Continuing with our weekly effort to notify our membership on what is happening with bans and other regulatory action statewide, here is our local roundup:
This week’s news was pretty quiet on the topic of local bans, although three cities and one county added their names to the list of those who had implemented bans and notified the OLCC. The three new city names are the City of John Day, City of Jordan Valley and the City of Crewell. The county that added its name to the list of those that will ban is Crook County, which did receive a little bit of news coverage as the fourth county to implement a ban. The lack of news coverage for these cities and county are likely due to the small size of the localities; the largest is Crook County, with a population of about 20,000 residents.
The current list of those who have opted out through the OLCC, which is updated frequently, includes:
Those to be voted on the 2016 General Election Ballot with a moratorium in the meantime:
- Douglas County
- City of Brownsville
- City of Sandy
- City of Sutherlin
- Junction City
- City of Creswell
Those which will not be voted on and become effective immediately:
- City of Ontario
- City of Vale
- City of Nyssa
- Island City
- Umatilla County
- Harney County
- Malheur County
- City of Jordan Valley
- City of John Day
- Crook County
If you live in a city or county that has implemented an immediate ban, don’t presume the fight is lost. As Senator Ginny Burdick pointed out during the Legislative Session, a city or county can overturn their ban at any time. If you live in a city or county that has implemented a ban, contact them and discuss their concerns and your perspective. They need to hear from you! And if your in a locality that will be voting on this issue, be sure to write Letters to the Editor in your local news and reach out to the community in other ways to help sway the vote!
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Portland NORML Legal Counsel John Lucy IV explains the nuances of local bans.
