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UPDATE on S.B. 554 – Safe Storage and Concealed Carry Restrictions

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Work Session for S.B. 554 – Allowing For Bans on Concealed Carry

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There is a work session scheduled for today (4/23) at 11AM for SB 554 (allows for bans on concealed carry). During this work session it is expected that SB 554 will be heavily amended to include most of HB 2510 (safe storage) and to reduce some of the effects of SB 554. You can read the proposed amendment here.

The effects of this amendment are complex, and it is worth your while to read this amendment carefully. Changes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Strict liability has been removed from the safe storage portion. Instead, violation is “negligence per se” and “The presumption of negligence may not be overcome by a showing that the person acted reasonably.”

Guns must be sold with an engaged trigger or cable lock or in a locked container.

OHA is no longer charged with defining criteria for locking mechanisms or containers.

Locked gun rooms no longer count as locked containers, but a secured domicile still suffices.

For the SB 554 (concealed carry) portions:

Concealed carry bans may be imposed for government buildings, major airports (over 1 million passengers per year), and school buildings run by a college or school system.

If someone brings a firearm into a prohibited zone and has a concealed handgun license, and can show that they had a license in court, it’s now a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

As a reminder, we (the DPO Gun Owners Caucus) voted to oppose SB 554 because it would lead to a difficult-to-navigate series of concealed carry bans. This amendment ameliorates that and also makes violation a misdemeanor instead of a felony. We (the DPO Gun Owners Caucus) also voted to oppose HB 2510 on the grounds that strict liability is too much and we don’t trust the OHA to provide suitable criteria. This amendment eliminates those objections as well.

Because this amendment makes substantial changes to two important bills, it is imperative that you read if for yourself and then testify to the committee. Because work on this bill will take place in an 11AM work session at which testimony is not admitted, we encourage you to submit testimony for the THURSDAY hearings by tomorrow morning at 8AM. 

To testify on SB 554 and the amendment:

We recommend using this page to upload your written testimony. When you do:

For “Choose a Committee,” make sure that “House Committee on Rules” is selected.

For “Choose a Meeting Date,” select “4/22/2021 8:00 AM” (yes, really)

Select “SB 554” (it’s the only one being heard at that time slot)

You can now upload a PDF of your written testimony, or submit up to 4000 characters of text. When you submit your testimony:

  • PLEASE be detailed as to your reasons for supporting or opposing.
  • PLEASE be polite to a fault.
  • PLEASE mention that you are a Gun Owning Democrat.

DPO Gunowners’ Caucus Testimony on House Bill 2510

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DPO Gunowners’ Caucus

Testimony on House Bill 2510

March 4, 2021

Chair Prusak, Vice Chairs Hayden and Salinas, and Members of the Committee, My name i s Michael Smith. I am a resident of Multnomah County and currently serve as Chair of the Gun Owners Caucus of the Democratic Party of Oregon. I write today on behalf of the Gun Owners Caucus to express our opposition to HB2510 as currently written.

On February 1st, the Caucus considered whether to support or oppose several bills before the State Legislature that pertain to firearms. Among these i s HB 2510, colloquially known as the Safe Storage Bill. We appreciate that the bill represents a shift i n attitude about gun legislation, treating gun violence as a public health i ssue.

We believe this i s a productive step i n the right direction. We believe that a safe storage l aw would do a great deal to reduce gun deaths across the board — mass shootings, yes, but also suicides and domestic homicides that make up the vast majority of gun deaths.

We believe that safe storage laws are a good idea in theory. As with any gun safety law, the details matter. The caucus has concerns with HB2510, and these mirror concerns that we had about HB 4005 from the 2020 Special Session. We ask that the Legislature consider modifying HB 2510 to address the below points before putting  it to the floor.

Specifically, we note the following:

• Strict liability. The Caucus believes this could cast firearms ownership as so inherently dangerous as to warrant onerous regulations. We believe the fallout from this could be devastating to productive conversations on gun ownership and safety and to gun owners’ rights.

