New Year, New Laws, Same Coffee Schedule

This Saturday I’ll be holding my first set of coffees for 2010. We may have started a new year, but the schedule remains the same.

Saturday's schedule (January 16):

  9:00-10:00am - Starbucks, 10255 SE Sunnyside Road, Clackamas
  10:30-11:30am - Coffee Unlimited, 19880 SE Highway 212, Damascus
  noon-1:00pm - Barbara's Flowers & Coffee, 355 SW Broadway, Estacada

If you can't attend, please respond to this email and share your thoughts.

A new year brings changes to Oregon Law. Below is a list of some of the legislation that took effect as of 2010.

• SB 570: Prevents metal theft. I’m proud of my work writing this bill and the bi-partisan cooperation that resulted in its unanimous passage. Among the safety improvements of this law: requires scrap metal businesses to create and maintain records, bans cash transactions for most metal sales, requires cooperation with criminal investigations, and provides immunity to land owners for injury or damage caused by theft.
• HB 2500: I sponsored this legislation to provide transparency to state spending for all Oregonians.
• HB 2377: Perhaps the law that has received the most media attention. This new law prohibits use of a hand-held mobile telephone while driving. Click here for more information.
• HB 2441: Protects vulnerable victims by allowing that a confession alone is sufficient to warrant conviction of a defendant accused of mistreatment of a vulnerable victim.
• HB 2535: I'm proud to be a chief sponsor of this legislation to prevent drug waste while providing important medicines to those who otherwise could not afford it.
• HB 2571 and SB 479: These laws actually came into effect at the end of last session, but they deserve mention as their effects are only now being felt. These new laws allow many honorable-discharged veterans to receive discounts for their Oregon higher education and increase job opportunities for disabled veteran businesses.

Two more tips: Feel like you've misplaced something? A link found on this page may you find it. The state of Oregon has more than $360 million in unclaimed assets in trust, and finding them will take a small investment of time and no money. A similar national database is located here.

Tired of receiving mailers or calls for your vote in the January 26 special election? Here's a simple solution: vote early. As soon as your vote is recorded you will be taken off all advocacy call lists. To save the cost of a stamp find a convenient ballot drop site by looking here.