The 2023 Legislative Session - March Update
Before we dig into what the legislature has been up to so far, we wanted to flag that CLHO’s legislative toolkit is now live on our website! There is a public-facing section that contains a lot of helpful information about how to interact with legislators, and links to CLHO’s Lunch and Learn series. And for members, you can find additional strategic resources in the Member Legislative Toolkit, found in the Legislative Committee Library.
The legislature was in full swing in February, as committees met during the first full month of the 2023 session. CLHO and our partners at CFM are tracking 76 public health-related bills, and where appropriate intervening to provide testimony and resources. The number of new bills has dropped since we passed the February 21 deadline to introduce new bills. That number will continue to decline in the coming weeks, as March 17 is the deadline for bills to have a work session scheduled. Of course, as they say, nothing is really dead until Sine Die, and there’s a lot of session left during which things can change!
Below are a few of the public health highlights from the past month:
On February 1, HB 2773, CLHO’s Workforce Incentives Bill generated some good press during its first hearing.
On February 2, the OHA budget bill was introduced as SB 5525. CLHO continues to advocate for the full $286 million for Public Health Modernization. The OHA Public Health Division is scheduled to testify on SB 5525 on March 14 from 8:00-9:30, with public testimony on March 15 and 16 from 8:00-9:30.
Throughout the month, Sarah Lochner and Ryann Gleason met with legislators to discuss Public Health Modernization and Workforce Incentives, and share the updated PHM and Workforce Incentives one-pagers.
On February 14, Sarah Lochner testified in support of HB 2128, which would release $40 million in tobacco manufacturer dollars for use in Oregon.
Also on February 14, Deschutes County Health Officer Dr. Richard Fawcett testified in support of HB 2574, the PEP rural hospital access bill.
On February 15, Dr. Jocelyn Warren visited the Capitol and spoke with Representatives Conrad, Nelson, Nathanson, and Nosse, as well as Sen. Prozanski.
In mid-February, Ryann Gleason and Sarah Lochner met with Rep. Reschke to discuss including Public Health Nurses in his rural provider tax credit bill, HB 2602.
On February 20, Ryann and Sarah met with the Senate President’s Chief-of-Staff to discuss CLHO’s budget requests.
On February 21 the Economic and Revenue Forecast was released, which indicated legislators may have $700 million to allocate above continuing service levels if nothing changes.
Also on the 21st, the opioids package CLHO supports, HB 2395, moved out of committee and is scheduled for a House vote on March 2. Due to their cost, two pieces were pulled out of the bill and will receive separate consideration: the public education campaign and the naloxone bulk purchasing program.
Snow mostly shut down the Capitol during the last week of February, but we anticipate a busy start to March.
Ryann has been working to get legislators to sign onto a letter supporting moving the workforce bill, HB 2773, out of the policy committee and into Ways and Means for funding consideration.
We’re in the early planning stages of Public Health Week, which is when we will be engaging legislators about a variety of Public Health topics. This year Public Health Week is April 3-9. Please be on the lookout for additional information, and opportunities to engage with legislators in the coming weeks!