A6
STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Legislators prepping to tackle guns, wildfires, homelessness
By Sam Stites, Jake Thomas
and Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
Legislators will roll up their
sleeves for some speedy politicking in
February, tackling some of Oregon’s
thorniest problems.
When they gather for the month-
long legislative session, legislators
want to improve the state’s care for
people with mental illness and its abil-
ity to fight increasingly destructive
wildfires.
They want to protect the state’s
air quality by decreasing the state’s
greenhouse gas emissions. Also high
on the “to-do” list is moving thou-
sands of Oregon’s homeless people
off the street and into housing.
Lawmakers expect to cooper-
ate across party lines in the Demo-
crat-controlled Legislature to progress
on run-of-the-mill issues and budget
fixes.
But the greenhouse gas proposal
poses the risk of a political blowout.
Last year, Senate Republicans fled
the state to avoid taking a vote on a
similar proposal. They have said such
an act remains an option for them in
February.
Other controversial issues coming
back to life include campaign finance
reform and firearm regulation.
Here’s a guide to what to watch
once legislators convene in the Capi-
tol on Feb. 3:
HOMELESSNESS
The issue: The U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development
estimates that about 15,800 Orego-
nians are homeless. About 64% are
“unsheltered,” meaning they live in
public or private places not meant
for human habitation, such as cars
or public parks. House Speaker Tina
Kotek, D-Portland, wants lawmakers
to declare a state of emergency and to
provide roughly $120 million in fund-
ing to help create more shelters, build
affordable housing and preserve exist-
ing affordable housing stock.
What’s at stake: The living
arrangements for thousands of Ore-
gonians who are confronted by ris-
ing rents and a thin supply of housing
they can afford. Moving people off the
streets and out of cars makes it easier
to provide social services to home-
less people who have mental health,
addiction and other challenges.
Key players: Kotek, state Rep.
Alissa Keny-Guyer, chair of the
House Human Services and Hous-
ing Committee, and state Sen. Shemia
Fagan, chair of the Senate Housing
and Development Committee.
The Oregon Health Authority
wants $20 million to add 50 beds to the
hospital’s Junction City campus. The
move would add 94 workers and shift
some patients to the new beds, freeing
up space in Salem. Lawmakers may
consider providing more money for
mental health services in communi-
ties across the state. Rep. Andrea Sali-
nas, D-Lake Oswego, is proposing
the state evaluate the need for more
behavioral health professionals.
What’s at stake: The National
Alliance on Mental Illness ranks Ore-
gon as one of the states with a high
prevalence of mental illness, and the
state hospital has struggled to keep up
with demand for its specialized ser-
vices. Without more money, the state
hospital could fall out of compliance
with a court order and then face new
lawsuits or penalties over inadequate
care. Meanwhile, judges struggle to
find places for those not requiring hos-
pital-level care within their own com-
munities, resulting in the release of
people who need treatment.
Key players: Oregon Health
Authority Director Patrick Allen;
Oregon State Hospital Superinten-
dent Dolly Matteucci; OHA Behav-
ioral Health Director Steve Allen;
Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland;
Sen. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay; Rep.
Andrea Salinas, D-Lake Oswego.
MENTAL HEALTH
The issue: The Oregon State Hos-
pital is struggling to accommodate
an influx of patients from counties.
Judges send defendants for treatment
so they can participate in their own
defense. In December, the hospital for
three weeks stopped admitting other
people needing treatment to make
room for defendants.
WILDFIRE
The issue: Oregon could change
the way it prevents and suppresses
wildfire. The governor’s Council on
Wildfire is proposing better ways
to plan fire suppression, assess risk
and prevent fires. Gov. Kate Brown
intends to ask for up to $200 million
over two years for the work.
Sen.
Herman
Baertschiger,
R-Grants Pass, wants to modernize
the state Forestry Department and
expand its ability to use aircraft on
wildfires.
What’s at stake: Despite an aver-
age fire season last year, where about
16,867 acres burned, the growing
threat of climate change has lawmak-
ers and forestry officials feeling like
they got lucky. Wildfire costs in 2017
and 2018 set new records. Such costs
are expected to grow if the state does
not spend more to prevent and miti-
gate fires, placing continuing strains
on state budgets.
