Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 2019)
STATE MyEagleNews.com Wednesday, July 17, 2019 A9 Who’s paying for Republicans’ protest of cap and trade? Questions remain on fines, how walkout was financed By Aubrey Wieber and Claire Withycombe Oregon Capital Bureau When Republican sena- tors fled the state in June to avoid voting on controver- sial legislation, they were gone for nine days. They drove or flew out of state, stayed in hotels or cab- ins, and otherwise lived out of sight. Most went to Idaho, though Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, told the Oregon Capital Bureau he was in Texas. A spokesman for Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klam- ath Falls, said he was on the East Coast attending a con- servative conference. Some legislators and lob- byists remaining in the Cap- itol speculated that the 11 senators would tap their political campaign accounts to cover their travel costs. That doesn’t appear to be the case. And they also so far hav- en’t faced the $500-a-day fines threatened by Senate Democrats that would likely total $3,500 for each. Senate President Peter Courtney’s staff said Friday he still intended to bill the absent senators, but shared no firm plan for doing so. Senate Republican spokeswoman Kate Gillem said the threat of fines now “looks like a bluff.” Sen. Herman Baertsch- iger, the Senate Republican leader, questioned the legal- ity of imposing fines. He said outside attorneys have been hired to look into it. “I have a feeling this is going to get complicated,” Baertschiger said. There was talk about the fines being deducted from senators’ pay. “The fines shall be col- lected by forfeiture of any sum that becomes due and payable to the absent member, including sal- ary and per diem,” Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said on the Senate floor June 20. But now Senate Dem- ocrat leaders say they will send invoices. The Oregon Capital Bureau reached out to the 11 senators by email and phone, and five responded: Baertschiger, and Sens. Cliff Bentz, Alan Olsen, Bill Hansell and Kim Thatcher. Bentz said, if he ever gets a bill, he will decide what to do. Olsen said, if he gets one, he’s not paying it. When the Legislature is in session, lawmakers receive $149 a day for liv- ing expenses. The traveling Republicans still collected that money while they were absent, according to Legisla- tive Administration. All said they used their own money to pay for travel and confirmed they haven’t been fined yet. Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, did voluntarily pay $3,500 in fines and said he did so to set up a legal chal- lenge to such punishment. Baertschiger said he never advised the caucus to use personal funds but believes each senator did so on their own. When asked if he was exploring reimbursements for those senators, such as through campaign funds, Baertschiger said, “No, I think we’ve just all agreed to pay for it with personal money.” Bentz, from Ontario, agreed there was no directive on how to pay for expenses, but said the caucus is look- ing into reimbursement. “The only thing that was really said was save your receipts in case there is a reimbursement opportu- nity,” Bentz said. “I know people are looking into it, but I know the safest thing was for me to pay out of my own pocket, so that’s what I did. I haven’t decided whether I will ever ask for reimbursement.” Justin Brecht, a policy analyst for Senate Repub- licans, said the caucus has asked outside attorneys and the state Government Eth- ics Commission about that issue. Since the circumstances surrounding the walkout are unprecedented, this was new legal ground, Brecht said. “It’s still kind of a legal question we haven’t had answered about how one could go about that,” Brecht said. Bentz said he drove about 1,000 miles, paid for six nights in a motel and had to feed himself. “These expenses are real,” he said. Bentz said he’s received “dozens” of reimbursement offers. He’s turned them down, and hasn’t yet calculated his expenses. The Oregon Capi- tal Bureau inspected cam- paign spending reports for all 11 senators, and found no instance of them charging walkout expenses to their campaigns, which are largely funded by outside contributors. Two GoFundMe accounts were set up to assist the senators with their expenses. “Encourage the Walking Senators” received nearly $40,000, according to its online site. The other got $950. However, lawmak- ers might violate state law by accepting that money, Brecht said, so the money wasn’t touched. The larger account posted an update July 5 saying it stopped tak- ing donations and instead directed donors to a website still taking donations. The site said donations would fund opposition to the kind of cap-and-trade legislation that triggered the Republi- can walkout. About a week ago, the GoFundMe page said the money originally raised for the senators would be given to a political action committee. The Stand With Our Senators PAC also has about $40,000 in it, though it’s not clear if it’s the same money. There is little match between donors identified as giving to the GoFundMe account or to the PAC. The GoFundMe received more than 700 contributions, mostly small and by individ- uals. As of Friday afternoon, the political action com- mittee listed 70 contribu- tions, largely from construc- tion and timber companies — both industries opposed to the cap and trade pro- gram — and a $5,000 dona- tion from former Rep. Knute Buehler. GoFundMe creator Carol Williams of Silver- ton and the committee trea- surer, Lori Piercy of Rain- ier, couldn’t be reached for comment. In addition to the travel expenses, Senate Republi- cans are also potentially fac- ing the daily fines. The Oregon Constitution allows fewer than a quorum to “compel” the other mem- bers to return, but doesn’t explicitly mention fines. A manual on legislative procedure says members can “inflict such censure or pecuniary penalty as may be deemed just” when a mem- ber is absent during the ses- sion and “a sufficient excuse is not rendered.” Construction bill divvies up hundreds of millions to projects throughout the state Bill funds housing, building repair and medical treatment for incarcerated youth By Claire Withycombe and Aubrey Wieber Oregon Capital Bureau Government agencies across Oregon will go on a run of remodeling pub- lic buildings and erecting new ones under legislation recently approved. House Bill 5006 is a checklist of big-ticket con- struction projects from Til- lamook to Condon costing