Advocate

As Christians we are constantly being transformed as individuals. Advocacy takes that transformation that we experience in our spiritual lives to a structural level. Advocacy seeks to change our society at a structural level by addressing the social conditions that create poverty, inequality and injustice.We believe scripture is clear God cares about public policies, and desires just laws that protect the poor and marginalized from being exploited by the powerful. OCCV is committed to advocacy because we believe that as Christians we are called to not only proclaim the gospel and do acts of compassion, but also to speak on behalf of those whose voices are often not heard when laws are being made.Keep updated on what OCCV is doing in the Oregon legislature and the local and state issues around poverty, health care, and the environment.

OCCV 2018 Legislative Activities

• Special Legislation Session held May 21st

• Legislative Committee Days coming September 24th-26th

• Legislative Committee Days coming December 12th-14th

• Measure 103: Large Corporate Grocery Chains Seek to Permanently Prevent Any Tax Changes: OCCV Opposes, Vote “No” against Measure 103 in November. The measure would prevents tax changes in the future and would apply to any changes or amendments to the corporate minimum tax, apply to the bottle bill and other laws requiring deposits on food or beverage containers, apply to Oregon fuel and mileage taxes, and apply to the health care provider tax. For complete legal analysis of the measure

• Constitutional Amendment 104: Constitutional Amendment 104 Expands Super Majority Requirement – Puts Oregon’s Vulnerable at Greater Risk: OCCV Opposes, Vote “No” against Measure 104 in November. The measure would, over time, reduce revenue for schools, healthcare, and services needed by the vulnerable. It will protect the wealthy and large corporations and expand the wealth gap that is corroding our society as the rich take an ever increasing share of our economic wealth while making it harder to fund the priorities of the middle class and lowest income earners. 

OCCV 2017 Legislative Activities

Summaries on housing related bills. 

•  HB2004: This bill as originally written would have done two things. It would have lifted the state ban on municipalities establishing rent stabilization programs to control the rise of rent beyond what lower-income renters are able to pay. That provision was dropped in an effort to get the bill passed, leaving in provisions for much-needed protections from unfair evictions. Despite support from many state and local officials, even the revised bill did not pass, leaving the over 40% of Oregonians who are renters, at risk of rent spikes and evictions without cause, at a time when there is a serious shortage of affordable housing throughout the state.

• HB2959: This bill proposed the continuation of the General Assistance pilot program, established last biennium, and which provided financial and social worker assistance for disabled adults who are also homeless. This very vulnerable population had been without any kind of financial assistance from the state for over a decade. Results of the pilot program were carefully tracked, and demonstrated the effectiveness of getting people into stable housing and helping them apply for federal disability benefits. We are thrilled to report that this program, which was initially cut early in the session, was restored and is fully funded for another two years.Health Care Legislation Summaries.

• Health Care for all Oregon Children passed. SB 558 extends health insurance to all children regardless of immigration status whose families earn up to 300% of federal poverty level. The Oregon Health Authority is directed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach and marketing.

• All of the gun safety bills failed this session except for Extreme Risk Protection Order. It prohibits a person from possessing a deadly weapon when court finds that person presents risk in near future, including imminent risk, of suicide or causing injury to another person. A bill to close Charleston and Dating Partners Loopholes died in Senate Rules Committee.Environmental Justice Legislation Summaries

• Climate Bill, Cap-Price-Invest, transitioning to a clean energy economy and jobs bill, died in committee. Legislators were unable to decide at what level carbon emissions should be capped and what should be an appropriate pricing for extra carbon emissions. This is an ongoing debate and will be carried over and addressed in the 2018 legislative session.

  Diesel Emissions Reduction was killed in committee by business and trucking opposition. It would have followed the lead of California and Washington to phase out dirty, pre-2007 diesel trucks and upgrade them to new technology diesel engines that are 95% cleaner. The only improvement in diesel emissions that did pass was to direct part of the state VW settlement funds to retrofit some school buses. The remainder of the VW funds was reserved for upgrades to diesel engines, if and when business interests commit to phase out dirty diesel engines.

