Oregon lawmakers' 2021 agenda includes BIPOC workforce expansion

Abstract

Lawmakers from Oregon's racial and ethnic minorities have laid out their agenda for a session that reflects their record numbers in the state legislature, the Portland Tribune reported Jan. 14. The agenda announced by the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Caucus consists of 40 bills covering policing and criminal justice, economic opportunity, education, health care, human services and housing, tax issues and the political process. The 2021 legislature has 12 members of color — nine in the House and three in the Senate — out of a total of 90. The list of priorities as released by the BIPOC Caucus includes BIPOC health care access (expand and invest to provide access to culturally sensitive, linguistically appropriate mental, behavioral, physical and telehealth BIPOC providers and acknowledge racism as a public health crisis) and criminal justice reform (eliminate legalized slavery in Oregon's prison system and eliminate wealth transfers from our communities through the justice system). Lawmakers have introduced House Bill 2949, which among its provisions establishes a program to expand the mental health care workforce in BIPOC communities.