NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: A Lot Is Unfolding as the Year Ends

Dear Neighbors and Friends,

Susie and I returned from our week-long sunny vacation late Saturday night. Did we miss anything? How was the weather while we were gone??

Very seriously, I have been monitoring the heavy rain, wind, and atmospheric river that has battered our district this past week and caused emergency declarations, flooding, slides, and fallen trees. Continuous heavy rain for five days dumped between 10 and 17 inches of rain on the central Oregon coast through Wednesday, pushing rivers over their banks in spots and flooding some streets.

As the storms pass, let’s take a moment of gratitude for our first responders, and the crews that replaced bridges, repaired roads, and restored power.

Tillamook County is working to repair a collapse on Sandlake Road between Tierra Del Mar and Pacific City.

Winter is upon us. Be sure you and your family are prepared when traveling. Check Tripcheck.com for road hazards and closures before departure, and keep an emergency kit in your vehicle, including:

Phone charger, warm clothes, blankets
First aid kit, bottled water, and non-perishable food
Jumper cables, flashlights with batteries, road flares
Ice scraper, shovel, tire chains
Keep a full tank of gas and have a spare tire on hand

Visit ready.gov/car for more tips.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that declining gasoline tax revenue would result in reduced highway support this winter. That would mean fewer road repairs, a reduction in snow and ice removal, and come spring, no mowing, spraying, trimming, or trash removal.

I’m pleased to report that legislative leaders have agreed to “backfill” the ODOT budget with $19 million when lawmakers convene the short session in early February. Basically, that means ODOT will spend funds in December and January committed to the spring, and we will add that money back to their budget from other sources in February.

About $8 million will cover maintenance costs this winter, including purchasing materials like deicer and removing an overtime restriction on road maintenance staff.
Another $7 million will pay for fixing potholes, as well as repainting edge lines on low-trafficked roads — which ODOT temporarily stopped doing this year.
The remaining $4 million will replace 10 trucks primarily used for snow plowing. ODOT has about 400 of these trucks, many of which need extensive repairs.

The money will allow ODOT to plow snow as usual, and keep state highways, particularly in remote rural areas, passable. The agency says they can now restore winter maintenance services, make safety-focused improvements, add to their snow-plow fleet, and manage vegetation. A spokesperson said the investment will help restore winter maintenance service levels to essentially what they were in winter of 2021.

This new money will come through the committee I co-chair. But the reality is that it is a temporary fix. As I have often explained, we pay for roads with gas taxes. As people drive less, drive more fuel-efficient vehicles, or shift to electric vehicles, those revenues will continue to decline at the same time costs are increasing.

A new committee I have been appointed to is considering new income strategies to maintain and improve our struggling transportation infrastructure. It’s critical that all Oregonians have a safe, reliable transportation system to get to work, school, and play. We’re seizing on the opportunity now to have early conversations building towards our long-term commitment to and vision for a safe, modern, equitable transportation system for all Oregonians.

Governor Tina Kotek issued an executive order last week that forgives unpaid traffic fees and court fines for about 10,000 people so they can get their driver’s licenses reinstated. Kotek’s predecessor, Governor Kate Brown, had forgiven unpaid court fines and fees for about 7,000 people. The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles discovered that not everyone who was eligible was helped under Brown’s order, so Kotek’s executive order captures those who were unintentionally left out the first time around.

So what’s going on here?

In Oregon, the governor has the constitutional power to remit or forgive fines and fees that were imposed for violating a traffic law. The majority of the fines and fees forgiven are considered uncollectible debt, according to a press release from the governor’s office. Most of the debt has not been paid for three or more years. The order forgives about $6 million worth of fines from circuit court cases in Oregon.

Prior to 2020, you could lose your driving privileges if fines were not paid. That was a strong incentive. The state Legislature passed House Bill 4210 in 2020, which prohibited license suspensions for nonpayment of traffic fines.

Regular readers know I have been a leading advocate for increasing efforts to collect fines, fees, taxes, and other debt owed by individuals and businesses to the state. But not being able to drive made it harder for many people to work and earn the money to pay those debts. Governor Kotek said in a statement that “debt-based license suspensions” disproportionately harm rural and low-income Oregonians by creating financial hurdles that are hard to overcome.