OCCV Legislative Summaries

• HB 3087, which would have created a family and medical leave insurance fund in Oregon, failed to pass this year. OCCV supported this bill as an issue of equity since low income families are the least likely to have any paid leave, resulting in higher levels of infant mortality, postpartum depression, and stress. However it was a difficult year for this bill since the focus in the legislature was on the revenue shortage and whether business taxes needed to be increased. Since this bill requires business contributions, it did not have the political support to pass this year.

• In addition, OCCV testified in support of increased funding for early childhood education for low income families and kids with special needs. The final budget from the legislature included a $6 million increase in early intervention/early childhood special education, and $2 million for a family relief center in Oregon. Funding for Head Start programs remained constant (with no cuts). A few programs did see cuts, specifically: an 11% decrease for Early Learning Hubs, a 4% increase for the Kindergarten Partnership and Innovation Fund, and a reduction to child care subsidies which will limit the future enrollment but does not affect families that are currently enrolled.

• On the criminal justice front HB 3078 passed and it will help us avoid adding another state prison while making sure that prisoners have addiction treatment and other resources they need to care for their children, reboot their lives, and function successfully in their communities.

• When it came to the budget the legislature was able to avoid the worst case scenarios by adding to a hospital tax that financed Medicaid so 100,000’s were not kicked off their insurance while children of undocumented parents were given healthcare for the first time. School cuts were minimized and we did raise funds for a desperately needed transportation program. However the major disappointment is that we were collectively not successful in raising corporate taxes to pay for improvements in our schools and to deal with a future budget crunch headed our way.

• Wage theft was another disappointment where none of the principle bills submitted made it through to enactment. 

OCCV 2016 LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES

During the 2016 legislative session, the OCCV board endorsed eight bills, and actively advocated for several of the bills with written testimony and by testifying in person at hearings.  We were particularly active in supporting the following bills:  raising the minimum wage; reinstating a General Assistance program for disabled adults; moving Oregon away from coal to renewable energy by 2030; wage theft prevention.  All the bills we endorsed passed, although some were amended in ways that weakened the provisions.

OCCV 2015 LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES

OCCV was well-prepared to be strong voice of faith during the session.  As a result of the legislative forum in November, we decided to be involved in a number of issues, organized our resources around those issues, and developed a process for assuring that we could track the progress of related bills to identify opportunities to make our voices heard.  As a result, OCCV had a consistent and effective presence during the legislative session, testifying in person at a number of hearings for bills we had selected to support, including:  increasing the minimum wage;  re-establishing a General Assistance program for unemployable adults;  revising tax breaks for corporations;  the Toxic free kids act, and wage theft legislation.  We provided written testimony on several bills, including supporting legislation to study implementation of a plan to provide health care for all.  All our testimonies included a powerful statement about our belief that God’s intended role for government is to assure that poor and marginalized people are cared for so all have opportunity to flourish, and that our faith calls us to speak on their behalf.

OCCV 2013 Legislative Activities

OCCV was active in bringing a voice of faith to the capitol during this last legislative session, joining with others in support of laws that we believe carried out that scriptural mandate. We provided written testimony on several bills, testified in hearings, and encouraged our membership to call their representatives at crucial times to keep a bill moving through the process. We are grateful that most of the legislation we supported passed into law. Here’s a summary of the results from this session:Preventing wage theft: House bill 2977 – passed
This bill requires that sub-contractors in the construction industry be licensed. Prior to the passage of this bill, workers hired by a dishonest sub-contractors would often not be paid their wages, and had no recourse. Now these workers have legal protection and means to recover wages, and honest subcontractors are not undercut by those who exploit their workers, most of whom are low-income, and struggling to support their families.Human trafficking: Senate bill 673 and House bill 2334 – passed
These bills added and strengthened penalties against those who are perpetrators of human trafficking, and built in more protection for the victims.Economic relief for low-income workers: HB 2477 – passed
Many of the working poor struggle to meet basic needs. This bill extends the Earned Income Tax Credit, giving a tax break to those who are paid a low wage, and thereby providing needed additional income to support their families.Toxic disclosure bill: passed the Oregon House by a 39-21 margin but failed to come to a vote in the Senate.
We were saddened that this bill did not make it to the floor for a vote. It would have required manufacturers to disclose the chemical used in the products, thereby providing parents and families with the information needed to make a good decision about what products to buy.Bills affecting undocumented persons – passed
OCCV also supported two bills that affect undocumented members of our community, both of which passed. House bill 2787, the Tuition Equity bill, allows students who live in Oregon to pay in-state tuition for a college education. Senate bill 833 grants driver licenses to undocumented persons, allowing them to safely drive to work, to provide for their families.

