The BulleTin • Friday, May 21, 2021 A7
Revenue
Continued from A1
Elaine Thompson/AP file
A sign is held aloft during an Indigenous Peoples Day march in Seattle in October 2017. Seattle is one place that has stopped recognizing Co-
lumbus Day and instead turned the second Monday in October into a day of recognition of Native American cultures and peoples.
Oregon Legislature approves bill to
recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day
BY SAM STITES
Oregon Public Broadcasting
The state of Oregon will
recognize the second Monday
in October as Indigenous Peo-
ples’ Day in a bill passed this
week by the Legislature.
Beginning this year, Oregon
would recognize that Christo-
pher Columbus’ “discovery”
of the Americas is historically
inaccurate and unworthy of
celebration due to his voyage
opening the door to “heinous
crimes against humanity.”
HB 2526 passed the Ore-
gon Senate on Tuesday 22-7.
It was approved 50-5 in the
House last month.
Prineville
Continued from A1
They tasked City Attorney
Jered Reid with finding a le-
gal mechanism the city could
enact that would protect busi-
nesses regarding executive or-
ders and state regulations.
What he found was the city
was quite limited with what it
legally could do, Reid said.
“A city cannot nullify or void
state law in any sort of way,” he
said.
The solution Reid devised,
Resolution 1474, passed the
council later that month with a
5-2 vote. The resolution states
several specific findings, like
that Crook County represented
a minute portion of Oregon’s
total coronavirus cases and that
residents were making good-
The bill, brought forth by
the Legislature’s only Indige-
nous lawmakers, Rep. Tawna
Sanchez, D-Portland, and
Rep. Teresa Alonso-Leon,
D-Woodburn, aims to join
10 other states in recognizing
the significant contributions
Native Americans have made
to the U.S., and more spe-
cifically the contributions of
Oregon’s nine federally recog-
nized tribes to the culture of
this state.
“Back in 1937 Columbus
Day became a federal holiday.
While Oregon does not for-
mally observe Columbus Day
as a state holiday, it has been
celebrated nationwide since
1971,” Sen. Majority Leader
Rob Wagner said. “The state
of Oregon will become the
11th state to formally recog-
nize Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Our Indigenous people, lan-
guage and cultures contribute
incredible richness and vitality
to the tapestry of the place we
now call Oregon. It is time that
we honor those contributions
with formal recognition.”
Wagner said he felt this
type of honor was long over-
due. Sen. Minority Leader
Fred Girod spoke against the
bill.
Girod said that while this is
a tough bill to vote no on, he
felt it unnecessary to “trash”
Columbus in the process.
“I happen to like history.
That was a very brave individ-
ual that got in a boat to prove
a theory that the world was
round, and I just don’t think
you needed to do that,” Gi-
rod said. “I wanted to remove
that part of this bill, and that
wasn’t done. Therefore, I’m
going to vote no.”
Four Republicans, includ-
ing Tim Knopp of Bend,
joined all 18 Democrats in
voting for the bill, which now
heads to Gov. Kate Brown’s
desk for her signature.
faith efforts to stop the spread
of the disease. Those findings
could then be used to argue
against a fine in an administra-
tive hearing, such as one called
by the Oregon OSHA for vio-
lating COVID-19-related busi-
ness regulations.
Resolution 1474 also in-
cluded a request for a judicial
hearing to validate the resolu-
tion. In late March, Reid met
one-on-one over video with
circuit Judge Michael R. Mc-
Lane in a judicial review hear-
ing.
McLane issued his opinion
upholding the resolution last
week.
That judicial approval is key
to the resolution, Reid said.
“In order for the resolution
to have real validity in those
administrative hearings I felt it
was critical to have the circuit
court validate it,” Reid said.
Resolutions like Baker City’s
include tart personal language
vilifying the governor. Jose-
phine County’s resolution,
which is similar to the one in
Prineville, was recently thrown
out on judicial review by a Jo-
sephine County circuit judge.
Reid thinks this was because
the language of the Josephine
County resolution was too
broad.
Reid said the Prineville reso-
lution was intended to be con-
sistent with Oregon law, not
oppose it.
“The resolution wasn’t de-
signed to be a political state-
ment,” he said. “It was designed
to be an actual legal tool to help
our citizens.”
But rather than rest on its
laurels, Prineville’s council
seems poised to debate the next
spicy issue of the day.
On Wednesday, the state an-
nounced new Oregon OSHA
guidelines regarding masks
and vaccinations in a video
conference.
These new guidelines ap-
peared to have already caused a
stir in the community.
“We do not live in Nazi
Germany and having to show
papers to be free is not Free-
dom!” Beebe wrote on his
Facebook page May 18. “I did
not serve our Country to go
through this and neither did
all the Americans before me.
Misuse and blatant disregard
for the Constitution is not
okay in my book!”
e e
A 25-year-old Wilsonville
man pleaded guilty this week
to spitting in a Tigard police
officer’s face after being de-
tained on suspicion of driving
while under the influence.
Washington County Judge
Ramón Pagán sentenced Mi-
guel Hernandez-Cuesta to
three years’ formal probation
and six months in the Wash-
ington County jail after the
guilty plea to charges of sec-
ond-degree assault, aggra-
vated harassment and driving
under the influence of intox-
icants. Pagán also ordered
Hernandez-Cuesta’s driver’s
license be revoked for life.
On July 26, 2020, Hernan-
dez-Cuesta fell asleep at the
wheel of his car while placing
an order at a drive-thru restau-
rant in Tualatin, according
to court documents. A store
manager confronted Hernan-
dez-Cuesta — who denied
being under the influence. He
pulled into a parking spot at
the restaurant, where he fell
asleep at the wheel again.
