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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Senate passes public records deadline bill disclosing something,” Beyer said. Senate Bill 481, a product of a task force convened by Attorney General Ellen Rosen- blum, passed by a 29-to-0 vote. The bill requires public bodies to respond to requests within five days and furnish public records within at least 10 days, or provide a written statement explaining when the request will be fulfilled. The legislation also charges the Attorney General’s Office with cataloguing the state’s more than 500 exemptions to the public records law, so it can be searched by the public. “During more than a year of task force meetings and listening sessions with journal- ists, advocates, and the public we heard loud and clear that our public records laws are in need of reform. This bill addresses the issue of lack of timely access to records and begins to address the confusion created by 40 years of piecemeal exemptions to laws By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Senate has passed a bill to set a deadline for public bodies to respond to public records requests. If passed by the House, the deadline would set a precedent in Oregon, where government entities effectively have an unlimited time to respond to requests. Oregon is one of the few states without a deadline. “This is a transparency and government accountability bill that puts a timeframe on how quickly government agencies have to respond to public records requests,” said Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield. “It requires a timely response so that our government records are open to the public without unreasonable delays.” The legislations also can help prevent “the tactic of sitting on public records requests for a long period of time to avoid BRIEFLY Woman found dead from apparent gunshot in woods law reform met for about 14 months. The task force has recommended simplifying and reducing Oregon’s some 500 public records exemptions, but decided to postpone legislation on that effort to ensure a public records deadline could pass both chambers. House Bill 2101, which is pending in the House Rules Committee, would establish a new committee to start on that work. Another bill, proposed by Brown, would create a public records advocate to educate and resolve conflicts over records requests. Each session, lawmakers propose new exemptions. This year, for instance, Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has proposed legislation to add new exemptions for the Office of Small Business Assistance. Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, proposed a bill to exempt lawmakers’ mailing lists from disclosure to anyone but other political candidates. originally intended to promote transparency,” Rosenblum said in a statement Tuesday. Vague language in existing law puts no enforceable deadline on public bodies to disclose records. Under the bill, if an agency fails to respond by the deadline, it is considered a denial, and the requestor may appeal the denial to the Attorney General’s Office. The law states such govern- ment entities must respond to requests “as soon as practicable without unreasonable delay.” Administrative changes ordered by Gov. Kate Brown require agencies to have a written protocol for those seeking to access records. Public bodies may set a fee for staff time and materials to furnish the records. The Department of Administrative Services, under the governor’s order, also has developed a uniform fee schedule for those documents. The attorney general’s task force on public records CORVALLIS (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a woman whose body was found in an Oregon forest. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office says the unidentified body is that of a woman in her 20s, and it was discovered Monday night by someone from a timber company outside the town of Alsea. Benton County Sheriff Scott Jackson told the Corvallis Gazette-Times the death appears to be from a gunshot wound, but an autopsy will be performed. Investigators have yet to estimate how long the body had been in the woods before it was discovered. Man sentenced for throwing Molotov cocktail at crowd PORTLAND (AP) — A man has been sentenced to three years of probation and anger management for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a crowd of Trump protesters in Portland. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Tuesday that 27-year-old Christopher Joseph Gourneau threw the flaming device toward a crowd of 30 to 40 people in November. A witness says the device sailed 5 feet above Gourneau’s head before landing on the ground without injuring anybody. Another witness had told police that Gourneau had been acting irrationally and hid the device under his shirt. Police reports show officers were not in the area but did see a small group of people chasing him. Gourneau pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal to attempted second-degree assault and unlawful possession of a destructive device. Bill would eliminate a dozen obsolete boards, commissions Committee on General Govern- ment and Accountability, said his committee sought to make a list of commissions and boards that hadn’t met recently. “That’s the kind of thing