NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: The Oregon Way and Some Time Off

A look inside the numbers shows the political, social, and geographic gaps that underlie our civic discourse:

• By small majorities, people aged 75 and older, college graduates, and urban residents were more likely to say Oregon is going in the right direction.
• Republicans and those who consider themselves economically or socially conservative were more worried than their counterparts about the future of their area of Oregon.
• Slightly more than half of Oregonians felt left behind economically.

Yet, the survey reported, two-thirds of Oregonians “believe there are things that we all value that cut across political divides, representing the common ground we can stand on together to make our state a better place.”

That gives hope that rank-and-file Oregonians, not just elected leaders, can work together to turn things around.

A place to start: Cut the trash talk. Stifle the snide remarks. Don’t sugarcoat Oregon’s shortcomings but aggressively attack the state’s problems, not its policymakers. Develop workable solutions, regardless of whose idea they are, by finding common ground. Collaborate and compromise for the common good instead of seeking personal or partisan advantage.

It’s called “The Oregon Way,” and it harkens back to the decision-making approach used by great Oregon politicians — namely, former governors Tom McCall and Bob Straub, former Sen. Mark Hatfield and Sen. Ron Wyden — who span both sides of the aisle. Sen. Wyden explained it like this in 2009: “The Oregon Way is more about taking good ideas wherever they come from, rather than one party or one philosophy.”

Thank you Dick for those observations.

As the state and nation strive toward a renewed era of unity, kindness, and inclusiveness, take a look here at some of the individuals and organizations that have worked to rebuild, lift each other up, and ensure Oregonians and visitors to Oregon can enjoy the state’s natural treasures for generations to come.

That’s the Oregon Way too…

Much of the attention on drug addiction is through the lens of Measure 110, which voters passed in 2020 to decriminalize possession of small amounts of hard drugs and put cannabis revenue toward addiction treatment and services. Since then, concerns have mounted about public drug use and rising drug overdoses. Governor Kotek and legislative leadership say Oregon’s addiction crisis will be front and center during the 2024 session as the state looks for ways to help addicts get treatment, keep public areas safe and prosecute drug dealers.

Lawmakers are working now to address this addiction crisis appointing a special legislative committee, a symposium hosted by the attorney general, and no end to calls for a repeal of 2020′s Measure 110. Importantly, the committee’s scope is about the state’s drug addiction crisis as a whole – not simply changing Measure 110.

Under Measure 110, police officers who find users with small quantities of drugs can do little other than give them a $100 citation that can be waived if they opt to enter a treatment program. But those citations are not criminal, meaning they’re often ignored and officers cannot arrest people.

Oregon police chiefs and the League of Oregon Cities, Oregon District Attorneys Association and Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association have asked lawmakers to consider a slate of changes, including the elimination of the $100 citations for drug possession and making them a misdemeanor, which carries more weight and can compel people in addiction to enter treatment. They also want lawmakers to create more ways for people with drug addiction to enter treatment, such as sobering centers and stabilization facilities to help them manage initial withdrawal symptoms, along with allocating more money for specialty court programs.

Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers said that the misdemeanor charge and an arrest can be a tool that “forces the issue” so people enter programs after arrest. People are concerned, even in rural communities, and see homeless people addicted to drugs camp in parks. Even the presence of one person using drugs is enough to make people worry that their safe communities and parks are in peril, he said.

“What I’m hearing from my constituents in our county is they don’t want to be like Portland, no disrespect,” he said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers (left) and Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston speak to lawmakers on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, about the state’s drug addiction crisis. (Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

The study surveyed nearly 3,000 people in rural areas spanning 10 states, including Oregon, who use illicit drugs including fentanyl, heroin and other opioids. Within the group, 42% were in prison or jail within the past six months. The study suggests the nation — and Oregon — should do more to reach and treat people for drug addiction while they are incarcerated and in custody.

More than half of about 12,000 inmates in Oregon’s state prisons have an addiction or drug use problem, according to a 2022 state report of the state’s addiction treatment services and gaps in coverage. But only about 9% of inmates who need treatment receive it while in custody, according to legislative testimony the Oregon Department of Corrections submitted in March when lawmakers considered a bill to expand access to treatment. That bill died.

While I do not serve on the Joint Interim Committee On Addiction and Community Safety Response, I’m watching their work and anticipating their recommendations. The committee is looking at: What is working? What’s not working and why? What solutions will make a meaningful impact?

