A8
STATE
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Gov. Brown lays out the goals for her final term
By Aubrey Wieber
Oregon Capitol Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown wants the state to
get ambitious about solv-
ing major challenges such
as a homelessness, challeng-
ing legislators on Monday in
her state of the state address
before hundreds of lawmak-
ers, their families and the
public in a packed House
chamber.
“For years we have
struggled to overcome the
impacts of recession on our
state revenue, to build up
adequate funding for our
education system, and sta-
bilize access to health care,”
Brown said.
But now there is oppor-
tunity, she continued. The
state is experiencing rapid
growth. New jobs and ideas
are being born daily. Some
are thriving, but others have
been negatively impacted
by this period of prosperity,
and Oregon has the means to
Portland Tribune/Jaime Valdez
Gov. Kate Brown is sworn in Monday by Martha Lee Walters,
chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, during a ceremony
at the Capitol.
step in.
Brown spoke on the
opening day of the 2019
Legislature after she was
sworn in for her final term as
governor.
Before entering the
chamber, Brown was pre-
ceded by former governors
Ted Kulongoski and Barbara
Roberts, the Oregon leaders
Brown has leaned on and
praised most. The BRAVO
Youth Orchestra filled the
large hall with “Sir Duke”
by Stevie Wonder.
Then Brown took to the
floor and was sworn in by
Chief Justice Martha Lee
Walters.
Her speech hit themes
she carried on the campaign
trail and underscored in her
proposed state budget for
the 2019-21 biennium. She
offered little new as she ral-
lied legislators to her cause.
Brown mostly received
applause from the crowd,
but at one point, after warn-
ing incoming legislators to
prepare for the dirty side of
politics, three people in the
audience stood and shouted
“stop the pipeline” before
being removed.
She did key in on home-
lessness, asking for quick
action out of the Capitol.
“Across Oregon, com-
munities large and small
are struggling with home-
lessness,” Brown said.
“This crisis is playing out
on our streets — and on our
sidewalks.”
Brown asked lawmakers
to quickly approve $20 mil-
lion in bonds to pay for 200
homes for the chronically
homeless. While Brown
was applauded at nearly
every pause in her speech,
this request received audi-
ble approval from only a
handful of the more pro-
gressive members of the
Legislature, such as Sen.
Shemia Fagan, the new
chair of the Senate housing
committee. Most lawmak-
ers remained silent.
She endorsed legislation
proposed by House Speaker
Tina Kotek, D-Portland,
Senate Majority Leader
Ginny Burdick, D-Portland,
and Sen. Laurie Monnes
Anderson, D-Gresham, that
caps rent increases each
year at 7 percent for all
rentals in Oregon.
“Oregon families are
counting on us,” she said.
In a normal year, a huge
education spending pack-
age, cap and trade or a plan
to seriously tackle Oregon’s
homelessness issue could
define a legislative session.
But in 2019, Brown is ask-
ing lawmakers to tackle all
of them, and more, while
passing new taxes to fund
the new initiatives. On
Monday, she worked to sell
them on the aspirational
path she’s outlined.
“The time is now. Our
future is in front of us. We
have to turn the corner and
make it a reality,” Brown
said in closing. “Together we
can build a better Oregon.”
She also endorsed cen-
tralizing state contracts to
give Oregon more lever-
age in negotiations. The
idea came from Secretary
of State Dennis Richardson.
Richardson found in an audit
released in December that a
modernized system could
have saved the state $1.6 bil-
lion from 2015 to 2017.
Brown also leaned on
Oregon’s youth to illustrate
why lawmakers should back
her goals. She talked about
a card she received from
10-year-old Abner. On one
side the Portland boy drew
an Earth suffering from cli-
mate change.
“Hot, hot, hot read the
caption,”
Brown
said.
“Europe was frowning.”
Decades later, Courtney again takes aim at DUI threshold
By Aubrey Wieber
Oregon Capital Bureau
As a state representa-
tive in 1983, Peter Court-
ney introduced legislation
to lower the drunk driving
threshold from .10 blood
alcohol content to .08.
It was a radical move
from a new lawmaker who
was expected to bide his
time. Courtney had little
support outside of a bud-
ding advocacy group called
Mothers Against Drunk
Driving, but he introduced
the bill anyway.
It passed and Oregon and
Utah became the first states
to move to a .08 threshold
for drunk driving. Courtney
proved to be ahead of the
times, as it wasn’t until 1998
that President Bill Clinton
called on all states to enact
the .08 standard.
Now Courtney wants
Oregon to be a leader again.
He is taking the political
point to push Oregon to an
even more strict limit — .05.
“You’re not as good after
you drink as you are before
you drink,” he said.
Today, Courtney said,
drivers are confronted in
their cars with more lights
and screens than ever. Add in
bike lanes and homeless peo-
ple walking around at night,
and there is too much dis-
traction while driving some-
thing that can be used as a
deadly weapon, he said.
He knows his proposal
will be unpopular.
“Sooner or later, you’re
going to have to fight that
battle,” Courtney said. “You
don’t wait until the timing’s
perfect. You don’t wait until
everything lines up.”
Courtney said he’s always
been keenly aware of the
downsides of alcohol, which
has killed several chronic
drinkers in his family. But
this isn’t about drinking, it’s
about safety, he said.
“I’m not trying to stop
you from drinking,” Court-
ney said. “I’m not trying to
stop this explosion of brew
pubs. Go, all of you. Go
tonight, go every night. I’m
not trying to make a state-
ment about drinking.”
So far, Courtney is miss-
ing crucial allies.
Mothers Against Drunk
Driving so far isn’t endorsing
the Courtney move and Ore-
gon State Police are “neu-
tral” on the idea. Capt. Tim
Fox said there is no research
on the difference of impair-
ment at .05 and .08. Superin-
tendent Travis Hampton said
if the new limit were to pass,
OSP wouldn’t have enough
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troopers to enforce the new
law.
Courtney is undeterred.
“I’ll be talking with him,”
Courtney said of Hampton.
And that’s the law
enforcement and anti-drunk
driving community. Ore-
gon also has robust wine,
craft beer, spirits and restau-
rant industries with powerful
lobbies.
Greg Astley, the gov-
ernment affairs director for
the Oregon Restaurant and
Lodging Association, said
the proposal misses the
mark, saying a 120-pound
woman could get arrested
for having one glass of wine
after work.
Drivers can be cited for
being under the influence of
less than .08, but the penal-
ties are less severe. In 2017,
of the 4,671 DUI arrest, 184
drivers registered less than.
08, according to OSP data.
The penalties that apply to
the current limit would also
be linked to the lower limit
under Courtney’s proposed
legislation. That means driv-
ers involved in fatal acci-
dents who are found to be
impaired at the .05 level
could face negligent homi-
cide charges.
Astley said reducing the
limit could make people fear-
ful of going to happy hour or
ordering a drink with dinner.
Meanwhile, he said, there are
more and more people under
the influence of marijuana
getting behind the wheel.
“It seems like this bill is
trying to zero in on a very
narrow subset of people that
under current law wouldn’t
be impaired,” he said.
But Courtney said this
increased regulation is part
of the progression of soci-
ety. With ridesharing apps
like Uber and Lyft, it’s easier
than ever to not drive after
drinking. It’s a practice he’s
started himself.
In recent years, New
York, Delaware, Hawaii and
Washington considered but
rejected moves to the lower
limit.
Courtney acknowledged
that may be the fate his idea
endures in Oregon.
“Well alright then, I’ll
lose, but I’m still not pulling
the bill,” he said.