• No definition set for adequate safes and locking devices. We discussed this at length during a telephone town hall held Thursday, January 30th, 2020, that included members of the Caucus, Representative Prusak, and Representative Sollman. The Representatives expressed their opinion that existing l aw and legislative intent would provide adequate guidelines to the Oregon Health Authority so that OHA would allow gun owners to employ a wide variety of effective, inexpensive devices i n order to comply with the bill. We appreciated that discussion, however the caucus remains concerned that OHA is being given too expansive authority to decide what constitutes an “adequate” locking or storage device. The Caucus i s concerned that misplaced good intentions on the part of OHA regulators could have them decide that no cable lock or trigger lock meets their standard and that only the most robust (and expensive, and difficult to deploy) containers suffice, thus forcing renters and the poor to either carry all their firearms full time or risk a ticket and strict liability. They do not believe that current statements of legislative intent will suffice to prevent this. Simply put, the Caucus wants the bill to more extensively define the guidelines OHA i s expected to follow.

• Law Enforcement Officer exemption. Per lines 40-42 of page [3] of the bill, civilians would be held to a minimum standard of firearm storage from which police are exempt. We believe that l aw enforcement should follow the same laws as Oregon citizens.

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Smith, Chair, DPO Gun Owners’ Caucus

BIDEN’S INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN HELPING TO BUILD RURAL OREGON BACK BETTER!

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The American Jobs Plan is the most comprehensive and ambitious investment in US jobs since World War II. While most only think of roads and bridges as infrastructure (which they are), this progressive plan takes a bold new approach to building our country back better! Some of the ways we will all benefit include:

  • Delivery of clean drinking water by replacing 100 percent of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines
  • Creating good jobs electrifying vehicles
  • Building high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach 100 percent coverage – THIS IS HUGE FOR RURAL OREGONIANS!
  • Creating jobs modernizing power generation and delivering clean electricity.
  • Improving ports, waterways, and airports

Click HERE to read Heather Cox Richardson’s take on how this historic proposal can build our country back, providing much needed improvements and bringing many jobs to American workers.

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04-11-2021 – COVID-19 Vaccination Q&A Forum

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COVID-19 Vaccinations are becoming more widely available with the roll out of the The American Rescue Plan. However, there are many questions people still have relating to the vaccine.

Join our Healthcare Caucus as they present a COVID-19 Vaccination Question and Answer Virtual Forum with guest speakers, Dr. Bruce Murray, Internal Medicine Specialist and Josephine County Public Health advisor; Dr. Kathleen Mechling, Family Medicine Specialist; and Dr. Barbra Villona, International Emergency Physician.

Some questions that will be addressed include:

  • How do I find a vaccination site nearby?
  • How risky are the vaccines?
  • How do we know the vaccines are safe?
  • Is it safer to contract the virus or to get the vaccine?
  • Why do we need to get to “herd immunity” and what is that?
  • I’ve gotten my vaccination, now what?  

Pre-registration required at this Link.
Submit your questions in advance of the event using this Link

Josephine County residents can use this form to locate vaccination clinics, and request appointments.

Eligible residents can receive an in-home vaccination if travel is difficult through the The ADRC (Aging & Disability Resource Connection). Please call 541-618-7572 for more information.

Democrats Propose Bold Change with HR 1 – the “For The People Act”

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According to the Brennan Center for Justice, republican lawmakers have been aggressively introducing new restrictive voting provisions, and voter suppressive bills across the nation. “We see a wave of legislative attempts to curb the vote, the most significant attempted cutback of voting rights since the Jim Crow era. The Brennan Center has studied these laws for years and last month found 253 bills in 43 states, seven times the rate of four years ago, and the number is even higher right now.”

HR1 can help remedy these damaging voter suppression laws, by expanding voting rights, changing campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, limiting partisan gerrymandering, and creating new ethics rules for federal officeholders. HR1 also seeks to expand early voting, create same-day voter registration, and much more.

