2022 CCC LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
The Coalition of Communities of Color engages throughout the Oregon state legislative session to pass bills that increase opportunity and advance racial justice for communities of color. We are proud to support action on the following legislation during the 2022 legislative session. Our issues areas include supporting families, community safety, economic justice, strengthening democracy, immigrant & refugee justice, and environmental justice.
Learn more about CCC’s endorsement process and what it means here. The positions on our agenda represent only the position of CCC as a coalition and not individual members. View a PDF of our agenda here.
Environmental Justice
eMERGENCY hEAT rELIEF FOR oREGONIANS
As we face record heat waves, we must ensure that vulnerable Oregonians have access to critical cooling tools like air conditioning and heat pumps. This legislation would save lives by removing barriers to installing these appliances for renters and incentivize the most efficient and effective devices across communities. (HB 4058 and SB 1536)
Take action: Tell your state lawmakers to support Emergency Heat Relief for Oregonians
Education
ethnic studies professional development
The newly adopted Ethnic Studies standards for K-12 schools will ensure that all students learn the culture and contributions of diverse communities in Oregon and beyond. Ethnic studies is particularly critical so that students from BIPOC, immigrant, and refugee communities can learn about their unique histories. This legislation would invest in professional development for educators as they implement the new standards. (HB 4112)
Pacific Islander Student Success Act
We believe in success for every student in Oregon, yet our Pacific Islander children and youth receive inadequate support in our schools, resulting in disparate educational outcomes. This legislation would create a targeted statewide plan to support the success of Pacific Islander students. (HB 4091)
Economic Justice
Equity Investment Act
After decades of over-policing, discriminatory policies, and the War on Drugs, we must increase pathways to economic opportunity for the Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities most impacted by these unjust policies. This legislation would establish an Equity Investment Fund, allocating $50 million to provide grants to culturally-responsive community based organizations to support entrepreneurship, workforce development, and paths to home and land ownership. (SB 1579)
Take Action: Tell your lawmakers to support the Equity Investment Act
Farmworker Overtime
Every worker deserves to be paid for every hour they work, yet farmworkers are excluded from overtime laws, an injustice made even deeper by the difficulty of this essential work and the risks workers face. This legislation would redress the racist exclusion of farmworkers by phasing in overtime pay. (HB 4002)
Take action: fairshotoregon.org/farmworkerovertime
Racial and Ethnic Data on Income Tax Forms
Racial inequities are built into our tax structure, but we lack critical information to reshape our revenue system to be more equitable. This legislation would let taxpayers voluntarily report their racial and ethnic identities on their income tax forms, allowing us to collect this critical data and use it to inform policy. (SB 1569)
Oregon Individual Development Accounts Initiative
We can advance economic opportunity for BIPOC Oregonians by investing $35 million in the Oregon IDA Initiative, a matched savings program geared towards helping Oregonians gain financial security and work towards a specific savings goal. IDAs are a powerful tool for financial development and asset building in communities of color.
Strengthening Families
Child Care For oRegon
Working families need quality, affordable child care for economic stability and the wellbeing of their children. Oregon has faced a child care crisis that has only grown during the pandemic, disrupting families and the state’s workforce. Child care workers are disproportionately women of color, and BIPOC families have insufficient access to care they can afford. This legislation would make child care more affordable, grow child care supply, stabilize the workforce, and streamline our state’s childcare system. (HB 4005)
Take action: childcarefororegon.org/action
Immigrant Justice
Universal Representation
Wherever we are born, we all deserve to be treated fairly in our legal system. Thousands of immigrants call Oregon their home, yet there is no guarantee of legal representation. Deportations take immigrants away from their communities and tear families apart. No one should be unjustly deported just because they lack access to an attorney. Universal Representation would connect more immigrants facing deportation proceedings with legal support and help families stay together. (SB 1543)
Take action: fairshotoregon.org/immigrantrights
Oregon Worker Relief Fund
The Oregon Worker Relief Fund has been a critical source of support for workers who have lost their job during the pandemic but are not eligible for unemployment assistance. This investment of an additional $65 million would provide financial relief as unemployed workers continue to struggle throughout the pandemic. (Budget)
Community Safety
Transforming Justice
We all deserve to feel safe and be treated with dignity, but far too many of us—particularly Black, Indigenous, and other people of color—feel vulnerable and unprotected in our own communities. This legislation would advance safety, economic opportunity, and healing by reducing unnecessary interactions with law enforcement, providing opportunities to succeed for people returning home from incarceration, and investing in services to heal people of color as they work to rebuild their lives. (SB 1510)
Take action: fairshotoregon.org/transformingjustice
Advancing Democracy
Restoration of Voting Rights Act
Voting is a cornerstone of civic engagement, yet Oregonians who are incarcerated are denied their right to participate in our democracy. This legislation would restore voting rights to Oregonians in prison—a group that is disproportionately Black and Latinx due to our racist criminal legal system—and support their eventual reintegration into our communities. (HB 4147)
Take action: Tell your State Lawmakers to support Restoration of Voting Rights
SUPPORT LEGISLATION
ADDITIONAL ENDORSEMENTS
In addition to our priority agenda, CCC has also endorsed the following legislation and investments: