A10
STATE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Hundreds turn up at Oregon Capitol for #ReOpenOregon rally
By Dick Hughes
For the Oregon Capital Bureau
Hundreds of people turned up at the
Oregon State Capitol on Saturday for a
“#ReOpenOregon” rally.
People came and went during the
rain, lining both sides of the street in
front of the Capitol, which has been
closed to the public for several weeks as
a public health precaution.
Demonstrators held signs and waved
American flags as vehicles circled the
Capitol, honking their support. Some
participants wore masks and main-
tained “social distances.” Others gath-
ered together.
A group calling itself Oregon Unit-
ing for Liberty organized the Salem
rally, which was endorsed by the
Oregon Republican Party and other
organizations.
Signs included “Fear is the virus,”
“Freedom is bi-partisan,” “My freedom
does not end where your fear begins,”
“Unlock Oregon,” “Fire Gov. Brown,
reopen Oregon,” “Boycott China” and
“Gov. Brown, I went to church on Sun-
day. Please don’t arrest me.” Other signs
supported President Donald Trump and
Republican candidates.
“This isn’t a partisan political event,
but instead a public rally to rescue our
livelihoods and freedoms from being
extinguished by a government that has
forgotten that, in America, government
must operate with the consent of the
governed,” party Chairman Bill Currier
said beforehand.
“The shutdown in Oregon was
intended to ‘flatten the curve’ of
COVID-19 infections and prevent cases
severe enough to need hospitalization.
Unfortunately, it has been at the cost of
damaging Oregon’s economy and push-
ing many of our businesses, institutions,
and activities deemed ‘non-essential’ by
the Governor to the point of collapse.”
Brown commented to Oregon Pub-
lic Broadcasting before the rally: “I
know folks are worried about how
they’re going to pay their rent, put food
on the table and buy essentials for their
families,” Brown said. “I just would ask
folks as they operate their First Amend-
ment right to free speech to maintain
social distancing, wear masks and be
considerate of others.”
Medical experts say a gradual phase
out of the stay-at-home orders is neces-
sary to prevent rapid spread of the virus.
Statewide polling conducted by
DHM Research in Portland has shown
strong support for Gov. Brown’s direc-
tives that forced many businesses to
close and others to maintain social
distancing.
In promoting the rally, Oregon Unit-
ing for Liberty explained: “We assert
that Governor Brown has unconsti-
tutionally restricted our freedom of
assembly, infringed upon our right to
Gov. Brown: Parts of rural Oregon could reopen May 15
By Dick Hughes
For the Oregon Capital Bureau
Gov. Kate Brown hopes
that some rural areas with
few or no COVID-19 cases
could start reopening for
business and other activi-
ties as soon as May 15.
Brown held video con-
ferences Friday after-
noon with county and
hospital officials in Cen-
tral and Eastern Oregon
to talk about testing, con-
tact tracing and isolating
of people infected with the
coronavirus.
“Assuming these coun-
ties have these processes in
place, that would enable us
to safely and slowly begin
the reopening process on
May 15 for some counties
— only if they meet all the
criteria,” she said during
a Friday morning press
conference conducted by
phone and video.
Brown said criteria
would be released soon
for counties that have had
more than five COVID-
19 cases. All of Oregon’s
urban counties and some
rural counties are in that
situation.
“We’re not going to
be able to reopen Ore-
gon quickly or in one fell
swoop,” Brown said, add-
ing that Oregonians will
still need to maintain phys-
ical distancing, wear masks
in public and follow proper
hygiene to prevent spread-
ing the coronavirus. “Hand-
shaking is probably out the
window for a long time.
“I wish I could tell folks
in Eastern Oregon that our
lives are going to get back
to normal. It is just going to
be a different type of nor-
mal. And until we have a
vaccine or we have medi-
cine, we are going to have
to be extremely careful
regarding the virus.”
The Oregon Health
Authority and Brown’s
staff, working in consulta-
tion with advisory groups,
has been drafting guide-
lines for how specific busi-
ness sectors could reopen.
