OREGON NEWS
SATURDAY, MAY 1, 2021
BAKER CITY HERALD — 5A
OREGON LEGISLATURE
Brown defends
House OKs gun storage combined
decision
to
ban
with partial ban on public places
indoor dining
■ Bill heads back to Oregon Senate, which previously approved a broader ban
By Gary A. Warner
By Peter Wong
Oregon Capital Bureau
Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that she has no inten-
tion of rolling back orders issued this week to fi ght the
nation’s worst rate of COVID-19 infections and hospital-
izations now hitting Oregon.
“Cases are widespread, driven by new,
more contagious variants,” Brown said
during a virtual press conference Friday
morning, April 30.
The Centers for Disease Control report-
ed Friday that Oregon has the highest rate
Brown
of new infections and hospitalizations of
any state in the nation. Cases of COVID-19
have risen 38% in the past two weeks, while hospitaliza-
tions are up 43%. Nationwide, both are in decline.
Fifteen counties, including Baker, already exceeded
the extreme risk numbers at the very top of the state’s
four-tier COVID-19 risk chart. But Brown had ordered
that the counties would not need to resort to the most
severe restrictions as long as the state’s hospital system
was not overly taxed. She set 300 COVID-19 hospital-
izations as the “tripwire” for restoring the ban on indoor
dining and strict limits on activities and gatherings.
When cases topped 300 on Monday, April 26, Brown
lifted the moratorium on extreme risk limits, putting 15
counties into extreme risk restrictions Friday, April 30.
On Friday, the state reported 339 COVID-19 patients in
hospitals around the state.
With early and sometimes heavy restrictions, Oregon
has one of the lowest case rates and deaths since the
pandemic began spreading in the fi rst months of 2020.
Brown said decisions often had to be made pitting “lives
and livelihoods.”
“As your governor, I chose to save lives,” she said.
Brown said more than half of state residents have
been at least partially vaccinated. The fi rst to receive
the vaccine were elderly in nursing homes, who made
up more than half the deaths from COVID-19 in the
state. While the daily death toll has fallen since its
peak last winter, Brown said the current infection rate
was rising too quickly and new variants that are more
contagious and in some cases, lethal, meant the recent
spike had to be taken as seriously as earlier outbreaks.
Brown’s latest actions included extending her au-
thority over public health by extending the emergency
declaration she issued in March 2020 until at least
June 28.
The orders to instigate the extreme risk and extend
the emergency set off protests from some political and
business leaders.
A Republican-led effort was started in the Legis-
lature to initiate bills to curb Brown’s powers or bar
another extension.
“Literally everything in Oregonians’ lives are being
dictated by one person,” Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said
on the fl oor of the Senate on Thursday, April 29.
The Oregon House, on a
largely party-line vote, ap-
proved a bill that combines
storage requirements for
fi rearms with a narrower ban
on guns in some public places.
The 34-24 vote on Thursday,
April 29, sends the revamped
Senate Bill 554 back to the
Senate, which can vote to ac-
cept the changes — and send
it to Gov. Kate Brown — or
reject it and force a joint panel
to negotiate the differences.
Support came exclusively
from Democrats. Three of the
37 Democrats voted no: Paul
Evans of Monmouth, David
Gomberg of Otis and Mark
Meek of Oregon City.
Opposition came largely
from Republicans, mostly
from rural areas. Exceptions
were from Clackamas County,
where both Democratic Rep.
Meek and Republican Leader
Christine Drazan of Canby
spoke against it. No Republi-
cans voted for it.
Two Republicans were
excused.
The vote took place after
close to three hours of debate.
The bill does not have an
emergency clause, which
means that if it becomes law,
opponents have 90 days from
the close of the 2021 session to
obtain 74,680 voter signatures
to force a statewide election.
The number is set by the
Oregon Constitution, which
specifi es 4% of the votes cast
for governor in the most recent
election in 2018.
Part of the revamped bill
proposes requirements for
fi rearms locks and storage
already written into a separate
House bill, which the House
sent back to committee.
Under the revamped bill,
guns must have trigger or ca-
ble locks, be stored in a locked
Rollingwood (Texas) Police Department/ TNS
The Oregon House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would require gun
owners to store guns with a trigger or cable lock, in a locked container or a gun room.
container or in a gun room. An
offense is a Class C violation,
which carries a maximum
fi ne of $500, unless someone
under age 18 obtains access, in
which case it is a Class A viola-
tion with a maximum fi ne of
$2,000. No jail time is imposed
for violations.
The bill also requires
prompt reporting of stolen
fi rearms. Its fi rst sections
are named in honor of Cindy
Yuille and Steve Forsyth,
who died on Dec. 11, 2012, in
the Clackamas Town Center
shootings. The assault-style
weapon used to kill them was
found to have been stolen.
The other part of the re-
vamped bill narrows the scope
of a fi rearms ban included in
the original SB 554, which
passed the Senate on March
25.
