Rep. Ken Helm

Digest: The Act makes a small group to look at the youth behavioral workforce. (Flesch Readability Score: 77.8). Directs the System of Care Advisory Council to establish a subcommittee on the youth behavioral health workforce. Requires the subcommittee to submit an initial report to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to behavioral health not later than September 15, 2024, and a final report to the Legislative Assembly not later than December 15, 2025. Sunsets December 31, 2025. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Digest: The Act makes all farm machinery tax exempt. (Flesch Readability Score: 66.1). Removes the requirement that farm machinery and equipment be tangible personal property for the purposes of exemption from ad valorem property taxation. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Digest: The Act modifies a defined term under PECBA. The Act restricts the makeup of certain collective bargaining units. The Act takes effect as soon as it is passed. (Flesch Readability Score: 70.4). [ Digest: The Act modifies a defined term under PECBA. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.2). ] Modifies the definition of "supervisory employee" to include certain employees and exclude certain strike-prohibited public employees. Limits the permissible composition of bargaining units regarding the inclusion of certain guards and police officers who serve in a rank that is equivalent to the rank of sergeant and subordinate employees. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Digest: Creates a fund to help the electronic chip industry. The Act becomes law 91 days after adjournment. (Flesch Readability Score: 63.8). Establishes the Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund [ and subaccounts of the fund ]. Requires the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to allocate moneys from the fund [ and subaccounts ] to provide education, training and research to assist the semiconductor industry. [ Requires the commission to establish a statewide semiconductor industry consortium for the purpose of developing a comprehensive statewide strategy to guide investments and build educational pathways and research capacity for the semiconductor industry and to make recommendations to the commission on how best to allocate moneys in the Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund and subaccounts. ] [ Requires the consortium to submit a report to the Legislative Assembly every two years detailing progress and investments made to improve semiconductor education and research. ] [ Requires the commission to award a series of grants to identified entities. ] Exempts some programs receiving federal financial assistance from certain provisions. Sunsets the Semiconductor Talent Sustaining Fund [ and subaccounts ] on January 2, 2030. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Digest: The Act makes changes to crimes related to stalking. The Act also changes the definitions for stalking laws. The Act takes effect on July 1, 2024. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.3). Modifies definitions pertaining to stalking orders and stalking offenses. [ Increases penalties for ] Expands the circumstances in which the crimes of stalking and violating a court's stalking protective order [ in certain circumstances ] constitute a felony offense . [ Punishes by a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both. ] Takes effect July 1, 2024.

Digest: The Act would create the CHIPS Child Care Fund. The Act would tell the Oregon Business Development Department to work with the Bureau of Labor and Industries to make a program to help fund child care. The Act would create a work group related to funding child care. (Flesch Readability Score: 76.0). Establishes the CHIPS Child Care Fund. Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Business Development Department for deposit in the CHIPS Child Care Fund. Directs the department to enter into an interagency agreement with the Bureau of Labor and Industries to develop and administer a financial support program for the construction workforce. Directs the department to establish a work group to adopt recommendations for requiring certain businesses to make a financial contribution to the CHIPS Child Care Fund. Requires work group to report to the committees of the Legislative Assembly related to child care and workforce development by November 15, 2024. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Digest: The Act makes ODFW, SFWC and DSL amend their marine reserve programs. (Flesch Readability Score: 74.8). Requires the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Department of State Lands to implement the Ocean Policy Advisory Council recommendations to develop an adaptive management and social monitoring program to support marine reserves. Appropriates moneys to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for the program. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Digest: The Act makes an electric company report each year on the steps taken or being taken to be part of an energy market. (Flesch Readability Score: 62.1). Requires an investor-owned utility that sells more than two million megawatt hours of electricity in a calendar year to report to and inform the Legislative Assembly [ the activities, if any, ] of activities that the investor-owned utility has taken or is taking toward participating in a regional energy market. Sunsets January 2, 2031.

Digest: The Act applies to insurers and other entities that pay for drugs for people who have insurance. The Act requires insurers and others to count toward any costs that an insured person must pay for their drugs, the amounts paid from coupons or by other third parties. (Flesch Readability Score: 60.5). Requires an insurer, a pharmacy benefit manager[ , the Public Employees' Benefit Board, the Oregon Educators Benefit Board ] and a health care service contractor to count payments made by or on behalf of an enrollee for the costs of certain prescription drugs when calculating the enrollee's contribution to an out-of-pocket maximum, deductible, copayment, coinsurance or other required cost-sharing for the drugs.

Digest: States a state policy on offshore wind energy. Tells the state agency on energy to make a road map on standards for offshore wind energy. Makes a person involved in an offshore wind energy or port project meet certain labor and supply chain standards. Tells the state agency on land use to assess state policies that may be used in federal reviews of offshore wind leasing decisions. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.0). Declares a state policy to support engagement between offshore wind developers and impacted organizations, communities and tribes. Declares a state policy regarding offshore wind energy development and labor and supply chain standards. Declares a state policy that the interconnection of offshore energy projects be carried out in a manner that promotes electric grid reliability and resilience. Directs the Land Conservation and Development Commission to exercise its rulemaking authority to support these state policies. Directs the State Department of Energy to develop an Offshore Wind Roadmap that defines standards to be considered in the processes related to offshore wind energy development and approval. Requires a developer or contractor involved in an offshore wind energy project, port development project that is necessary for the development of an offshore wind energy project or project related to manufacturing or supply chain that is located on port property and that facilitates the construction, operation or maintenance of an offshore wind energy project to meet certain labor and supply chain standards. Allows a developer or contractor to use a workforce development agreement to comply with the requirements. Directs the Department of Land Conservation and Development to conduct an assessment of the state enforceable policies that may be used in the federal consistency review of offshore wind leasing decisions and related actions. Directs the department to submit a report on the department's activities to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to marine renewable energy and coastal resources not later than September 1, 2025. Modifies certain biennial appropriation made from the General Fund to the Department of Land Conservation and Development. Modifies limitation on expenditures for certain biennial expenses for the Bureau of Labor and Industries. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.