For those who debate that this legislation goes against state’s rights (a common argument from republicans) this legislation explicitly follows the Constitution. The Elections Clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1)  gives Congress the power to set a national standard for the “times, places, and manner” of federal elections.

In a Supreme Court case relating to gerrymandering in 2019, Chief Justice John Roberts  referenced the Elections Clause in his published opinion that specifically pointed to this legislation as a constitutionally sound example of Congress’s power to set election law. (P 13, Sec B, P34  Sec D)

According to Common Cause, HR1 will provide for the following improvements and election security protections:

Protecting and expanding voting rights and election security:

  • Automatic voter registration
  • Online voter registration
  • Same day voter registration
  • Make election day a federal holiday
  • Voting rights restoration to people with prior felony convictions
  • Expand early voting and simplify absentee voting
  • Prohibit voter purges that kick eligible voters off the registration rolls
  • Enhance election security with increase support for a paper-based voting system and more oversight over election vendors
  • End partisan gerrymandering by established independent redistricting commissions
  • Prohibit providing false information about the elections process that discourage voting and other deceptive practices

Reduce the influence of big money in our politics:

  • Require secret money organizations that spend money in elections to disclose their donors
  • Upgrade online political spending transparency rules to ensure voters know who is paying for the advertisements they see
  • Create a small donor-focused public financing matching system so candidates for Congress aren’t just reliant on big money donors to fund their campaigns and set their priorities
  • Strengthen oversight rules to ensure those who break our campaign finance laws are held accountable
  • Overhaul the Federal Election Commission to enforce campaign finance law
  • Prohibit the use of shell companies to funnel foreign money in U.S. elections
  • Require government contractors to disclose their political spending

Ensure an ethical government accountable to the people:

  • Slow the revolving door between government officials and lobbyists
  • Expand conflict of interest law
  • Ban members of Congress from serving on corporate boards
  • Require presidents to publicly disclose their tax returns
  • Overhaul the Office of Government Ethics to ensure stronger enforcement of ethics rules
  • Require members of the U.S. Supreme Court abide by a judicial code of ethics

Please contact your elected representatives and tell them you support this legislation and want them to get it passed as soon as possible!

CD2 Cliff Bentz: email, DC- (202) 225-6730, Medford – (541) 776-4646
CD4 Congressman Peter DeFazio: email, DC – (202) 225-6416, Eugene – (541) 465-6732
Senator Jeff Merkley: email, DC – (202) 224-3753, Medford – (541) 608-9102
Senator Ron Wyden: email, DC – (202) 224-5244, Medford – (541) 858-5122

You can find the full text of the bill at this link.

Review of Measure 17-98 : Formation of Josephine Rural Fire Protection District

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NOTE: Five of the Candidates running for the proposed Board of Directors for the Josephine Rural Fire Protection District will be at our April 13, 2021 6:30 pm General Meeting. We highly encourage you to join in this important discussion! Pre-registration at this link.

In May 2019, the Josephine County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) asked voters an advisory question: “In your opinion, should Josephine County begin the process to form a Rural Fire Protection District (RFPD) in currently unprotected areas?” An overwhelming 65% of the voters voted in favor of the formation of a RFPD. Accordingly, the BCC established a Fire Protection Committee and hired a private, unbiased consultant, Public Consulting Group to “assess and study fire protection in the unprotected areas.”

The final report made by Public Consulting Group provided several recommendations, however, the BCC ultimately chose to put this issue on the ballot for residents to decide.

Keeping in mind that 65% of the voters already demonstrated support for the formation of a Rural Fire Protection District, this should be a no brainer, but opposition focusses on the desire to keep competitive private for profit models, and the issue of new “taxes”.

One of the larger issues of concern with private for profit fire protection is that there are NO standards for those offering “fire protection” services, as highlighted on page 47 of the report.

Retired Fire Public Information Officer, Geri Ventura elaborated on the need to pass this measure in her guest editorial provided to the “YES ON FIRE DISTRICT” committee.