The changes would still bar
the estimated 300,000 holders
of Oregon concealed-handgun
licenses from bringing fi re-
arms into some public places.
State courts, which often are
in buildings maintained by
counties, already are off-limits
to fi rearms.
But the scope of the ban
would be narrower under the
House version.
Licensees would be barred
from bringing firearms into the
Capitol, though not from other
state buildings as originally
proposed in the Senate.
They would be barred from
bringing firearms into the pas-
senger terminal at the Portland
airport, defined as one with an-
nual passenger traffic of more
than one million. (Eugene and
Medford airports had counts
around one million passengers
annually prior to the onset of
the coronavirus pandemic.)
Passenger boarding areas and
firearms shipments in luggage
are controlled by federal law.
Firearms bans would be
optional at Oregon Health &
Science University, seven state
universities, 17 community
college districts and 197 school
districts if their govern-
ing boards impose them on
buildings and grounds under
their control. Notices of bans
must be clearly displayed on
buildings and grounds and
posted online. (Bans would not
apply to public sidewalks and
streets.)
The revamped version of the
bill drops the option for cities,
counties and special districts
to bar fi rearms from their
buildings and grounds.
Offenses would be consid-
ered Class A misdemeanors
with maximum punishments
of one year in jail and a fi ne of
$6,250.
The bill also would raise
initial fi ling fees for concealed-
handgun licenses from $50 to
$100, and for renewals, from
$50 to $75.
John Day voters to decide on 5-year levy for police dept.
By Rudy Diaz
Blue Mountain Eagle
JOHN DAY — Voters will
decide the fate of the John Day
Police Department.
The John Day City Council
and Budget Committee met
on April 20 to discuss the
proposed budget for fi scal year
2021-2022 and agreed that the
residents of John Day should
have the opportunity to vote
on a fi ve-year levy to fund the
police department.
If the levy does not pass, the
city plans to transition the de-
partment to the Grant County
Sheriff’s Offi ce in September.
Budget Committee member
Mark Miller said the people at
the town hall meeting on April
8 voiced their support of the
police department and should
have their say by voting.
“I think the people of the
town gotta have their say,”
Miller said. “My comment is:
Put it to the people.”
The plan is to fi le for an
emergency election Aug. 3 to
request approval of John Day
voters for a levy of 35 cents per
$1,000 of assessed property
value. Although the original
estimate was only 10-15
cents per $1,000, the police
department’s modernization
expenses discussed at the bud-
get meeting led to the increase,
according to the agenda.
“There’s a lot that has to
happen in the lead up to the
election and afterward,” said
John Day City Manager Nick
Green.
Green said they are
coordinating with their legal
counsel on the ballot measure
language for the local option
levy.
The council will need to
approve that language prior
to submitting it to the county
clerk for processing. The ap-
proval will need to happen at
the May 11 city council meet-
ing, according to Green. The
city will then submit the ballot
measure to the Grant County
Clerk by May 14.
Green said the schedule is
tentative until the city fi les the
ballot measure.
Councilor Paul Smith said
he was informed that the spe-
cial election would cost the city
between $3,000 and $5,000,
and the measure would need
a double majority for the levy
to pass.
A double majority means
that more than 50% of regis-
tered voters need to vote with
more than 50% in favor of the
measure to pass.
“If we waited until Novem-
ber, the election would not cost
us anything, but we would not
be able to collect any assess-
ment until 2022,” Smith said,
10 months later than if they
held the vote in August.
The Budget Committee
included the revenue from the
local option levy in the budget
it approved. Green said, if the
levy does not pass, the transi-
tion option would be triggered.
John Day City Councilor
Heather Rookstool said she fa-
vors giving residents a chance
to vote. However, she said
people need to also understand
what would happen if the levy
does not pass and if the county
does not want to work out a
consolidation agreement.
“I like the idea of the op-
tion, but if they say no and
the county says no, I want
residents to understand what
kind of service they’re going
to get,” Rookstool said. “It will
be emergent services only...
The public needs to listen and
make their voices heard be-
cause this is their one chance
to do that.”
Baby Bottle
Drive
From Mother’s Day to Father’s Day
Pick up a baby bottle or envelope from your church or
Rachel Pregnancy Center
and fill it with change, cash or check.
Return it to your church or Rachel Pregnancy Center at:
2192 Court Ave., Baker City
Or simply mail a check to:
Rachel Pregnancy Center, PO Box 1086, Baker City, OR 97814
TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
MAY 37, 2021
Thank you, Teachers! Your commitment to the success of our students,
and your work with their families and our community, does not go
unnoticed and is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for making a difference!
Hope. Help. Heal.
HOPE...through encouragement and sharing the love of Jesus.
HELP...by providing educational classes and necessary maternity and baby items.
HEAL...by providing biblical counsel ad prayer.
Tues., Wed. and Thurs. 10 am - 4 pm
(closed for lunch 12 pm - 1 pm)
541-523-5357
Helping
women and men
in an unexpected
pregnancy.