Officers found Hernan-
diz-Cuesta partially hanging
out of the driver’s side door
while the car was still run-
ning, and they ordered him
to get out of the car. The car
rolled forward and nearly hit
a law enforcement vehicle, of-
ficials said. Hernandez-Cuesta
then failed a field sobriety test
and was arrested for driving
under the influence.
While being searched by
an officer, Hernandez-Cuesta
“coughed profusely,” said he
had COVID-19 and spat in an
officer’s face, according to a
release from the Washington
County District Attorney’s
office.
Hernandez-Cuesta had
previously been cited twice
for speeding, once for driving
OBITUARY
Wayne Coats
May 11, 2021
Wayne Coats, 61, of
Victor, Iowa died on
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 in
Metolius, Oregon.
A funeral service will
be held at 10:00 am on
Saturday, May 22, 2021 at
the Smith Funeral Home
in Victor. Live streaming of
Wayne’s service will begin
at 9:50 am on the Smith
Funeral Home Facebook
page. Celebrati on of Life
in Bend will be June 12th,
2021.
Memorial contributi ons may be designated to the
Izaak Walton League of Iowa County and mailed
in care of the Smith Funeral Home, PO Box 485,
Victor, Iowa 52347. Memories and condolences
may be shared with Wayne’s family online
at www.smithfh .com.
e e
pwong@pamplinmedia.com
Indulge
in Self Care
Reporter: 541-383-0325,
gandrews@bendbulletin.com
Wilsonville man heading to jail after spitting
on officer while claiming to have COVID-19
BY SAVANNAH EADENS
The Oregonian
That will be enough to boost
state spending, without cuts, as
lawmakers finish work on the
state budget for the next two
years.
Meanwhile, that surge will
result in an estimated $1.4 bil-
lion — more than twice the
amount projected back on
Feb. 24 — going back to tax-
payers next year in the form of
“kicker” credits against their
2021 tax bills. The final figure
will be determined in the Sep-
tember economic and revenue
forecast, but the share of tax li-
ability is projected at 13.6%.
For the average taxpayer
with a household income of
$67,400, the credit will be $636.
For the median with house-
hold income between $35,000
and $40,000 — half are above
and half below that range —
the credit will be $312.
“I have never seen such a
strong outlook,” State Economist
Mark McMullen told members
of the House and Senate revenue
committees during his quarterly
forecast on Wednesday.
“There are a whole lot more
resources available than when
we last reported in March, and
even more than we reported at
the beginning of the session,
when the budget was drafted.
It’s quite a remarkable turn-
around from a few months ago.
“When the pandemic hit, we
saw these massive job losses
that blew a $2 billion hole in
the budget. That hole was filled
by the March forecast (on Feb.
24), and now we are past where
we thought we would be even
pre-pandemic.”
Gov. Kate Brown proposed
$25.6 billion in spending from
the tax-supported general fund
and lottery proceeds, the state’s
two most flexible sources, back
on Dec. 1. Legislative budget
writers, bolstered by $2.6 bil-
lion in federal aid from Pres-
ident Joe Biden’s pandemic
recovery plan, unveiled a
framework for almost $28 bil-
lion in spending on March 24.
Brown said in a statement
that the latest forecast, coupled
with projections for the follow-
ing two budget cycles, sets the
stage for a better Oregon:
“Our anticipated state reve-
nues will allow us to fully fund
our state agency base budgets,
make investments prioritized
by the Racial Justice Council,
move forward with a $9.3 bil-
lion school budget, fully fund
the Student Success Act, and
ensure no one is kicked off the
Oregon Health Plan, among
other things.
“These investments will
help Oregonians recover from
the COVID-19 pandemic and
move Oregon toward a future
where equity is realized and all
are equal.”
Some Democrats want to
spend more; Republicans say
spending should focus on one-
time purposes. Budget writers
have already proposed to save
some of the federal aid for the
2023-25 budget period.
Senior economist Josh Leh-
ner said what has helped prop
up the economy in Oregon
and other states is the massive
federal spending during the
pandemic, including payments
to individuals and businesses.
Biden’s plan gave $1,400 pay-
ments to an estimated 95% of
Oregonians.
“It has been unprecedented
outside of wartime,” Lehner
said. “It has allowed house-
holds and firms to keep their
heads above water. It does not
mean that some people hav-
en’t fallen through the cracks
— they have — and some busi-
nesses have closed.”
McMullen said economists
have not seen the steep down-
turn triggered by the onset of
the pandemic — Oregon’s un-
employment rate went from
a modern-low 3.5% in March
2020 to a modern-high 13.2%
the following month — and
the equally speedy recovery.
The April 2021 rate was 6%; it
has hovered around that mark
for a few months.
McMullen said he still proj-
ects it will be the fourth quar-
ter of 2022 before Oregon
returns to its pre-pandemic
employment levels, still shorter
than the seven years following
downturns in 1980 and 2007.
“Obviously, a lot of things
can happen in two years,” he
said. “But right now, we are on
a pretty strong footing.”
Unlike the Great Recession
between 2007 and 2010, Ore-
gon had built up general and
education budget reserves,
plus a big ending balance, that
cushioned the latest downturn.
They will be at $4.2 billion at
the close of the current bud-
get period June 30, but drop to
$2.2 billion — slightly under
10% — in 2021-23.
“I would implore that sav-
ings going forward is a must,”
McMullen said.
under the influence of intox-
icants and twice for driving
with a suspended license.
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