Key players: Jason Miner, the
governor’s natural resources policy
advisor; Matt Donegan, chair of the
state Council on Wildfire; Sen. Her-
man Baertschiger, Jr., R-Grants Pass;
Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland; the
state Forestry Department.
GUNS
The issue: Democratic lawmak-
ers are making another attempt at
a “safe storage” gun control bill.
Another bill would allow local gov-
ernments to ban firearms from pub-
lic buildings.
What’s at stake: Advocates say
their proposal is intended to reduce
deaths and injuries in Oregon caused
by guns. The legislation could also
broaden the public buildings where
guns could be banned.
Key players: State Reps. Rachel
Prusak, D-West Linn; Janeen Soll-
man, D-Hillsboro; Oregon Firearms
Federation; the NRA; Oregonians
for Safe Gun Storage and Report-
ing Lost/Stolen Firearms; Moms
Demand Action.
Oregon public records council shores up support for independence
By Sam Stites
Oregon Capital Bureau
The state’s Public Records Advisory
Council rejected an attempt to restrict its
independence Jan. 22. At the same time,
the 13-member council said it would
fight attempts to block it from proposing
public records legislation.
During the meeting in Salem, the
council showed its support for Legisla-
tive Concept 166, which establishes the
council’s authority to propose legisla-
tion and makes the public records advo-
cate an independent member of the coun-
cil. The concept is expected to become
Senate Bill 1506 in the 35-day legislative
session that begins Feb. 3.
Scott Winkels, a member of the coun-
cil and a lobbyist for the League of Ore-
gon Cities, proposed measure amend-
ments to strike language dealing with the
advocate’s voting power. He also wanted
the group to drop its plans to seek public
records legislation.
Instead, the council voted to approve
the bill as it was proposed. Members also
authorized Chair Stephanie Clark and
acting Public Records Advocate Todd
Albert to propose legislation. Winkels
was the lone no vote.
In addition, the council decided to
advertise beginning March 9 for a new
public records advocate. The council
expects to review applicants and hire
someone in April.
and Steve Suo, The Oregonian’s inves-
tigations editor — raised concerns that
amendments proposed by Winkels’ orga-
nization put the council in an awkward
position.
“I’m uncomfortable having a council
member presenting and promoting the
special interest they’re paid to represent,”
Zaitz said. “While it might be interesting
informationally, it just strikes me as inap-
propriate. I’m concerned that going into
a discussion of amendments that are not
of the council’s doing provides, frankly,
a special entree to the council that other
organizations don’t appear to have.”
Suo said it was disruptive to the process
to have one member to try to “torpedo” a
proposed bill the council supported.
Council member Mark Landauer,
executive director of Oregon Public Ports,
said he didn’t view the league’s amend-
ments as an attempt to torpedo the bill. He
saw them as a difference of opinion on the
council’s mission.
Winkels said the amendments were
more about cleaning up “sloppy” lan-
guage dealing with the council’s author-
ity to propose legislation, a constitutional
right already available to the group. He
also said the league did not agree that
the public records advocate should be an
independent office. The advocate’s posi-
tion was created in 2017 under the gover-
nor’s authority.
“If the league doesn’t feel like this is
a good bill, we should be able to offer an
alternative,” Winkels said.
‘Torpedo’ proposed bill
During the debate, two members of
the council — Les Zaitz, editor and pub-
lisher of The Malheur Enterprise and
chief of the Oregon Capital Bureau,
Limiting council’s
independence
During public testimony, Stayton
City Councilor Jordan Ohrt said she
supported more independence for the
council and the advocate. Former Pub-
lic Records Advocate Ginger McCall,
who resigned in September 2019, also
opposed the amendments.
“One thing I’d point out to be wary
of is that the language in the amend-
ment says the council ‘vet and review’
proposals by others. Having that lan-
guage in there could be interpreted
as limited, so that the council is not
placed or positioned to propose leg-
islation on its own,” McCall told the
council.
Independence for the public records
advocate and the council was particu-
larly important because of the situation
surrounding McCall’s exit. In a letter
to Brown last September, McCall cast
light on disagreements she had with
Brown’s top attorney, Misha Isaak, over
whether it was the advocate’s responsi-
bility to be a member of the governor’s
team or an independent authority.
“If the advocate were to represent
the interests of an elected official while
allowing the council and the public to
believe that she is acting independently,
that would be both unethical and par-
ticularly inappropriate for an office that
was founded to promote transparency,”
McCall wrote.