a total $528 million. The money comes from lottery and other bonds and $33.7 million from the federal government. That money will go to fund proj- ects on National Guard bases and aviation facilities. About $200 million will go to tackling the state’s housing crisis. About 14,000 Oregonians are homeless, according to the U.S. Interagency Coun- cil on Homelessness. And as of 2016, about 298,000 Ore- gon renters were “cost bur- dened,” or paying more than 30 percent of their income toward rent and utilities, according to the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Lawmakers approved $150 million in bonds to build about 2,100 units of affordable housing for low-income Oregonians through the Local Innova- tion Fast Track, or LIFT, program. Specific projects haven’t been chosen yet, but the program is designed to prioritize rural communi- ties with fewer than 25,000 people and communities of color. The Legislature also approved another $50 mil- lion for about 500 units to house low-income people who have disabilities or are chronically homeless. Those units will be in the form of permanent sup- portive housing, which pairs housing with support ser- vices such as health care. The bill lays out about $65 million to pay for main- tenance, code compliance and to enhance safety and accessibility at public uni- versity buildings, as well as a $12.7 million project to build a rapid toolmaking center on the site of the Ore- gon Manufacturing Innova- tion Center in Scappoose. Lawmakers are also dis- tributing about $24 million for projects at community colleges. Some of that money is allocated for community colleges in rural areas to develop local workforces in health care, agriculture and Oregon Capital Bureau House Bill 5006 is a checklist of big-ticket construction projects costing $528 million. other industries. At Klamath Commu- nity College, for example, the bill approved $3.9 mil- lion for that college to build an apprenticeship and indus- trial trades center that will put its trade programs in one place. The center will have space to train electri- cians and plumbers, as well as students studying fire sci- ences and emergency medi- cal operations. And Treasure Valley Community College will get $4.9 million to build a facil- ity to train nurses and other health care workers. The state Department of Administrative Services had $24 million carved out in HB 5006 to buy a former Micro- soft building in Wilsonville. It’s something the state has had its eye on, DAS spokes- woman Liz Craig said. The building comes with office, warehouse and labo- ratory space. Right now, a specific pur- pose isn’t outlined. “We believe the build- ing could solve a num- ber of space needs for vari- ous agencies, including lab space and secure storage, in a central location,” Craig said. DAS expects to decide whether to buy the building by the end of the year. While some dollars go to fund new projects, much of the funding will improve existing buildings. The Oregon Youth Author- ity received $6.4 million to fund four projects, the bulk going to upgrading medical and dental clinics at the Til- lamook Youth Correctional Facility, MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility and Oak Creek Youth Correc- tional Facility. Right now, the Oak Creek and Tillamook facilities don’t have space for a dentist to come in, so youth have to be taken off campus for den- tal work. An expansion of the facilities will allow den- tists to come on-site, agency spokeswoman Sarah Evans said. The expansion of the medical clinics at Oak Creek and Tillamook will provide quicker access to services. At Oak Creek, the space is currently so tight that it lim- its how often doctors can come visit. “Both are just so small,” Evans said. “If you look at an exam room, you don’t even have room to fit a doc- tor, nurse and a youth all in the room at the same time.” MacLaren will get $1.8 million to upgrade its infir- mary, clinic and pharmacy. Evans said these services were in an old building, and the new one will be better suited to dealing with sick people. “If you walk into a place that’s cold, old and run- down looking, it’s not going to make you feel better,” she said. Several Salem buildings are getting upgrades through the Oregon Military Depart- ment. Almost $10 mil- lion is dedicated to improv- ing Army Aviation Support facilities in Salem and Pend- leton. The buildings will be seismically retrofitted and receive backup generators. The Oregon Supreme Court building will get a seismic upgrade, along with other renovations and ener- gy-efficiency upgrades, using $28 million in state funds. The Oregon Depart- ment of Corrections got more than $47 million to upgrade radios, cameras and building maintenance. The department is also going to use $1.6 million to upgrade the software it uses to track inmates. The software now in use today was devel- oped in the 1980s, accord- ing to testimony submitted to the Legislature, and is the black-screen-green-font sort of software now mostly seen in decades-old movies. Hello Grant County, We are working on our coupon book, but it’s not too late if you would like to submit a coupon. Remember, it’s free and great advertising to our visitors. If you don’t want to submit a coupon or your business isn’t conducive to coupons, you can submit a small ad. We will be including a listing of all our Chamber members. If you’re interested, please call the office. I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! It was hard to decide what to do, there was so much going on! It looks like July is going to be a busy month! There are several events scheduled: July 13-14 – Carl Schnabele Memorial Roping July 18 – Special Presentation – “Chinese Tunnels” Myth or Reality? – Grantville Theater July 19 – The John Day Invitational Swim Meet July 20 – Grant County Steer Jackpot July 25 – Special Presentation – May 1887, What Happened? – Grantville Theater July 26–28 – District Swim Meet The Fairgrounds is also having the: July 27 – Whiskey Gulch Gang Derby July 27-28 - Prairie City Fiber Fest Don’t forget the Farmer’s Market every Saturday! The Chamber Board will meet Thursday, July 18, at 10:30 a.m. at the Chamber office. The monthly luncheon will be held at 12 p.m. at the Outpost. This month’s speaker will be Kurt Renstrom from Johnson Benefit Planning. He will be sharing information about the health insurance available for small businesses through the Bend Chamber of Commerce. Enjoy the beautiful weather! Tammy Bremner Manager, Grant County Chamber of Commerce 130578
