August 20, 2019 3:50 a.m.
State Representative Gary Leif has been appointed by House Speaker Tina Kotek to serve as vice-chair of the newly created Interim House Committee on Water.
A release from Leif said he has also been named to the Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Transportation and Economic Development, and the same group’s Subcommittee on Public Safety. Leif also served on those 2 subcommittees during the 2019 legislative session.
Leif said he is excited by the opportunity to serve on several important legislative committees. He said it is especially rewarding to be named Vice-Chair on the new Committee on Water, as “water policy is critical to rural Oregon” and to his constituents in House District 2.
Leif said as a former small business owner and county commissioner, he will continue to bring his expertise and problem-solving approach to public safety, transportation, and economic development budget matters on the 2 subcommittees.
The release said new Interim House Committee on Water was formed in recognition of the complexities of water policy throughout the state, and that water policy legislation was “too often taken up by several disparate legislative committees that lacked a specific focus on water”.