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A6 — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, auguST 13, 2022
BALLOT
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Volunteers and donations
poured in, and the number
of signatures ballooned,
according to OPB. By late
June, organizers said they
had collected sufficient sig-
natures to get the measure
on the ballot. Yet they con-
tinued the effort to ensure
there were enough, in case
the Oregon Secretary of
State disqualified some.
State officials check and
validate every signature.
The initiative would
close the so-called
Charleston loophole by
requiring people to pass a
background check before
buying a gun, The Orego-
nian reported in May.
Under current federal
law, firearms dealers can
sell guns without a com-
pleted background check
if it takes longer than three
business days, measure pro-
ponents said. That’s how
the gunman in the 2015
Charleston African Meth-
odist Episcopal Church
mass shooting bought the
Glock 41 .45 cal. pistol
with which he killed nine
parishioners.
Critics contend
measure threatens
legal gun owners
The measure would
enact a law requiring a
permit issued by a local law
enforcement agency to pur-
chase any firearm. Appli-
cants would have to pay a
fee, be fingerprinted, com-
plete safety training, and
pass a criminal background
check.
In addition, the applicant
must complete a hands-on
demonstration of basic fire-
arms handling to qualify.
“In order to obtain the
permit, an applicant would
have to show up with a
firearm to demonstrate the
The Observer, File
Union County Sheriff Cody Bowen speaks at a medical freedom rally on Fourth Street in La Grande on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Bowen is troubled by how the potential passage of
Measure 114 would impact his deputies and potentially strain resources.
ability to load, fire, unload,
and store the firearm,”
Williamson, a Salem trial
attorney specializing in
gun law, said. “But you
can’t get a firearm without
the permit. And under Ore-
gon’s highly restrictive
gun storage laws, no one
can legally loan a firearm
to another. That creates an
impassable barrier.”
H.K. Kahng, of Port-
land, served on a five-
person committee to write
the measure’s 500-word
explanatory statement that
will appear in the voters’
guide this fall. Kahng,
an engineer and National
Rifle Association firearms
instructor, said the permit
and training programs
create an unfunded man-
date with no enforcement
measures.
“The measure calls upon
SCHOOLS
Continued from Page A1
constitutionally dedicated to the edu-
cation budget, appear to be going into
the state’s general fund instead. The
committee said that “bears investiga-
tion and correction.”
The commission was created by
the Legislature in 1999 to make edu-
cation policy and budget recommen-
dations. It’s made up of 11 people
including Colt Gill, the director of the
state’s Education Department, several
school and education service district
superintendents, the president of the
state’s largest teacher’s union, Reed
Scott-Schwalbach of the Oregon Edu-
cation Association, and two education
consultants.
The recommendation to increase
the budget is based on years of under-
funding, according to the commis-
sion, and the addition of factors that
would improve the quality of educa-
tion in Oregon. These include paying
for more school nurses, counselors and
librarians to get schools up to nation-
ally recommended ratios of these
staff to students. It also recommended
BENTZ
Continued from Page A1
Oregon, someday I wanted
to get to Congress,” he said.
“I also realized that would
require education.”
For over 30 years, Bentz
practiced law, specializing
in water law and ranch reor-
ganizations. Before his time
in Congress, he served in
the Oregon Senate, repre-
senting the 30th district in
Eastern Oregon. He also
served in the Oregon House
of Representatives, repre-
senting the 60th district.
The first few questions
Bentz fielded came from
individuals in the crowd
wearing red “Health Care
for All” shirts. One indi-
vidual asked about inflation,
and the impact of worldwide
tensions, including Russia’s
war against Ukraine.
Bentz noted the
Ukrainian war’s impact
on increased energy costs,
supply chain impacts, and
global access to wheat,
but he posited that infla-
tion began before the onset
of the conflict. He said his
vote against the March 2021
$1.9 trillion stimulus bill
was informed by economist
Larry Summers’ claim that
adding more money into the
the Oregon State Police to
come up with these (per-
mitting and training) pro-
grams, but there’s no con-
sequence if they don’t, and
there’s no time frame for
coming up with them,”
Kahng said during the com-
mittee’s July 26 meeting.
Williamson also
expressed concerns that the
permit system grants the
Oregon State Police “unfet-
tered authority” to inquire
into all manner of personal
information of the applicant
and to deny the applicant
the permit for any reason
or for simply failing to
cooperate.
“No information is off
limits,” he claimed. “The
introduction of highly sub-
jective criteria in (the mea-
sure) allows the govern-
ment significant authority
to intrude into the private
paying for more staff to work with
English language learners.