That reform agenda must include:

• Making treatment easier to access through existing funding streams, ongoing investments in our provider workforce, and by empowering local groups on the ground using proven strategies in their communities (i.e. detox centers, peer to peer work, residential facilities and treatment clinics.)
• Making sure law enforcement can enforce the laws on the books and respond to public drug use, including confiscation of drugs when they see them. This means clarifying existing laws and removing any barriers preventing law enforcement from taking these steps.
• Empowering police to stop dealers profiting off of people’s addiction and suffering. Drug dealing and possession of large amounts of drugs is illegal and should be dealt with accordingly by police.

My goal as a legislator will be to hold our treatment services and criminal justice system accountable and make sure they’re working together efficiently so that all Oregon communities have access to the resources they need and the sense of community safety they deserve.

The caller said many people were cancelling their cable to switch to streaming, and they were “reaching out” to long-time customers offering to reduce our monthly bill if we agreed to continue service at least three months. Everything sounded legit until they asked me to send a gift card as payment. That’s when I hung up.

I phoned the cable fraud department and they confirmed they had never heard of this promotion.

Scams are getting more sophisticated and harder to recognize. As the holiday season arrives, the state is warning people to be aware of financial scams, particularly those involving gift cards.

One particular red flag is if the person on the other end of the phone asks to be paid using a gift card, a money transfer or cryptocurrency.

The financial division has several useful rules of thumb, including: Don’t answer unknown numbers. Don’t give personal information to an unsolicited caller. Resist pressure to act immediately.

And be skeptical. Sometimes a deal is simply too good to be true.

Scams to look out for?

• Websites requiring you to download an app
• Free Holiday Gift Cards
• Hot Deal Scam
• Fake Order Scam
• Phony Tracking Number Scam
• Bogus Website Scam

Read more details here. Experts say that if you are worried about a scam, hang up and use your usual way to contact the family member, bank or government agency the caller claimed to represent. The Oregon Division of Financial Regulation can help those who’ve fallen victim to a scam at 1-888-877-4894 or dfr.financialserviceshelp@dcbs.oregon.gov.

Oregon state law affords what is known as “recreational immunity” to protect landowners from liability so that they are encouraged to keep and maintain trails and other recreational facilities. But now the insurance provider for the majority of Oregon cities, CIS Oregon, has recommended the closure of all improved recreational trails following a recent court ruling. That’s a big deal!

CIS made the recommendation this November based on the Oregon Court of Appeals’ July 6 ruling in Nicole Fields v. the City of Newport, which changed liability protections for cities and other trail owners. The Court of Appeals ruling, and the Oregon Supreme Court’s subsequent denial of a request to review the decision in October, led CIS to conclude that courts were “effectively ending recreational immunity” and cities should close trails that had been legally protected by it.

The Fields v. Newport case centered on injuries Fields suffered while falling on an improved trail owned by the city while walking home with her dog from Agate Beach. The Court of Appeals issued an opinion stating that a trial court would need to determine whether a plaintiff was intending a recreational purpose. If the court determines they are not, a city, county, or the State could be exposed to legal risk.

Surfing off Cape Kiwanda in Southern Tillamook County.

First, let me be clear that I hate seeing people hurt. And landowners have been and should be liable for what lawyers call “gross negligence”. But if Courts extend that liability to more kinds of cases, we risk seeing public spaces closed to the public.

I’m not hearing of plans to close local trails, parks or beaches – yet. But in the meantime, these rulings will likely lead to increased insurance premiums for local and state governments.

My concern is not with people who have brought these cases, but rather whether we need to update our negligence and immunity statutes.

In 2020, I introduced HB 4076 in an effort to address this issue.

The bill did not advance that session. While local cities weigh their options, the League of Oregon Cities says they are reaching out to legislators to propose a fix to the law during the February 2024 “short” session.

Tuesday I join the OCCC Foundation Dollars for Scholars at the Central County Campus in Newport and then run over to Hatfield for the Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH Council) Fisherman’s Roundtable Lunch. The roundtable is an opportunity for members of the fishing community to sit down with scientists and managers to discuss changing ocean observations on the water and ask questions. Tuesday evening I’ll be zooming with the Oregon Jewish Community Relations Council.

Thursday is the start of the two-day Oregon Ocean Science Trust (OOST) Ocean Coastal Research Summit. That evening, Susan and I commute to Portland for the celebration of the Governor Barbara Roberts Scholarship Fund at PSU. More about the event and Barbara next week.

Friday the OOST Research Summit continues. And then early Saturday, Susan and I head for PDX and our first real vacation in several years. Sadly we will miss a number of important and exciting community events while we are gone. I regret that. But some warm sunshine and a margarita by the pool may ease my guilt. I’ll certainly be back to see you all again soon.

phone: 503-986-1410

address: 900 Court St NE, H-480, Salem, OR, 97301

website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/gomberg