I’m interested in, making the government as transparent as possible, get rid of things that aren’t needed, or don’t make any sense,” Riley said in a phone interview Monday. “And this was a good place to start.” The Legislative Policy and Research Office found 46 boards, commissions and task forces that “showed no evidence of activity” in the past year. The list was whittled down as officials learned some bodies were required by federal law, others only met intermittently by design, and others still after legislative counsel found some needed to be kept to “honor the formalities of interstate compact language.” Lawmakers on the Senate General Government and Accountability Committee discussed culling the collection of boards and commissions at a meeting Dec. 13. “Honestly, governors have been trying to whittle down the list for many years, and have not done so because the Legislature hasn’t helped,” Riley said. “And I wasn’t asked By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE and PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A bill in the Oregon Legislature would do away with a dozen obsolete state boards and commissions, ranging from the Baseball Advi- sory Committee to the Task Force on Military Families. According to a list compiled by the Legislative Policy and Research Office last year, the state has more than 250 boards and commissions, some of which venture deep into bureau- cratic esoterica, such as the Board of Denture Technology and the Board of Electrologists and Body Art Practitioners. These entities serve varying purposes — some regulate professions and in so doing play a role in public health; others make policy recommendations. There is sometimes no distinction between a board, commission, committee or task force. For instance, a commis- sion may oversee a state agency or a particular industry. Generally, task forces are used to address a particular issue on a temporary basis, while boards, commissions and committees usually function regularly. Sen. Chuck Riley, D-Hill- sboro, chair of the Senate regulated by the state, Moore said. “It is a good way to say you’re shrinking the size of government without shrinking the size of government,” Moore said. Illustrating that point, the eliminations identified will have no impact on the state budget. After an amendment to the legislation, the following 12 boards and commissions would be eliminated: • The Baseball Advisory Committee; • The Board of Directors for the Oregon School for the Deaf; • The Committee on Perfor- mance Excellence; • The Governor’s Council on Oregon’s Economy; • The Military Council; • The Natural Resources Policy Administrator; • The Oregon Progress Board; • The Outdoor Youth Program Advisory Board; • The Public Officials Compensation Commission; • The Special Legislative Committee on Public Education Appropriation; • The Task Force on Military Families; • The Western States Legis- lative Forestry Task Force. by the governor to do this, but I think she’ll be pleased.” Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Beaverton, said at the time she felt that the list of proposed reductions didn’t go far enough. “I would certainly be supportive of starting to take a hard look at other boards and commissions about, even the ones that are meeting, about what they are actually contrib- uting and how much the state is paying for their existence,” she said. The list compiled by the policy and research office did not include the state’s agricul- tural commodity commissions. The trend of using boards and commission to make policy dates back to the 1880s in the United States, when civil service inspired a desire to involve the public and those affected by policies in the process of policymaking, said Jim Moore, political science professor at Pacific University and director of the Tom McCall Center for Policy Innovation. Some of the boards arose out of a new need for regulations, such as the creation of the aeronautics board in response to the invention of the airplane. 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PORTLAND (AP) — A grand jury has cleared a Marion County sheriff’s sergeant of wrongdoing after he shot at a man who injured him during a traffic stop. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the grand jury determined Monday that Sgt. Jason Hickam was justified in firing his weapon toward Juan Francisco Martinez on April 7 near Woodburn. Martinez was not injured and was arrested later that day. Prosecutors say Hickam pulled Martinez over and told him his Cadillac Escalade would have to be towed because he didn’t have insurance. They say Martinez began to drive away as Hickam’s arm was caught inside the SUV. Hickam fired once toward the vehicle before being thrown to the ground. He was treated at a hospital and released. Martinez faces several charges, including assaulting a public safety officer. Corrections The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818. 