The budget analysis includes an
addition of $450 for each classroom
in the state for unreimbursed sup-
plies. According to a survey from the
National Center for Education Statis-
tics, 90% of K-12 teachers spend an
average of $459 out of pocket on class-
room supplies each year.
Smaller classes, more training
If the Legislature fully funded the
budget, it could pay for more teacher
professional development days, teacher
training and mentoring, new com-
puters and computer education staff
and allow schools to reduce class sizes.
The commission recommended that
the Legislature consider a budget that
would pay for universal preschool.
In addition to sounding the alarm
on some corporate tax dollars meant
for education that were funneled to the
state’s general fund, the commission
criticized the Legislature for under-
funding the education budget and then
shifting pots of money to fill that hole.
In 2021, the Legislature approved an
education budget that was $2 billion
short of what the commission had rec-
economy would cause more
inflation.
“I think we’re seeing just
how hard it is to stop infla-
tion once it starts,” he said.
The congressman was
asked about the $2,000
countable resources limit
for individuals — particu-
larly those with disabilities
— accessing social security
income. He also received
questions about his stance
on Medicaid.
Bentz touted that he did
not want to get rid of Social
Security or Medicare, and
noted that he would chal-
lenge the thought that the
majority Republican party
wants to do either.
He outlined his roles as
the ranking member on the
House Natural Resources
Committee and committee
member on the House
Judiciary Committee,
noting that his work often
doesn’t allot time to inves-
tigate issues being tackled
by other congressional
committees.
“You have not heard
anything about Medi-
care in my recitation of
my committee’s business,
it’s not there,” he said in
response. “But we will look
into it because it is super
interesting.”
Bentz also received a
lives of law-abiding citi-
zens wishing to exercise
their protected rights under
the Second Amendment.”
Opponents also argue
that language describing
the magazine ban creates
confusion.
The measure allows
“registered owners” of
magazines that hold more
than 10 rounds to retain
them so long as they were
purchased before the ban.
“But how do you prove
when you purchased a mag-
azine?” Williamson asked.
“There is no magazine ‘reg-
istration.’ They don’t have
serial numbers. There’s no
way for the average person
to prove they had it before
the law was passed. That
means citizens must prove
their innocence.”
Lawfully owned maga-
zines that exceed 10 rounds
ommended. The commission said law-
makers plugged that gap with Student
Success Act dollars. Passed in 2019,
the act is funded by a corporate tax and
provides schools with $2 billion every
two years to address student mental and
behavioral health, class sizes and aca-
demic disparities among students.
Oregon’s school funding gaps go
back to 1990, when voters capped the
percentage of local property taxes ded-
icated to schools. This put the burden
on the Legislature to make up the
funding for districts; it has historically
not fully funded the amount requested
by the commission.
Oregon law directs the commis-
sion to identify at least two alterna-
tives for achieving a greater level
of educational quality if the budget
request is not fully funded. The com-
mission recommended that the Legis-
lature “remain faithful to the intent of
and targeted funding for the Student
Success Act” and not use it to back-
fill the state’s education budget. Sec-
ondly, it said that if the Legislature
cannot approve a budget that closes
the funding gap in the next biennium,
to focus on closing it gradually in the
next two or three biennia.
question about his recent
vote in favor of the Respect
for Marriage Act, passed in
July.
In response, Bentz
quoted former president
Donald Trump, who, when
asked about his position
on same-sex marriage in
2016 said, “It’s the law, it
was settled in the Supreme
Court. I mean, it’s done.”
Bentz expressed that
“everybody” should know
he is in favor of mar-
riage between a man and a
woman, but said he knows
that’s not the law. For him,
the motivation for voting
in favor of RFMA was to
express that he had “no
objection whatsoever” to
interracial marriage — a
recognition included in the
bill.
“In my mind, I was not
inclined to have the entire,
huge area that I represent
be accused of being against
interracial marriage,” he
said. “I don’t want all you
people, all my constituents,
to having to wear a vote I
would’ve made.”
During the meeting,
Bentz explained the ratio-
nale behind his vote against
the PACT Act, a bill set to
support veterans exposed
to toxic substances during
military service. According
to Bentz, he and fellow
Republican representa-
tives voted against the bill
to send a message to the
Senate that the $400 bil-
lion became an “accounting
gimmick” when house
Democrats changed the
funding from discretionary
to mandatory spending.
“Who had the courage
to run up that bill to try to
save the $400 billion and
then come in here and get
blamed for voting against
the back act?” Bentz said.
