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By Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association,
Reopening Oregon – According to the latest information on the Oregon Health Authority website and today’s press conference with Governor Brown, we are at 67.2% of Oregonians having received their first vaccine. Approximately 90,000 more Oregonians need to get in line to trigger the full reopening of the economy and the estimate is that we should be on the brink of accomplishing that in about two weeks. I was hoping for earlier, but trends are showing dissipating demand. It’s one more reason our work as an association to encourage vaccinations alongside our other business partners is so important. Make sure to utilize our webpage which features this work whenever you’re in a position to encourage others to be a part of our vaccination efforts: Advocacy / COVID-19 Resources & Information [6].
Bill Tracking & Return to Work Proposal – The latest updates can be found on our website as we track bills of note for the industry in the final few weeks of Oregon’s 2021 Legislative Session. We have notable wins to date both in pushing some key bills forward (significant unemployment insurance tax relief for the industry will prove to be the biggest when passed) as well as fighting back against proposals that would have damaged the industry. Also, we have movement on the utilization of American Rescue Plan Act dollars to create a stronger return to work incentive. For a full overview of the latest movement on legislative bills, view ORLA’s Legislative page [7].
Latest ORLA Alert – We continue to press the importance of separating out counties that are locked into lower risk from those that have risk levels that can move. Lane County joined Multnomah, Deschutes, Washington, Benton, Hood River, and Lincoln County in being “locked in” to the lower risk level until the state reaches the 70% goal to fully reopen the economy. In a day or so, the Governor announced Clackamas County will also reach this milestone given their vaccination progress. The full recap on county risk levels and where we stand was sent out as an ORLA Alert [8] earlier this week and we will continue to do so until we fully reopen the economy.
Online Auction to Support Oregon Hospitality – Mark your calendars as ORLA’s PAC auction, Bids for a Better Industry [9], launches next week! We have amazing packages thanks to committed and generous members. Please join me in bidding online starting June 16 on packages you’re interested in and be sure to share the link to the online auction with friends, family and colleagues.