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Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY FRIDAY THURSDAY Variable clouds Cooler with spotty showers 65° 46° 58° 38° SATURDAY Partly sunny Clouds and sunshine SUNDAY Mostly cloudy with a shower PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 61° 43° 69° 46° 59° 41° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 65° 40° 70° 50° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 58° 63° 88° (1910) 43° 39° 23° (1909) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.37" 1.10" 0.73" 7.37" 4.15" 4.69" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH Yesterday Normals Records LOW 64° 65° 87° (1939) 45° 40° 21° (1964) PRECIPITATION 24 hours ending 3 p.m. Month to date Normal month to date Year to date Last year to date Normal year to date 0.01" 0.50" 0.47" 5.43" 2.98" 3.58" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today Last New Apr 19 Apr 26 6:02 a.m. 7:47 p.m. 2:24 a.m. 12:14 p.m. First Full May 2 70° 48° 66° 44° Seattle 58/47 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 66° 43° May 10 Today Spokane Wenatchee 61/42 62/46 Tacoma Moses 58/45 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 67/46 61/43 54/46 56/44 66/45 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 58/49 67/46 Lewiston 71/48 Astoria 66/46 55/47 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 59/47 Pendleton 57/38 The Dalles 70/50 65/46 64/47 La Grande Salem 62/43 60/47 Albany Corvallis 59/44 59/45 John Day 62/41 Ontario Eugene Bend 65/46 57/44 57/35 Caldwell Burns 65/46 60/37 Astoria Baker City Bend Brookings Burns Enterprise Eugene Heppner Hermiston John Day Klamath Falls La Grande Meacham Medford Newport North Bend Ontario Pasco Pendleton Portland Redmond Salem Spokane Ukiah Vancouver Walla Walla Yakima Hi 55 59 57 53 60 57 57 63 70 62 56 62 60 60 55 58 65 70 65 59 59 60 61 60 58 67 66 Lo 47 38 35 46 37 38 44 43 50 41 32 43 41 41 46 48 46 45 46 47 35 47 42 38 47 46 45 W r pc c r pc pc r pc pc c c c c r r r pc pc c r sh r pc pc r pc c NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Thu. Hi 55 52 50 56 51 46 59 55 65 51 52 52 50 61 54 57 60 66 58 58 54 59 53 50 58 60 66 Lo 42 28 27 43 26 30 38 34 40 34 27 35 32 39 42 43 40 39 38 43 27 40 36 31 42 43 36 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W sh sh pc pc sh sh sh sh pc sh sh sh sh pc sh sh c sh sh sh pc sh sh sh sh sh sh WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 68 85 74 56 70 37 53 63 64 72 72 Lo 45 76 50 41 47 24 31 41 48 63 53 W c c s pc t pc s pc s pc s Thu. Hi 73 84 75 59 74 38 55 62 61 74 65 Lo 48 75 56 46 48 23 35 41 44 60 55 W pc t s pc pc c pc s pc pc pc WINDS Medford 60/41 (in mph) Klamath Falls 56/32 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Western Washington: Cloudy today with a little rain starting late morning on. Periods of rain tonight. Eastern Washington: Turning cloudy near the mountains today; a shower toward the Cascades. Cloudy in the north and central sections. Cascades: A brief shower or two today, but a rain or snow shower in spots in the south. Northern California: Cloudy today. Periods of rain, but dry in the interior mountains; cold in central parts. Thursday NE 4-8 SSE 6-12 WSW 10-20 WSW 10-20 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Rain at times today. Rain this evening followed by a shower or two late. Eastern and Central Oregon: Mostly cloudy today with a brief shower in the afternoon. Today 1 3 5 4 3 1 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 0-2, Low 3-5, Moderate 6-7, High; 8-10, Very High; 11+, Extreme The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num- ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection. Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017 -10s -0s showers t-storms 0s 10s rain 20s flurries 30s 40s snow ice 50s 60s cold front 70s 80s 90s 100s warm front stationary front 110s high low National Summary: Rain and thunder will extend from parts of the Upper Midwest to the Southeast states with locally severe storms over the central and southern Plains today. Rain will roll ashore in the Northwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 97° in El Centro, Calif. Low 14° in Boulder, Wyo. NATIONAL CITIES Today Albuquerque Atlanta Atlantic City Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Chicago Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit El Paso Fairbanks Fargo Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Hi 81 81 57 63 61 86 65 52 81 72 67 75 84 74 73 90 37 55 81 82 79 83 82 82 83 74 Lo 51 63 51 54 38 64 45 44 62 59 48 59 68 37 52 61 17 37 73 67 64 58 54 60 65 55 W s pc pc c pc pc pc pc pc c t t pc s t s s c sh pc c pc pc s pc s Thur. Hi 79 84 67 80 63 88 57 60 84 81 70 79 85 65 74 91 42 58 82 84 79 85 65 84 84 80 Lo 48 65 58 61 43 66 37 46 63 61 42 52 67 39 47 58 18 36 72 67 48 58 48 60 64 58 W pc s c pc pc s c c pc pc c t c sh t s s r sh pc t s c s pc s Today Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Oklahoma City Omaha Philadelphia Phoenix Portland, ME Providence Raleigh Rapid City Reno Sacramento St. Louis Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Seattle Tucson Washington, DC Wichita Hi 83 85 82 57 52 84 82 56 81 72 63 92 48 52 71 46 63 69 87 60 71 66 58 91 66 80 Lo 66 65 73 43 42 63 68 49 61 48 52 64 41 45 60 33 41 51 68 44 58 54 47 59 57 56 W c pc sh c r pc pc pc pc t pc s pc c sh r pc pc pc pc pc c r s c pc Thur. Hi 85 83 83 66 52 87 82 66 74 66 75 93 57 63 83 63 61 70 77 56 72 67 57 90 82 69 Lo 59 65 72 39 38 63 67 56 59 45 61 62 41 47 64 35 37 50 52 41 59 52 44 55 66 50 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W c pc c r r c pc c c pc c s c c pc c pc pc t sh s pc sh s pc c