As of Friday, medical, den-
tal and veterinary facilities
were allowed to resume
freely worship, closed access to pub-
lic lands, and prohibited businesses
from engaging in commerce. She has
deemed certain businesses ‘essential’
while refusing to allow other businesses
to remain open even if they are able to
implement policies or methods of oper-
ation that minimize the risk of spread-
ing this virus. She has unilaterally
issued orders that ignore the diversity of
our state and denied localities the abil-
ity to do what is best for the citizens in
their towns, cities, and counties. These
orders are threatening the very freedom
and liberties our Founding Fathers guar-
anteed to us in the Constitution — the
same liberties guaranteed in the Oregon
Constitution.”
State agencies to prepare
for spending cuts
By Peter Wong
Oregon Capital Bureau
Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin
A closed sign is posted in the front window of L & K Barber Shop in downtown Bend.
regular procedures so long
as they followed those
rules.
Brown announced what
she said was a thorough
strategy to diagnose those
who have COVID-19 and
to determine places where
the coronavirus might be
hiding. She said testing
should be available through-
out Oregon for anyone who
displays COVID-19 symp-
toms, as well as to people in
nursing homes, farmworker
housing, prisons, fishing
boats and other group living
situations where the disease
was suspected.
Public health officials
will trace who came in con-
tact with infected individu-
als. Anyone who did so will
be asked to self-quarantine
at home for 14 days.
In addition, Oregon
Health & Science Univer-
sity will launch a year-long
statewide study in which
100,000 Oregon are selected
at random and asked to vol-
unteer for daily monitoring.
Invitations to volunteer will
be mailed out the week of
May 11.
“In order to reopen and
hopefully stay open, we
must have randomized,
widespread testing across
the entire state,” Brown
said. “This program is a
game changer. It will give
us a more accurate under-
standing of the true rate
of infection in Oregon
and to have ongoing preci-
sion monitoring of any new
outbreaks.”
OHSU President Dr.
Danny Jacobs said the data
would help Oregon manage
through the pandemic until a
vaccine is developed. But he
cautioned, “If we move too
quickly in resuming our pre-
COVID-19 lives, we put our-
selves at increased risk of a
secondary or second wave of
infection.”
Dr. Dean Sidelinger, the
state health officer, acknowl-
edged the risks.
“Our projections show
that the disease will increase
in Oregon as we open up, that
more people will be hospital-
ized and even die,” he said.
Brown said the state
would be ready to tighten
restrictions if COVID-19
surged. Key metrics include
the number of people going
to
hospital
emergency
departments for COVID-19
treatment, the average num-
ber of new cases and hospi-
talization rates.
The state’s major hos-
pital systems — including
Providence, Legacy, Kai-
ser, Asante, St. Charles and
OHSU — have agreed that
testing for the disease will be
managed on a unified, state-
wide basis so every region
has adequate resources.
Brown said rural hospitals
would be included.
Although the state has
sufficient testing capac-
ity overall, Oregon Health
Authority documents show
shortages in the central and
southern Willamette Val-
ley, along the central and
southern coast and in some
of Eastern Oregon.
Harney, Umatilla, Baker
and Douglas counties have
submitted letters asking the
governor for approval to
reopen. Umatilla County
Commissioner
George
Murdock said the Friday
afternoon video conference
with Brown left him feel-
ing optimistic about a mid-
May reopening.
“We don’t think our
businesses can last much
longer. They’re hanging on
by a thread,” he said.
Murdock said officials
were still seeking guid-
ance about the feasibility
of large gatherings, such as
county fairs and the Pend-
leton Round-Up. Brown
said that information would
be forthcoming.
State agencies have been told
to prepare spending cuts that
may amount to 8.5% of their
share of the tax-supported gen-
eral fund in the next two years.
The proposed cuts, which
Gov. Kate Brown has directed
state budget officials to compile
by May 8, would add up to just
under $2 billion. They also would
be deeper than 8.5%, given that
state government already is 10
months into its 2019-21 budget
cycle.
“At this point, the reduction
plans are a planning exercise that
will give the governor a series of
options to consider,” said Eliza-
beth Merah, a spokeswoman for
Brown.
Oregon’s two-year budget
from the general fund — largely
personal and corporate income
taxes that make up more than 90%
— and lottery proceeds is $23.7
billion. The state spends more,
but federal grants are earmarked
and other funds are restricted.