I ultimately decided to support the bill allowing people to keep driving and use other means to collect money owed. But I am not supportive of entirely waiving the unpaid fines.

Of the 8,300 people whom Brown granted clemency to last year, only a relative handful had taken advantage as of November. The Oregon Department of Transportation said that less than 1,200 had their licenses reinstated. More than 4,500 others had been cleared by the courts to get their licenses back but hadn’t taken the steps to do so. And the remaining 1,350 still had suspended or revoked licenses because the courts that issued the citations hadn’t confirmed their eligibility to the Oregon DMV.

After Brown issued her remission orders, the Oregon Law Center created a video explaining what remission orders do and how to get your driver’s license back if you’re eligible. The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles has a webpage explaining how to apply for debt forgiveness. People can also check if they qualify by calling the DMV at 503-945-5000 or visiting the agency’s online service center at dmv2u.oregon.gov, scrolling down to “Notify the DMV” and clicking the “Ask the DMV a question” box.

Still on the subject of uncollected debt and fines, an Oregonian story this week details how the Oregon Labor Bureau failed to collect nearly $5 million in wage theft claims since 2015. Wage theft erupts when employers can’t or won’t pay up. Some employers move assets or change business names to dodge their obligations. Others move out of state, go bankrupt, or simply refuse to pay.

Oregon has struggled to hold employers accountable when they fail to pay workers. Of the nearly $12 million that the agency ordered employers to pay in back wages and penalties over the last eight years, more than 40% was never recovered.

As the state agency responsible for enforcing the state’s civil rights and wage-and-hour laws, the Bureau of Labor and Industries receives about 3,300 complaints a year – about 1,700 civil rights cases and 1,600 wage claims.

In the case of an insolvent business, the bureau taps into the Wage Security Fund, a state-funded pot of money used to pay workers up to $4,000 each, and then seeks reimbursement – often to no avail. About $3 million per biennium is available, funded by a state employment tax on employers.

State law requires agencies to send unpaid accounts to the Oregon Department of Revenue within 90 days. The Department reaches out to debtors to be sure they are aware of what’s owed. If immediate payment isn’t possible, officials will consider a payment plan. Failing that, the department can garnish wages or a bank account or place a lien on assets, depending on the size of the debt and the debtor’s ability to pay.

To increase the chances of payment, BOLI often will file a complaint against a business and its owner so they are jointly and individually liable. Doing so also prevents a company from closing its doors, renaming itself, and resuming the same or similar business.

In spite of these tools, the problem persists and is growing.

This year, the Chair of the House Committee On Business and Labor introduced a bill that would have made construction contractors liable for their subcontractors’ failure to pay workers’ wages. California and New York have passed similar legislation in recent years.

The bill drew significant criticism from construction groups, who protested that contractors should not be liable for the actions of subcontractors they hire or for wage theft that they didn’t know was happening. Advocates argued that contractors often benefited by hiring subcontractors who lower costs based on wage theft.

It’s complicated.

The bill passed the House, but, like many other bills, stalled during the six-week walkout in the Senate.

BOLI’s past due accounts are tiny droplets in an ocean of bad debts. In the latest tally, the Department of Administrative Services said state agencies were pursuing over $3.4 billion in delinquent judgments, penalties, fees, and taxes from businesses and taxpayers. And that’s why I continue to work on this issue.

Some of you may have recently filed for unemployment insurance benefits.

Unfortunately, call-wait times for the Unemployment Insurance program have been increasing over the last several weeks and it is taking more time to review claims for eligibility. Federal funding which increased during the pandemic has now declined, and the Oregon Employment Department doesn’t have enough staff to keep up with the volume of calls.

The good news is that many of the tools and process changes implemented during the pandemic are allowing the Department to be more efficient. The bad news is that severely inadequate federal funding levels mean they have only one-third as many employees to administer the unemployment insurance program as we had a year ago, despite more people relying on that program now. Ongoing fraud attacks require more time for review.

Despite these problems, Oregon is doing better than most other states.

The agency is encouraging Oregonians to explore other options to get the answers they need. This will help free up the phone lines for people who have more complex problems or interpretation needs and allow staff to spend more time working on claims.

