credits for affordable housing
Education:
   • Added: Up to $350,000 from the State School Fund to be used to improve Talented and Gifted Education (TAG) programs.
   • Passed: Legislation which will allow school districts to charge parents for full day kindergarten. Currently, the State funds half day kindergarten statewide. While there is significant support for the importance of full day kindergarten, the State lacks the funds to pay for it.
   • Passed: SB 1092 requires that school officials be notified when a juvenile is alleged to have committed certain crimes. Thanks to the work of the Juvenile Rights Project and others, the bill was amended to increase protections for the youth who are being identified but have not been convicted of the crimes. There will be more discussion on this issue prior to the 2009 session.
Mental Health:
   • Added: $1.8 million immediate appropriation / $4.87 later appropriation to address critical problems at the Oregon State Hospital pointed out recently in a report by the U.S. Department of Justice.

• Added: One-time-only $150,000 appropriation that will allow DHS to assess, evaluate and report on the community mental health
care delivery system in Oregon.

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News Briefs

Sharon Lewis receives the 2008 Gold Star Award

Sharon Lewis, Disibility Policy Advisor to George Miller ( D-CA) Chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and former llong time Oregon disabilities advocate, received the 2008 Gold Star Award recently at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Annual Meeting and Conference.

The AUCD Gold Star Award, established in 2002, is presented to a Capitol Hill staffer who exemplifies a true partnership in crafting strong public policy and recognizes the staffer for his/her professional and personal efforts to craft policy and implement programs with input from AUCD and the greater disability community.

Wrote her nominator, "In her short time on the Hill, Sharon has worked tirelessly and made significant contributions to lives of individuals with disabilities and other families. In this key role she has worked on many pieces of disability-specific legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Restoration Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Rehabilitation Act. She has also been a strong voice for inclusion of disability concerns in broader legislation before the Committee such as No Child Left Behind, Head Start, and Workforce Investment Act. Sharon exemplifies everything that the Gold Star Award stands for."
Crime Victims with Disabilities Legislation introduced in Congress

View the legislation

On October 1, the Crime Victims with Disabilities Act (S. 3668), was introduced in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would increase the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against people with disabilities in addition to improving the services made available to those who are victims of crimes.

Legislation being drafted in Oregon to address abuse of vulneral adults

Rep. Sara Gelser has been working with a large stakeholder group to develop comprehensive legislation in Oregon to address the abuse of vulnerable adults. This bill is designed to increase the rate of prosecutions when people abuse or defraud seniors or people with disabilities, improve the quality of civil and criminal investigations, and enhance consumer protection and transparency in the direct care service system for adults who are aging, disabled, or experience mental illness. If your group or organization is interested in providing feedback on this bill in the final drafting stages, please contact Kris Skaro in Rep. Gelser’s office at 503-986-1416.

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