State Representative Court Boice Explains Why He Voted YES for Governor Kotek’s $200 Million Emergency Homelessness Response Package 4:08 PM Monday, April 03, 2023, on KWRO
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2023
Governor Tina Kotek Signs Emergency Homelessness Response Package into Law
Salem, OR – Today, Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bills 5019 and 2001 into law during her first ceremonial bill signing as Governor after both bills passed with bipartisan support last week. The Governor was joined by lawmakers and advocates for the bill signing.
The legislation will help address Oregon's housing and homelessness crisis, and includes the urgent funding Governor Kotek proposed in response to the homelessness state of emergency that she declared on her first full day in office. The funding is dedicated to homelessness prevention programs, more shelter capacity, rehousing services and more.
“On my first full day in office, I honored my commitment to all Oregonians by declaring a homelessness state of emergency," Governor Kotek said. "I said at the time that the declaration needed to be followed by a comprehensive housing and homelessness package this legislative session. These two bills are the down payment on this session’s efforts.”
"Faced with a statewide housing and homelessness crisis, legislators worked across the aisle and with the Governor to put Oregon on a path toward a future where housing is available and affordable for everyone,” Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) said.
“Today demonstrates that we can deliver on the biggest, most important issues facing Oregonians,” House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) said. “Both chambers, both parties, came together with the Governor to tackle our big challenges head on. And we did it in an unprecedented timeframe.”
HB2001 2023 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System (oregonlegislature.gov)
HB5019 2023 Regular Session - Oregon Legislative Information System (oregonlegislature.gov)
Rep. Court Boice did testify against SB348.
Representative Court Boice Home Page (oregonlegislature.gov)
March 27th Testimony on SB 348
Rep Court Boice started the testimony at 5:40 into the video. Followed by Sen. Kim Thatcher, Sen Dennis Linthicum, DR John Lott, and more.
Oregon Legislative Video (oregonlegislature.gov)
Senate Bill 348, Prozanski’s omnibus anti-gun bill, is now scheduled for a “work session” on Monday, April 03, 2023, at 1 pm.
Work sessions are where bills are amended and passed to the floor for a vote of the entire Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has a new amendment for the bill.
This amendment is 69 pages but the most important element is on the last page.
Under this amendment, it will be unlawful to challenge the clearly unconstitutional language of the bill anywhere but Marion County.
“SECTION 23. Any action challenging the legality, including the constitutionality, of this 2023 Act must be commenced in the Circuit Court for Marion County.
OFFICE OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE COURT BOICE
March 21, 2023
Oregon State Board of Forestry
Dear Distinguished Board –
My name is Court Boice, former 6-year Curry County Commissioner and now Oregon State Representative, District 1 – Curry and portions of Coos and Douglas Counties. Proudly, we are recognized as the Timber Capitol of the world.
I humbly offer my lifetime of Oregon Experience. My remarks today are in opposition to the Oregon Department of Forestry Habitat Conservation Plan as currently proposed.
I send sincere gratitude to everyone on the ODF Board. I truly believe and challenge that you are arguably serving on the most important Board in our entire State. Thank You!
Oregon’s great Renewable Timber History, Heritage has no equal in America. It is a solid Western U.S. States Economic Advantage and I respectfully emphasize renewable. What an incalculable gift it is when managed like the wonderful and sacred garden that nature intended and science demands. That great fortune will continue if we fiercely protect our watersheds, air, birds, wildlife, fish and river qualities. Extensive and yet reasonable Timber Harvest accomplishes that as history proves over and over and over without debate! I’ve proudly witnessed this enthusiastically for almost seven decades.
I respectfully request that each of you please responsibly listen to our many seasoned and experienced Forest Professionals. Those who daily with a meager lunch in their backpack, a chain saw in one hand and a Clipboard in the other trekked daily deep into our great Oregon Forests. Those who’ve done the work and now understandably bristle with the modern notion that everything – all work must be done through computer driven models – sometimes those procedures are void of the crucial and ‘boots on the ground’ approaches. Our mature and traditional foresters can boast because they’ve done it through a hundred years of proven “Active” Management, healthy and consistent including our Native Oregonians who did same for over 3,000 years. Please recognize their proven empirical science. History is our great teacher and even better ally!