OCCV 2011 Legislative Activities

• Care for the Sick – HB 99 Health Insurance Exchange:  Ensures greater measures for transparency and affordability from Health Insurance companies by creating a digital market place for insurance plans.

• Care for the Vulnerable – HB 2714 & SB 425:  Increases fines for people purchasing minors for sex, eliminated the age defense for pimps and johns, and separated the crime of soliciting a prostitute from those who are victims forced into a commercial sexual exploitation

• Care for Creation- Farm to Schools: The Farm to Schools Bill passed this session and will begin to bring Oregon grown produce onto the plates of Oregon’s school children.  This bill benefits farmers and families alike and ensures good nutrition for hungry kids! Not all schools will see this happen, though.  The bill passed with only one hundredth of the funds originally requested.

• Oregon’s Human Trafficking Awareness Day signed into law: On his first day in office, Gov. Kitzhaber officially declared January 11 to be a day of awareness for Human Trafficking in Oregon.  OCCV and our partner OATH, had made several requests for this, and we were thrilled that it happened. We had over 150 people from across Oregon at a rally on the Capitol steps to ask for greater penalties for those perpetuating this crime in our state.Human Trafficking Bill Signing in Salem

OCCV 2009 Legislative Activities

HB 2009 & SB 2118 – secured funds for more Oregon children to be added to the Healthy Kids program.  Now all children under age 5 can have access to vital medical care and check-ups!

OCCV 2007 Legislative Activities

OCCV made a successful debut in Oregon’s 2007 Legislative Session. Over 300 members participated by meeting with & writing to their legislators, writing letters to the editor, phone banking, and testifying in support of critical, moral issues.  Many members took action for the first time.

• Care for the Poor HB 2871: OCCV Members helped in ensuring the success of House Bill 2871, a bill which regulated payday lending institutions by imposing a 36% cap. Prior to this legislation, many institutions were charging upwards of 500% interest, spiraling many of Oregon’s poorest even further into debt.

• Care for Creation 737: Over 80 community members participated in theological discussions on creation care and effectively lobbied their legislators to support good stewardship. SB 737 guarantees funding for the Department of Environmental Quality, allowing for critical research on practices like toxic mixing zones.

• Care for the Sick SB 27: OCCV members signed letters of endorsement, met with and called their legislators on this important bill. While SB 27 did not pass, another similar bill, SB 329, was passed successfully. Oregonians will see health care reform in the next two years, in large part due to active voices within the faith community.

• Ballot Measures 49 & 50
  OCCV formally endorsed Measure 49 (land-use reform) and signed onto a statement in its support in the Special Election Voter’s Pamphlet. OCCV formally endorsed Measure 50 (Healthy Kids Initiative) and sponsored a statement in its support in the Voter’s Pamphlet. OCCV encouraged its members to support Measure 49 & 50 at its 2nd Annual Conference and through email alerts, phone calls and meetings with OCCV members and partner organizations. OCCV also participated in a People of Faith Press Conference and Canvass Day in support of Measure 50. 

Building the Movement

OCCV has built a network of over 500 active participants and 1000 e-members who receive our e-newsletters and legislative action reports. OCCV engages and activates its members through local leadership networks, which are currently based in Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Yamhill, Marion and Deschutes Counties.  In the past we have had Justice Series events, including monthly community conversational gatherings, concerts and film screenings!