“Me. And why? Because I
know what’s best for this
country.”
One of the final partici-
pants asked Bentz about the
“continuing degradation of
the rule of law” among poli-
ticians in Washington, D.C,
specifically referencing the
search of former president
Donald Trump’s Florida
residence.
In response, Bentz noted
that he had signed onto a
letter earlier that day —
written by Ohio Republican
Rep. Jim Jordan — to the
FBI demanding information
on what he called “the Mar-
a-Lago situation.”
“We’re still gathering
more information, but Jim
jumped all over it,” he said.
“We are addressing this at
the highest level.”
may not be used for self-de-
fense outside the home.
Under the measure, pos-
session would be restricted
to the owner’s property, at
a gunsmith, on a private
shooting range or during a
firearms competition.
“The minute you leave
the house, that 15-round
magazine is now illegal,
and you could be arrested
and charged with a misde-
meanor for each magazine
in your possession because
you’re not in your home
or at a gun range,” Wil-
liamson explained. “And
you could be charged mul-
tiple times for the same
magazines since magazines
do not contain identifying
markings.”
“So that could make an
otherwise legal gun-owner
a criminal overnight,”
Kahng said.
MEALS
Continued from Page A1
budget director.
Glover said the federal
government determined
that what the school dis-
trict had been charging
adults for lunches was not
enough to cover the actual
cost of providing the
meals. The federal gov-
ernment requires school
districts to charge enough
for adult meals to make
that part of their lunch
program self-sustaining.
The board voted to
boost the cost of break-
fasts for adults from $2.45
to $2.70 for the same
reason it boosted lunch
prices.
No price hikes are on
the horizon for student
meals for breakfasts and
lunches and will continue
to be served at no cost in
2022-23, Glover said. The
reason, she said, is that
the school district is part
of the Community Eligi-
bility Provision program
and will remain so at
least through the 2024-25
school year.
The Community Eli-
gibility Provision is a
non-pricing meal service
option for schools and
school districts in low-in-
come areas. CEP allows
schools and districts to
serve breakfast and lunch
at no cost to all enrolled
students without col-
lecting household applica-
tions, Glover said. Instead,
schools that adopt CEP
are reimbursed using a
formula supported by the
percentage of students eli-
gible for free meals based
on their participation in
other specific means-
tested programs, such as
the Supplemental Nutri-
tion Assistance Program
and Temporary Assis-
tance for Needy Families,
according to Glover.
Facilities update
Construction of the
new academic and athletic
center La Grande School
“But they would have
time to turn those mag-
azines in,” said com-
mittee member Margaret
Onley, an Oregon labor and
employment attorney who
supports the measure.
In the end, the com-
mittee voted 3 to 2 to adopt
the explanatory language
with minor changes and
submitted it to the Oregon
Secretary of State for final
approval, leaving oppo-
nents frustrated.
“I don’t think you’ll find
any precedent in U.S. his-
tory in which a citizen has
to go through so many
hoops to exercise Constitu-
tional rights,” Williamson
said. “This is the first of its
kind, and if it passes, it will
wind up in court.”
— East Oregonian reporter John
Tillman contributed to this report.
District voters approved
in May with a $4.845 mil-
lion bond may start in late
May or early June 2023
and could be ready for
student use by late 2023,
according to Joseph Waite,
the La Grande School Dis-
trict’s facilities manager.
“Our goal is to have it
occupied by November
2023,” he said.
However, the facilities
manager said the building
project will not be com-
pletely finished until
summer 2024 when land-
scaping and other work
will be done.
The new building the
bond package will fund
will replace the current
Annex gym, next to the
La Grande Middle School.
The Annex building,
which is about nine
decades old, will be torn
down. In addition, the
school district’s mainte-
nance building, which is
connected via a sky bridge
to the Annex and was
built around 1910, will
also be removed.
The maintenance
building facilities will be
moved in early 2023 to
the Adams Professional
Plaza on Adams Avenue,
which the school district
has purchased. Half of the
building space the school
district has purchased
there will be leased to La
Grande Light Truck.
The building at Adams
Professional Plaza will be
renovated before the La
Grande School District’s
maintenance building
facilities are moved there.
The renovation work will
cost about $550,000, with
funds that will come from
a school district fund and
the bond voters approved.
Many items now in the
Annex building will be
transported to the Adams
Professional Plaza site
as part of the move. One
of the most challenging
to move, Waite said, will
be a large freezer for the
school district’s food ser-
vice program. The freezer
is about 250-square feet.
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