Brent Barton

Brent's Priorities and Accomplishments

Brent's 2009 Legislative Checklist

Honoring our veterans
✔ Improve access to education for returning troops (HB 2571, SB 922)
✔ Provide necessary health care benefits (HB 3480, HJM 12, HJM 21)
✔ Increase job opportunities to disabled veteran businesses (SB 479)

Preparing Our Children for a Prosperous Future
✔ Championed Teacher Mentoring (SB 5520)
✔ Fought for more school funding
✔ Sponsored legislation to help families pay for college (SB7)

Controlling Health Care Costs and Improving Outcomes
✔ Fought for transparency in health care (HB 2468, HB 3209, HB 3487, SB 804)
✔ Protected Project Independence, which helps seniors remain independent
✔ Stopped prescription drug waste (HB 2535)
✔ Fair health care treatment for the uninsured (HB 3347)

Highway Improvements to Keep Jobs
✔ Extended the unemployment benefits to cushion the blow and protect hard- working Oregon families (HB 3140)
✔ Funded construction jobs in our community
✔ Reduced congestion and improved safety on our highways, keeping businesses from relocating

Protecting Our Community
✔ Prevent metal theft that otherwise would fuel drug trade (SB 570)
✔ More enforcement options to prosecute sex offenders who prey on children
✔ Place burden of proof on sex-offender, not victim for hearings (HB 2972, HB 3350)
✔ Improve juvenile drug treatment programs (HB 3194, HB 3295)
✔ Protect consumers from unscrupulous business practices (insurance – HB 2325, tow trucks - HB 2578, self storage – HB 2911)
✔ Protect citizens from harassing collection agencies (HB 2307)
✔ If your lawyer is sick you can still keep drivers license (HB 2968)
✔ Protect citizens making reasonable civil action (HB 3111)

Brent's Priorities

Honoring our veterans
Besides encouraging job opportunities for disabled combat veterans, I sponsored bills expanding veteran health benefits and reduced tuition at universities. This legislation will recover health benefits for veterans exposed to cancer causing agents in Iraq and make veterans throughout the United States eligible for in-state tuition at Oregon universities.

I will continue to help our veterans as a member of the Task Force on Veterans’ Reintegration. I will work alongside state officials to develop successful reintegration strategies for Oregon’s soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Oregon is experiencing the largest deployment of our national guard since World War II and we should be ready to support our returning veterans who have supported us.

Preparing Our Children for a Prosperous Future
While we focus on solving today’s challenges, we must also prepare our children to compete in the global economy. This is why I championed Oregon’s teacher mentoring program, which invests in teacher training. This program improves classroom instruction and reduces teacher turnover. This is a win for both taxpayers and our children.

I fought for a reasonable education budget that kept the most damaging cuts from shortening our school year. In the future, I will continue to advocate for the necessary funds with proper oversight to prepare the next generation of Oregonians to succeed.

Controlling Health Care Costs and Improving Outcomes
To improve health care everyone must be able to make more informed decisions. That’s why I believe in expanding transparency in the health care industry. I sponsored bills requiring insurers to provide health care information to the public and clinical laboratories to release test results. To end the distorting effects of money in medicine, I sponsored legislation that would require pharmaceutical companies to report gifts to insurance administrators and other decision makers.

Cutting waste will reduce costs for everyone. That’s why I was a chief sponsor of the Charitable Prescription Drug Program, which will reduce waste of necessary medicine. I will continue working to be your advocate to provide health care choice, control costs, and achieve better care.

Highway Improvements to Keep Jobs
Being stuck in traffic is too common in our community. Whether you are on Interstate 205 or Highway 212/224, this congestion keeps us away from our families and hurts local businesses. The intersection of Highway 212/224, 82nd Drive, and I-205 is the second busiest in the state. I worked hard to get the state to invest in a $100 million improvement, which will redesign the intersection and add an additional westbound lane. Construction should begin in 2011.

I also made certain the state funded safety improvements along a six mile stretch of Highway 224 through Estacada. These changes will spur local job growth while improving highway safety.

Protecting Our Community
To feel safe in our homes and our community, we must know that law enforcement has the tools to combat crimes and protect our liberties. With my experience as a lawyer, I recognize the importance of clear laws to prosecute crimes. Besides co-writing legislation to prevent metal theft and stem drug demand, I sponsored many bills to protect Oregonians. Out of state sex-offenders who committed crimes here in Oregon were often difficult to prosecute, even when they preyed on our children. To combat this menace, I sponsored three bills that give prosecutors better tools to put sex-offenders behind bars. I also passed two bills to improve juvenile justice in our community. Finally, we owe our state troopers fair wages, that’s why I sponsored a bill to ensure wage parity for those who protect us.

Criminals threaten our bank accounts and not just our personal safety. I made sure unscrupulous companies will be held responsible for the charges they incur. I presented legislation on the House floor that will protect us from unregistered collection agencies from harassing us for debt.

Government Accountability
I know that, like the rest of the country, Oregon is hurting. And just like Oregon families are doing, state government should tighten its belt. I fought to make tax dollars go further and streamline government to make it more efficient.

I am committed to maintaining a robust Rainy Day Fund because putting away savings now is the best thing we can do to guard against future economic downturns. That’s why I voted to divert some revenue directly into Oregon’s Rainy Day Fund… before the Legislature spends it.

From now on legislation will require the public to be able to see where your tax money goes. All this information will be available on the internet for everyone to see in another example of bi-partisan work the legislature accomplished.

From the desk of Brent Barton...

After the 2009 legislative session I helped our district and Oregon face the worst economic crisis in generations. Your input helped me make some of the tough decisions. As we move forward to face our challenges I hope to continue to hear from you.

The session may be over but our work continues. Please drop me a line, or visit me at an upcoming district event. I believe the best way to make a difference in each of these areas is to engage more people in the challenges we face and transform the polarized political discourse. Join me in this conversation and I'll share with you what I learn from the thousands of neighbors I've already connected with at the door, in people's homes, and at community meetings across the district.