Rep. Nathan Sosa

Requires students to complete one half-credit of higher education and career path skills and one half-credit of personal financial education as requirements for high school diploma. Directs State Board of Education to adopt academic content standards for higher education and career path skills and for personal financial education. Requires school districts and public charter schools to provide instruction in higher education and career path skills and personal financial education. Applies to high school diplomas awarded on or after January 1, 2027. Allows waiver of one year if certain conditions met.

Provides that qualifying agency must require as material provision of public improvement contract that contractor establish and implement plan for outreach to and recruitment and retention of women, minority individuals and veterans to perform work under public improvement contract, with aspirational target of having individuals in one or more of these groups perform at least 15 percent of total work hours that workers perform under public improvement contract. Specifies requirements for plan of outreach, recruitment and retention. Requires contractor to report information concerning contractor's and subcontractors' compliance with provisions of Act to qualifying agency as part of or as supplement to certified statements required for reporting compliance with prevailing wage requirements. Specifies required contents of reports. Requires qualifying agency to report information collected from contractors to Bureau of Labor and Industries and requires bureau to make specified reports to Legislative Assembly. Provides that qualifying agency may reduce payment due to contractor for failure to comply with requirement to employ apprentices on public improvement project and specifies formula for calculating amount of penalty. Requires qualifying agency to pay to State Treasury to credit of bureau amount equivalent to reduction of payment to contractor. Increases utilization of apprentices for work on public improvement projects from 12 percent of all work hours performed on the public improvement to 15 percent on January 1, 2027. Takes effect on 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Establishes pilot program at Portland State University and Eastern Oregon University to enhance hiring of public university students by nonprofit organizations. Requires Portland State University and Eastern Oregon University to submit reports to interim committees of Legislative Assembly related to higher education by September 15 of each year. Appropriates moneys for purposes of conducting program. Sunsets program on January 2, 2028. Declares emergency, effective on July 1, 2023.

Prohibits landlords from terminating lease or taking other specified actions due to status of tenant as victim of bias crime. Provides that tenant who is bias crime victim is not responsible for damages resulting from commission of bias crime. Provides that perpetration of bias crime by tenant constitutes cause for termination of tenancy. Establishes process for victim of bias crime to be released from lease without penalty. Provides that release assistance officer and court enter order prohibiting defendant charged with crime involving bias from contacting victim. Provides that information reported to hate crimes hotline that might reveal identity of individual is confidential. Provides that victims of bias crime in the first degree must be consulted during plea negotiations. Expands Address Confidentiality Program to include victims of bias. Expands eligibility for protected leave to bias crime victims. Provides that Department of Justice employee who staffs hate crimes hotline is eligible to request that records kept by Department of Transportation contain employer address instead of home address. Directs Department of Justice to develop and deliver training program for district attorney victim assistance programs to assist with providing services to bias crime victims.

Requires hospitals to establish professional and technical staff and service staff staffing committees, meeting specified criteria, to develop staffing plans, in addition to nurse staffing committee. Prescribes methods for resolving disputes arising in development of staffing plans. Establishes minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios for direct care registered nurses and provides exceptions. Imposes penalties for failure to adopt hospital staffing plans or to comply with staffing plans or requirements for development of staffing plans. Requires Oregon Health Authority to post staffing plans to authority's website and to establish method for filing complaints through authority's website regarding hospital's failure to adopt or to comply with staffing plans. Establishes mechanism for employees or exclusive representatives of employees of hospitals to seek enforcement by Bureau of Labor and Industries of rules adopted by bureau regarding meal periods and rest periods. Prescribes complaint process. Adds enforcement tools for authority to enforce nurse staffing requirements. Prohibits imposition of new provisions regarding civil penalties for violations occurring before June 1, 2025. Restricts to specified provisions authority's statutory authorization to adopt rules related to hospital staffing. Declares emergency, effective September 1, 2023.

Directs State Department of Energy to establish program to provide assistance related to energy projects and activities to environmental justice communities. Requires State Department of Energy to develop comprehensive state energy strategy that identifies optimized pathways to achieving state's energy policy objectives. Requires department to periodically update state energy strategy. Directs department to produce report regarding state energy strategy and submit report to Governor and appropriate interim committees of Legislative Assembly no later than November 1, 2025. Permits county to develop and adopt energy resilience plan and incorporate energy resilience plan into county's applicable natural hazard mitigation plan. Requires public utilities to use reasonable efforts to assist with and comply with requests from county for information regarding energy infrastructure, provided information is exempt from disclosure requirements. Directs State Department of Energy to establish program to award grants to counties to cover costs of developing energy resilience plans that meet certain requirements. Sunsets grant program on January 2, 2026. Requires State Department of Energy, in consultation with Housing and Community Services Department, to establish whole-home energy savings program and high-efficiency electric home rebate program. Requires State Department of Energy to create single resource that provides to interested persons information, technical assistance and assistance identifying contractors and financing options, related to available energy efficiency incentives and programs. Requires department to coordinate information and data exchanges between certain entities. Requires entities to use best practices to maintain confidentiality and security of information and data as required by law. Appropriates moneys from General Fund to State Department of Energy for energy development services and certain expenses. Increases limit on biennial expenditures by State Department of Energy from federal funds. Declares emergency, effective on passage.

Directs Department of Human Services to consider hours worked as graduate assistant as hours worked in employment for purpose of meeting work requirements in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Establishes program within Apprenticeship and Training Division of Bureau of Labor and Industries to make grants to local service districts and local joint committees that develop and administer pilot projects for firefighter apprenticeship training. Directs bureau to report to interim committee of Legislative Assembly on effectiveness and success of pilot projects not later than December 31, 2026. Sunsets January 2, 2027.

Directs Oregon Business Development Department to provide financial assistance to eligible applicants to pay for allowable costs related to early child care infrastructure activities. Authorizes department to allocate percentage from funds appropriated to department ] Requires Department of Early Learning and Care to establish program to award grants to nonprofit entities for redistribution by nonprofit entities to eligible applicants. Permits Department of Early Learning and Care to provide technical assistance to support applicants approved to receive financial assistance with implementing child care infrastructure expansion activities. Requires Oregon Business Development Department to enter into interagency agreement with Department of Early Learning and Care to permit Oregon Business and Development Department to transfer funds to Department of Early Learning and Care to pay costs of providing technical assistance. ] Declares emergency, effective on passage.

Creates refundable child tax credit, calculated based on number of dependents of taxpayer that are qualifying children with respect to taxpayer and are under six years of age at close of tax year. Limits credit to five dependents per tax return. Phases out amount of available credit based on adjusted gross income of taxpayer. Adjusts credit amount and phaseout threshold for inflation. Directs Department of Revenue to make quarterly advance payments of credit amounts. Requires Department of Human Services to seek waiver of federal requirements in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in order to allow recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance to receive advance child tax credit payments. Provides that credit is not subject to garnishment. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024 ] 2023 , and before January 1, 2030 ] 2029 . Takes effect on 91st day following adjournment sine die.