Tax collections and lottery
proceeds are likely to fall far
short of projections because shut-
downs and curtailments linked to
the coronavirus pandemic have
resulted in worker layoffs and less
business activity. Most Oregon
Lottery proceeds are generated
by video terminals, which are in
bars, taverns and restaurants shut-
tered to the public.
The state’s next quarterly eco-
nomic and revenue forecast is
scheduled for Wednesday, May
20.
“While we do not know the
precise impacts of the forecast,
we do know it will be a signif-
icant drop in state revenues,”
said a memo from Chief Finan-
cial Officer George Naughton
and his deputy, Kate Nass. “This
impact could be as high as a loss
of $2 (billion) to $3 billion in
state resources during the current
2019-21 biennium.”
The most recent forecast had
projected an ending balance of
$1.153 billion, but the request
for spending-cut proposals now
envisions a total of $1.847 bil-
lion to cut. In practice, the end-
ing balance is never zero, though
in the 1981-83 downturn, it got
down to $3 million of a gener-
John
Lamborn
Potential offsets
The request for spending-cut
proposals do not take into
account some other factors:
• State reserve funds, which
total just under $3 billion, about
14% of the general-fund bud-
get. Only the Legislature can tap
those funds — a general reserve
and a lottery reserve earmarked
for education — and lawmakers
are barred from spending all the
money in a single budget cycle.
• Oregon’s $871 million
share of $150 billion that the
federal CARES Act allotted to
the states. The state total is actu-
ally $1.6 billion, but it includes
money for Portland, Multnomah
County and Washington County
— all with populations exceed-
ing 500,000 — that they can
seek directly from the U.S. Trea-
sury. (Some local governments
that fall under the 500,000 mark
have urged Brown to give them a
share of the state’s money.)
But the law, and recently
released Treasury guidelines,
bar states from using the money
to offset projected shortfalls
— only to cover expenses con-
nected with the pandemic. How-
ever, Congress is considering
more aid to state and local gov-
ernments in a future relief plan.
• Options affecting employee
pay, such as salary freezes and
unpaid furloughs. State budget
officials said in their memo that
recommendations would be con-
sidered on a statewide basis, not
by agency.
Also, although the request
by budget officials calls for cuts
amounting to 8.5%, the reduc-
tions are unlikely to be across the
board. The state cannot reduce
debt repayments or some ser-
vices mandated by law, although
such services can be reduced to a
specified minimum.
While Brown has the author-
ity to cut across the board, only
the Legislature can approve
selective spending cuts. A special
session for that purpose, whether
called by the governor or legisla-
tors themselves, is likely to await
the May 20 forecast.
On Brown’s behalf, Merah
concluded:
“One thing we do know:
whether it’s at the Ore-
gon Health Authority, at the
Department of Human Ser-
vices, at our State Police or at
the Department of Corrections,
state employees are working
many long hours to keep Ore-
gonians safe and secure during
this pandemic. In this time of
crisis, Oregonians rely on state
services more than ever, so cut-
ting critical state services will
be a last resort.”
Limited exemptions
for
Circuit Court
Judge
24th Judicial District
S186630-1
The right choice
beyond a reasonable doubt!
Paid for by John Lamborn for Judge, 191 West A St, Burns OR 97720 Sue Weathers, Treasurer
al-fund budget of just under $3
billion by the end of the cycle
in mid-1983 — and that was
after the Legislature raised per-
sonal income taxes to balance
the budget.
Although Brown has
ordered a partial hiring freeze,
it does not affect such agen-
cies as the Oregon Health
Authority or the Employment
Department, which is raising
the number of claims-pro-
cessing employees from 100
to 800 to handle a deluge
from unemployed workers.
Some agencies are exempt
from the request because they
fall outside the governor’s bud-
get authority. Among them: the
Legislature itself, state courts,
Oregon Lottery Commission,
secretary of state and state
treasurer, the latter two being
independently elected officials
under the Oregon Constitution.
The Department of Justice and
the Bureau of Labor and Indus-
tries, though led by elected
officials, are subject to execu-
tive budget authority.