Lawmakers created the office of
the public records advocate in 2017 to
increase transparency in state and local
government. It also was designed to
mediate disputes over public records.
Brown proposed the advocate and the
council as a way to increase state trans-
parency after ascending to the gover-
nor’s office when former Gov. John
Kitzhaber resigned.
ENVIRONMENT
The issue: Democrats are pursu-
ing limits on greenhouse emissions
by industry in their latest version of
a cap-and-trade program.
What’s at stake: Scientists say
the impact of climate change grows
more distinct each year, and envi-
ronmentalists contend Oregon needs
to be a leader at taming damaging
emissions. But opponents in industry
and agriculture say new costs would
harm employers and consumers.
Key players: Sen. Michael Dem-
brow, D-Portland; Sen. Arnie Roblan,
D-Coos Bay; Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem; Sen. Herman
Baertschiger, Jr., R-Grants Pass.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
The issue: Oregon is one of a
handful of states that don’t limit
donations to political campaigns.
Supporters say major donors have an
outsized influence on Oregon poli-
tics while opponents say campaign
donations are a form of free speech
that shouldn’t be restricted. New lim-
its could change Oregon campaigns
because candidates would have less
money to market themselves.
What’s at stake: Voters will
consider a constitutional amend-
ment in November that would free
the Legislature to regulate cam-
paign finance. Legislation could be
considered that would script new
campaign limits if that ballot mea-
sure passes. Key leaders, includ-
ing the governor, have backed away
from pushing such legislation for
now.
Key players: Sen. Jeff Golden,
D-Ashland;
Honest
Elections
Oregon.
Measure to limit self-
checkout gets nod from
Oregon Supreme Court
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
Are they an annoyance? A
convenience? Do they destroy
jobs?
A federation of Oregon
workers wants voters to issue
a verdict on the self-checkout
kiosks becoming more preva-
lent at grocery stores.
A petition to limit each gro-
cery store to two of the check-
out kiosks can soon move
forward to signature gather-
ing. On Friday, the Oregon
Supreme Court certified the
attorney general’s description
of the proposed measure.
Sandra McDonough, presi-
dent and CEO of lobby group
Oregon Business & Industry,
challenged Attorney General
Ellen Rosenblum’s descrip-
tion of the proposed measure,
asking the Supreme Court to
review it.
Backers need 112,020 signa-
tures to get to voters’ ballots in
November. Filed in July, Initia-
tive Petition 41 is backed by the
Oregon AFL-CIO, a coalition
of labor groups representing
about 300,000 Oregon workers.
“We have been consistently
concerned about the impacts of
technology and automation on
John
Lamborn
for
Circuit Court
Judge
24th Judicial District
1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439
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ple, especially when they have
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used in their workplaces,” Gra-
ham Trainor, president of the
Oregon AFL-CIO, said in a
statement. “You can see expan-
sion of self-checkout machines
in stores across the country and
in Oregon.”
He said jobs are lost as a
result.
The AFL-CIO contends
self-checkout kiosks make cus-
tomers feel socially isolated,
particularly elderly people,
and that the kiosks let stores
rely more on part-time work-
ers and leaves workers “feel-
ing devalued.” They also claim
self-checkout stands make it
easier for minors to buy alco-
hol and for people to steal
from stores. Joe Gilliam, presi-
dent of the Northwest Grocery
Association, an industry group,
scoffed at the labor group’s
claims, calling the proposed
measure “a bit perplexing and
very misguided.”
“Today’s customer wants
convenience and less has-
sle when shopping,” Gilliam
wrote in an email to The Ore-
gon Capital Bureau. “This is
evident in the growth of online
shopping for local pick-up and
home delivery. ”
He said that self-checkout
allows customers check out
more quickly and privately. He
said presuming that self-check-
out machines would replace
workers is “simply untrue.”
The measure would give
the state Bureau of Labor and
Industries enforcement power
and let it issue penalties for
stores that provide too many
self-service stations.
In
court
documents,
McDonough argued the pro-
posed restriction would have a
“substantial impact” on retail-
ers and shoppers.
She argued that the ballot
title wasn’t clear that “virtually
all Oregonians” could sue gro-
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35-day short session will be a legislative sprint
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