Latest news with #TawnaSanchez
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon lawmakers seek to remove names of ‘offensive locations' with Dignity in Place Act
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon representatives have voted to rename several of the state's waterways, valleys, and roads to remove what they say are offensive names for beloved locations. HB 3532, also known as the Dignity in Place Act, was introduced by Rep. Tawna Sanchez (D-Portland) to rename landmarks including Squaw Creek in Douglas County, Chinaman Hat in Josephine County, and Cannibal Mountain in Lincoln County. Arrest made for driver accused of 'intentionally' hitting Hwy 26 motorcyclist 'Renaming offensive locations in Oregon reflects our shared commitment to mutual respect, historical truth and creating a welcoming environment for all Oregonians,' Rep. Sanchez said. 'My hope is that no one has to drive in any wonderful part of the state of Oregon and feel like they don't belong there.' According to the Oregon House, the U.S. Department of the Interior began reviewing and replacing names of landmarks on federal land in 2021. Elephant seal pup stabbed multiple times on Oregon beach In 2001, Sen. Kate Brown passed legislation to remove 'derogatory' names from Oregon locations. The Oregon Historical Society has since listed 107 geographic locations with offensive names in the state. HB 3532 shares that several of these names still remain. 'The next generation shouldn't have to grow up seeing slurs on signs and thinking it's just something they have to live with,' Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Oregon City) said. 'It's long past time we step up, take responsibility, and remove them from our maps and landmarks.' The bill is now headed for consideration by the Oregon Senate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon lawmakers celebrate 50 years of Native American legislative commission
Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, holds a sign and stands alongside fellow lawmakers and tribal leaders to acknowledge Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Day outside of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on May 5, 2025. (Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle) Chairman Gary Burke of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation sang a song in his language to Oregon senators on Tuesday as the lawmakers celebrated the 50th anniversary of the state bringing Native American voices to the lawmaking table. 'We have a tradition that we honor people that come to visit us,' he said. The Oregon Senate on Tuesday passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 31, which celebrates the establishment and the contributions of the Legislative Commission on Indian Services. The commission was created in 1975 so Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes could advise state officials and agencies on the needs of Oregon's Native American communities. Oregon tribes are some of the largest employers in their regions, providing jobs in hospitality, entertainment, forestry and health care. In a 2019 report, the state of Oregon estimated tribal gaming provided more than 10,800 jobs and contributed to the sale of more than $780 million in goods and services. Some tribes are also regular contributors to philanthropic needs in their communities — donating to schools, nonprofits, charities, local governments and other needs. The resolution is sponsored by Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, who told senators that they should engage with the tribes and consider their wisdom about their ancestral homelands. 'We must commit to consultation, listening and working to understand, and doing our best not to just make blanket assumptions about tribal needs,' Wagner said. 'We must commit to continue to advocate to Congress and to our president to honor our treaties and continue to live the promises that we have made to our Oregon tribes.' The resolution passed unanimously in the Oregon Senate. It now heads to the House side. Oregon was first state to establish Native American commission of its kind Oregon was the first state in the country to establish a commission to formally invite tribes to contribute to the legislative process. The commission is composed of 13 members, nine of whom represent each of Oregon's federally recognized tribes, and four Oregon lawmakers split between House and Senate members. Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, spoke in support of the resolution, adding that he enjoyed serving on the commission when he was a House member. During his first meeting as a commission member, he said he learned about the Treaty of 1855 from a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. That treaty forced the Tribes to cede millions of acres of their ancestral land to the federal government in exchange for reservation and cultural rights. 'It's important that we honor that,' Bonham said about the treaty. 'It's important that we are citizens of our own word, and when we make an agreement, we stand by it.' He said the state of Oregon has gotten better at including tribal voices in policy discussions, but he said lawmakers often talk about the nine sovereign tribes 'as if they are speaking with one voice.' This is a mistake, he said. However, Native Americans still face the issues many Oregonians face, such as aging infrastructure, housing needs, school district needs, behavioral health issues and addiction. 'We can always do better,' he said. 'There's more that we can do to engage, consider and show respect to our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors and the nine treaty tribes.' The nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon are the Burns Paiute Tribe; the Confederated Tribes of Coos, the Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians; the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation; the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians; the Coquille Indian Tribe; and the Klamath Tribes. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon lawmakers share $38 billion budget framework amid federal uncertainty
Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland and a co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, works on the House floor at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon is in a better financial position than other states but could see its budget devastated by federal spending cuts, a framework released Wednesday by the Legislature's top budget writers shows. The framework, an early step toward adopting the state's next two-year budget, comes against a backdrop of federal uncertainty. Many of the federal grants Oregon and other states use to stretch local dollars are disappearing under the new administration of President Donald Trump, and congressional proposals to cut federal spending by up to 30% could turn a modest state budget surplus into a gaping deficit. The Joint Ways and Means Committee will travel the state over the next few weeks to hear from Oregonians about the budget. Gresham Saturday, March 22, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Mt. Hood Community College Theater 26000 S.E. Stark Street, Gresham, OR 97030 Register to testify here Astoria Friday, March 28, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Liberty Theatre 1203 Commercial Street, Astoria, OR 97103 Register to testify here Warm Springs Friday, April 4, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Old Warm Springs Elementary School 1112 Wasco Street, Warm Springs, OR 97761 Register to testify here La Grande Friday, April 11, 5 p.m. – 7:00pm Eastern Oregon University, Hoke Union Building #339 1 University Boulevard, La Grande, OR 97850 Register to testify here Salem (statewide virtual testimony prioritized) Wednesday, April 16, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Oregon Capitol Building, Hearing Room F 900 Court St NE, Salem, OR 97301 Register to testify here Klamath Falls Friday, April 25, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Klamath Community College, Building 4 Commons 7390 South 6th Street, Klamath Falls, OR 97603 Register to testify here About 32% of Oregon's budget comes from federal spending. 'We are better off than many states,' said Sen. Kate Lieber, a Beaverton Democrat and co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee. 'If you look at what's happening in Washington and in Colorado and in Maryland, I think they're really looking at cutting their budgets right now, and we're not in that position.' Instead, the document Lieber and House co-chair Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland, presented on Wednesday reflects $38 billion in projected spending to continue current programs and ends with a surplus of $987.5 million, after setting aside close to $600 million for long-term savings. It contains $11.4 billion for the State School Fund, an increase over the $10.2 billion schools received from the fund during the current budget cycle, which aligns with Gov. Tina Kotek's recommendations to change how the state calculates school funding. And it ups spending on human services by nearly $2 billion, which Sanchez and Lieber attributed to higher caseloads and costs per case in social service agencies. The framework includes $375 million for expected raises and cost-of-living adjustments for state employees and others represented by collective bargaining units, as well as $100 million for the Legislature's emergency fund, which lawmakers on the Emergency Board can use to respond to issues that arise while the Legislature isn't in session. In recent years, that included appropriating extra money to plow roads during a heavy snow season. Some areas, including transportation, administration and economic and community development, reflect cuts of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars since the last budget. Sanchez and Lieber said that's because they're not continuing one-time spending, such as the $6 million lawmakers provided in the 2023-25 budget to address backlogged unemployment fraud investigations. The framework is also based on available revenue now, while the final two-year budget lawmakers must approve before leaving the Capitol in June will be based on the May economic forecast. That could mean budget-writers have more money available than the $39.7 billion they now anticipate being able to spend or save. The framework doesn't include Gov. Tina Kotek's three major proposed spending increases: $211 million for education needs, $825 million for housing and homelessness and $247 million for behavioral health. The $987.5 million surplus wouldn't cover all of Kotek's priorities, let alone any new spending tied to legislative proposals, and Lieber and Sanchez said lawmakers will need 'Even if we wanted to wholesale adopt her recommendations, which we don't normally ever do anyway, we wouldn't be able to afford that,' Lieber said. They also looked at what would happen to Oregon's budget if federal funding for education and human services dropped by 10%, 20% or 30%. Any such cut would lead to a multi-billion hole in Oregon's budget, as high as $9.7 billion for a 30% cut. 'There's no comfortable way that we're going to get out of any pain here if we get anywhere near that now,' Sanchez said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
