State Senator Deb Patterson
As an Oregon State Senator in SD 10, representing South and West Salem, Monmouth, and Independence, I am proud to have helped pass several bills in the 2023 legislative session to grow Oregon’s economy. These include key bipartisan bills which expand access to childcare, incentivize affordable housing development, address homelessness, and invest in Oregon’s world-class semiconductor industry.
Working parents across Oregon struggle to find affordable childcare options, due to a shortage of providers. This is a major challenge for parents who want to participate in the workforce but cannot find childcare. That is why I sponsored SB 599, which expands options for childcare providers who live in rented homes to operate their home-based childcare services, with provisions for liability coverage.
Oregon also faces a significant housing shortage, which is driving up the cost of housing, pricing families out, and exacerbating homelessness. Voters are clear that this is an urgent priority, so earlier this year, the Legislature acted by passing HB 2001 and HB 5019, the “Affordable Housing and Emergency Homelessness Response” package. This package ramps up affordable housing production and incentives and makes building affordable housing a top priority for our state. The package also fully funds Governor Kotek’s Homelessness State of Emergency, provides additional funding to address homelessness in twenty-five rural counties, prevents evictions that can lead to homelessness, and provides critical support for homeless youth. As a member of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development, I was proud to support these bills to keep Oregon an affordable place to live and work and to address our homelessness crisis.
This session, I also voted to invest in our semiconductor industry with SB 4. Oregon is a world leader in developing semiconductors, which are used in every electronic device. Right now, the federal CHIPS and Science Act (H.R. 4346) provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create many good paying jobs and to boost Oregon’s competitiveness in the industry. SB 4 establishes state incentives to help Oregon businesses access this federal CHIPS Act funding.
This investment will create good jobs in the semiconductor industry and in other sectors as well, as growth in semiconductor jobs will bolster investment throughout the economy. It will also boost Oregon’s competitiveness in attracting new businesses and help to maintain our state’s leading role in semiconductor R&D. Finally, by expanding Oregon’s chips manufacturing, SB 4 protects America’s critically needed supply of semiconductors.
Each of these measures passed with bipartisan support in both the Oregon House and Senate, and I was proud to support these bills along with my colleagues. As we look forward to the next legislative session, I will continue working to build an Oregon with a strong economy that works for everyone.