JOSEPHINE COUNTY NEEDS IMPROVED FIRE PROTECTION SERVICES!

Geri Ventura, Retired Montecito Fire
Protection District, Public Information Officer

Currently, a large portion of rural Josephine County has no fire protection agency available to its constituents unless they subscribe to one of several private for-profit service providers.

Passage of Local Measure 17-98 would create an Independent Rural Fire District that would provide service in these areas not currently served by a Fire District.  If passed, this would provide governance by an elected five member Board of Directors who would be responsible for determining standards of coverage, annual budgets and operational policies.

Special districts link costs to benefits. General purpose local governments, such as counties and cities, levy taxes to pay for general public services and balance their budgets with each department they oversee. In a special district, only those who benefit from the district’s services pay for them. Because most special districts are geographically smaller and made up of fewer residents than an entire county or city, they’re also generally more responsive to their constituents.

The creation of this Independent Rural Fire District will allow for effective emergency management services and create an entity for planning, coordination and grant funding.

Constituents do not have this kind of local control when forced to choose from volunteer fire service models, or private for-profit fire service. This special district will provide local governance and provide transparency with their annual budgets and reports.

Almost 30% of property owners in the proposed Fire District do not subscribe to either of the private fire services available to them. This means that if you are a current subscriber, you are subsidizing the protection of those who do not. Fire protection, law enforcement and the military are societal responsibilities best managed as a service for all, not just the few who choose to subscribe.

While non-subscribers don’t pay up front for service, they still benefit when the need arises and they call 911 for medical assistance or other fire service related incidents.

Non-subscribers benefit up-front from the 24/7 on-call response, including the training personnel receive; the maintenance and purchase of equipment, and the general overhead expenses necessary for the agency to exist, yet they contribute nothing to maintain this very necessary public safety service.

We have seen that our community is just an ember away from a fire conflagration that has the capacity to wipe out large swaths of our community potentially taking lives while everything else gets burned to the ground. We need to be pro-active about this! Providing local governance of this service puts the power in the hands of the people served.  An Independent Rural Fire District will allow for input from its constituents and transparency in how revenues are utilized to increase the safety of the community.

It is equally important to get the right people elected to the positions that will provide this governance.

While the final elected Board of Directors will ultimately decide on levels of service, policy and budget development, these candidates, endorsed by the “Yes for Fire District Committee”, have committed to pursuing what I believe to be in the best interest of this community.

If elected, these five candidate have agreed to pursue the following proposals for the newly formed Fire District that will benefit not only all who live within the boundaries of the proposed district, but neighboring agencies will benefit by creating a complete network for emergency services in Josephine County.

The slate of endorsed candidates propose:

    • Improved response times for all calls for service, including fires, medical emergencies and lift assists
    • Application of state grant funding to provide a new fire station in Hugo
    • Full time 24/7 staffing at the Robertson Bridge Merlin fire station
    • Application for Fire District specific grants for staffing, training, and surplus equipment
    • Fuels reduction programs for low income residents
    • District to be staffed by highly trained, well-equipped, and professional men and women
    • Improved insurance ratings for some rural constituents
    • Provide a process for low income property owners to apply for financial hardship consideration
Position #1 – Jeff Hollenbeck
Position #2 – Dorothy Yetter
Position #3 – Mark Jones
Position #4 – Randy Benetti, Sr.

Position #5 – Danny Kahler

I am excited that we have this opportunity to create a Fire District for rural Josephine County residents, and I ask that you join me in voting YES on Measure 17-98 and voting for this great slate of candidates! Rural Josephine County residents deserves this. We’ve been neglected in the area of fire protection services for too long.

For more information, go to the Yes on 17-98 website: http://yesonfiredistrict.com

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Help Is Here and It Feels So Good!

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THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN
HELP IS HERE AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!