Here are options to get the help you need from the Oregon Employment Department:

Online Claim System – This is the fastest, easiest way to check on the status of your claim. You don’t need to wait on hold when you can get quick answers with the Online Claim System, the department’s safe and secure website. You can use it to apply for benefits, file a weekly claim for benefits, restart your claim, and more.
Read your letters from the Employment Department – The department will send you letters with questions about your eligibility, instructions on how to maintain your eligibility, and what to do about any issues on your claim.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – Visit the Oregon Employment Department’s Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions.
Contact Us Form – There is an easy online method to quickly send the department a question or information. Use the Contact Us Form to send a message quickly and securely without waiting on hold. It’s also available in Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese.
There is no need to send more than one Contact Us form, or “ticket,” or to call after you’ve submitted a ticket.

You can learn more about the Unemployment Insurance Program at unemployment.oregon.gov.

If you have information about unemployment insurance fraud, please complete the Oregon Employment Department’s Fraud Referral Form or call 503-947-1995. The department reviews all tips they receive, regardless of how much information you provide. The more details you can give when reporting unemployment insurance fraud, the more it will help them investigate.

Scammers unfortunately have also been targeting the Paid Leave Oregon program. Additional necessary review slows legitimate claims.

Oregonians who need to take time off to care for important personal life events can apply for up to 12 weeks of paid time off from work for family, medical, or safety needs. Learn more about Paid Leave Oregon at paidleave.oregon.gov, and apply for benefits online here.

To help speed up your claim, be sure to supply accurate information, apply 30 days in advance of your leave if it’s planned, notify your employer as soon as possible, and follow the Paid Leave Oregon checklist.

If you believe you have been subject to fraud, please visit paidleave.oregon.gov/resources/fraud to learn more about reporting options. If you think someone has stolen your identity, please report identity theft to your local police department and the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov.

On a brighter note (pun intended) compact fluorescent light bulbs will no longer be sold in Oregon starting in January 2024 and will be instead replaced by more energy-efficient LED models, according to state officials.

In September 2023, Governor Kotek signed House Bill 2531 into law which bans statewide the sale of compact fluorescent bulbs starting next year, including common screw-in bulbs and bayonet-style bulbs used in vehicles. In 2025, the ban will include long tube lights used in many businesses, home workshops, and kitchens. The bulbs contain a toxic substance and are less efficient than newer LED-based lighting. And the Gombergs have sure learned they are hard to properly dispose of when they burn out.

And finally, Oregon State University’s marine researchers want an octopus. They’re asking local fishermen to let them know if they happen to find one.

Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport keeps an octopus for six to nine months before returning it to the wild.

Hatfield says it is likely that local fishermen will pull up an octopus once crabbing season gets underway. When they receive an octopus, they go through a 30-day quarantine period. During that time they work to build trust between the octopus and the handler. Then they can start to acclimate them to being on exhibit. When they have an octopus in residence, the public can watch it during feeding sessions at the Hatfield Marine Sciences visitor center.

When it’s time to return the octopus to the wild, they are transported on a research vessel from OSU to a rocky reef offshore and released.

This has been a long report and I apologize for that. A lot is unfolding as the year ends.

Today I head for Portland and the annual Business Plan Leadership Summit.

Tuesday I do my radio program at seven and have zoom meetings with Oregon AFL-CIO, Senator Gelser Blouin to discuss the Dynamic Life foster care controversy, and the Restorative Justice Coalition of Oregon. I hope to attend the Yachats Chamber Mixer that evening. Wednesday is breakfast with Lincoln County Mayors and a video meeting with the Director of the Department of Revenue. That evening House Democrats meet virtually to discuss plans for the short session.

Thursday morning, the Governor’s Commission on Senior Services and Oregon InC (Innovation Council) meet at the same time. I’m a member of both and will have to make a decision. Then I’m off to Wilsonville for a public hearing on metro tolling with the Special Subcommittee On Transportation Planning.

Friday the Coastal Caucus will meet. And over the weekend are two county Democrats Holiday Parties.

In between, I’m cleaning up after the storm like everyone else. It’s good to be back.

Warm Regards,