They all, all will, would remind you that most of us tend to forget that with our eternal Oregon climate - how fast here our Timber grows and how quickly our landscape dries out, yes, especially after a rain.
Fire season is less than 3 months away. May I note; some of our 1,200-degree fires are part of Nature and normally good. That’s not what I wish to highlight for you in this letter.
It grieves our Forest Experts to witness the continual wanton waste from the catastrophic two-thousand-degree fires that cost us millions and millions of dollars to contain, frankly if most July Fires can be contained at all. These mega fires that simply incinerate everything in their paths including all vegetation even our incredibly rich habitat soils. Certainly, we all need to be reminded our wildlife which are seldom able to escape these wind driven monster infernos. You can make the difference for our priceless Oregon backcountries.
When it sinks in, when the Oregon Taxpaying Citizens who depend on and trust us to manage well, when they understand that their incredibly valuable assets stand rotting due to Catastrophic Fires and Poor Forest Management – they will respond. They will understandably go after that portion of our radical culture that promotes these horrifically bad practices. Just in the last five years in Southern Oregon we endured the Archie Creek, Chetco Bar and Klondike Fires. Combined 435,000 acres scorched and a total of $ 220 million to battle. Essentially due to the terrible Environmental Extremist policies – Fact: Then to make matter even worse for our citizens, the U.S. Forest Service was only able to permit 3 % harvest of the marketable Public Timber Fire Salvage – Yes 3% on all three for post fire “recovery”. Additionally heartbreaking as each of those thousands of $1,500 trees each will remain wasted on the stump, squandered, then ultimately are now sticks of dynamite for the next Nuclear Fire.
The E.I.S. - The Economic Impact Statement should be just as important to our futures as the Environmental Impact Statement. Governor Kotek has challenged us to build 36,000 homes per year. To accomplish that vital goal - It is borderline delusional to import out-of-state lumber for our Oregon Housing Projects.
Following the 2019 Post California Fires – we saw flatbed after flatbed of Canada Plywood going down Oregon’s I-5 headed for the Golden State Rebuild and recovery. We should never, never be indifferent to how that negatively impacts our Citizens, our quality of life, our counties, our services, our schools and our
Public Safety. Counties have reached their limits – they cannot continually due more with less!
One similar example, Our Bureau of Land Management, 18 A O&C Counties, those Timber Lands grow by over a billion board feet per year – we’re only allowed to harvest annually 1/4th of that annual growth! Please Don’t make the same mistake on our precious State Lands. You have in your power for Policy to either let our Forests earn or let them burn. We are all empowered to do our part to close that portion of the Urban/Rural Divide.
I challenge and submit that currently the ODF Habitat Conservation Plan is not a good plan – it is in my view a terrible recipe for results that will be brutally unbeneficial and without question - detrimental to our generations to follow.
Those before us looked out for our future. To borrow a phrase – Healthy Forests – Healthy Communities – Cultural Prosperity for all Oregon Citizens is so doable!! I wish to communicate my belief and ask you again; Is this board on which you serve not the most important for Oregon. It is not melodramatic to say “You can save lives” – more than you know. We’ve got the horrifying data particularly in California where people lost their lives due to poor Forest Management.
Please guide the Oregon Department of Forestry to re-calibrate and significantly increase the amount of annual State Timber Board Feet Harvest. Again, it is
RENEWABLE RESOURCE… - You can Bring back robust management and our Oregon’s source of pride. Please alter the HCP course – Help every Oregonian be more a part of those best and proven Stewardship Principles. Teach this to our
Youth, I promise that someday our kids and grandkids will stand up and call you blessed! Please help Keep Oregon Green!
Finally – This is a Public Safety issue which in my view further places added responsibility on your decision. What you decide on this HCP Plan is truly a very positive legacy opportunity.
COURT BOICE, State Representative – Oregon District 1 Rep.CourtBoice@OregonLegislature.gov Phone (503) 986-1401