When President Biden took office, he promised the American people that help was on the way.  Now, Biden and Democrats have delivered on that promise. Here are some highlights of what the American Rescue Plan means for you and fellow Oregonians:

DIRECT PAYMENTS: This plan will get checks out the door, starting NOW.  85% of American households will get direct payments of one thousand four hundred dollars per person. Because of Democrats, working families bearing the brunt of this crisis will see $1,400 direct checks in the mail, thousands more in individual benefits, the resources to get our kids and teachers safely back to school, access to more affordable health care and so much more.

VACCINES: This plan provides funding for vaccine distribution, coronavirus testing, and contact tracing so we can get vaccines into the arms of more people and end this pandemic.

STATE HELP:  The plan provides $2.758 billion in state relief.

The American Rescue Plan is the most consequential piece of legislation for working families in modern American history.  It is a historic response to the moment of crisis we face and will make a real difference in the lives of Americans by creating jobs, providing economic relief, and defeating this virus.

This is a huge accomplishment, but we still have so much work to do to help our country recover from this pandemic.  One thing is clear: we have to keep electing Democrats up and down the ballot to get critical, progressive legislation like the American Rescue Plan across the finish line.

OPPOSITION

The American Rescue plan had bipartisan support across the country with the voters. Democrats voted for a package that enjoys broad support from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents across the country.

Yet, NOT A SINGLE elected Republican supported it, including our congressional representative Cliff Bentz.

Democrats voted to send $1,400 checks to Americans bearing the brunt of the crisis – not a single Republican joined them.

Democrats voted for a national vaccination program to get shots into people’s arms – not a single Republican joined them.

Democrats voted for aid for small businesses struggling to keep their doors open – not a single Republican joined them.

Democrats voted for funding to keep educators on the payroll and to safely reopen schools – not a single Republican joined them.

While the plan has broad bipartisan support among citizens, our recent wins in the Senate and House were slim.  The far right factions of the Republican Party are even now supporting HUNDREDS of state bills to limit voting rights.

HOW CAN I HELP?

To hang on to these victories and ensure a bright future for our democracy, we need YOUR involvement! This includes participating in our local party efforts, helping to keep our Democratic elected officials in office, and help flip obstructionist in office who are blocking much needed progress!

Sign up here to learn more about how you can be involved in our local democracy!

 

Every Election Is Important!

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MAY 18, 2021 WILL SOON BE HERE!

We are now focusing our efforts on Getting Out The Vote (GOTV). Although the General Election had a turnout of 76% this last year in Josephine County, we see much lower turnouts during other elections (e.g., only 43% turnout for Josephine county in the 2020 primary election). Electing Democratic candidates into local positions is extremely important and our local elections should not be ignored!

Our next election is May 18, 2021, with most ballots being mailed out on or after April 28, 2021. (Registered voters with mailing addresses outside of Oregon may go out on or after April 19, 2021.)

Don’t forget – the deadline to file a candidate statement or a measure argument in the Josephine County Voters’ Pamphlet is Monday, March 22nd!

Thursday, March 18th marked the final deadline to file for the May 18, 2021 Special Election. These non-partisan districts include:

SPECIAL DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS

Grants Pass School District #7

Three Rivers School District

Rogue Community College

Illinois Valley Rural Fire Protection District

Williams Rural Fire Protection District

Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District

Kerby Water District

Merlin/North Valley Sanitary District

Josephine Community Library District

Josephine Independent Rural Fire Protection District (Proposed)

LOCAL MEASURES ON THE BALLOT

17.97 City of GP-Three-year City Police & Fire Local Option Tax

17.98 Proposed Josephine Independent Rural Fire Protection District

17.99 TRSD-Bonds to improve student safety, programs and school facilities

Our efforts in electing local Democrats, such as our Grants Pass Mayor and members of Grants Pass City Council, are a testament to our abilities as a community to vote in responsible, genuine and hard-working Democrats. Let’s continue bettering our community by electing those candidates that best serve us. You can view the local races, measures and candidate filings for this May 18th Special Election at https://co.josephine.or.us/Page.asp?NavID=1669.

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