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SERVING CURRY COUNTY SINCE 1946

www.currypilot.com

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026

Brookings, Oregon

Curry County Sheriff’s Ofﬁce offering courtesy boat inspections BY NATE SCHWARTZ Editor

The Curry County Sheriff’s Marine Division is conducting complimentary boat inspections for those who want to make sure their seafaring vessels are up to code with the Oregon State Marine Board’s (OSMB) safety requirements. The Port of Brookings-Harbor took place the morning of printing, March 18. The Port of Gold Beach event is still to come on March 25, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring your boat to the boat parking area near the boat ramp. Sheriff vehicles will be on hand to mark the right spot. Those who pass inspection will receive an ofﬁcial compliance sticker, which will inform the U.S. Coast Guard, Auxiliaries, and Power Squadrons that your boat has cleared ofﬁcial in-spection for the year. All kinds of watercraft are welcome and encouraged, from large to small. The inspections are no-penalty and primarily concern ensuring all gear complies with state and federal regulations to keep everyone as safe as possible on the water.

A Call for a Veto of HB 4177

COLUMN ON BEHALF OF THE CURRY COASTAL PILOT

The Port of Brookings Harbor recreational boarding dock, upon completion in 2018. Permitting and licensing fees through the OSMB contributed to the $385,970 grant for the project. “Bring your motorized, non-motorized, kayaks, rafts, and paddle boards to the port along with proper safety gear and documentation,” said the Curry County Sheriff’s ofﬁce in an online statement. If you miss the open inspection sessions at the ports, you can request a courtesy inspec-tion from the Curry County Sheriff’s Marine Patrol by calling 541-247-3242. As of 2020, operators of all vessels require a Waterway Access Permit from the OSMB,

even non-motorized boats and stand-up paddleboards. Permits are available through the OSMB ofﬁcial webpage, Oregon.gov/ osmb. Revenue from marine permits and registration goes right back to improving infrastructure and access to the ocean for local boaters. Grants from the program have brought over $527,000 back into Curry County for projects in Brookings-Harbor and Gold Beach. In the grant years of 20172019, over $385,000 was granted

to the Port of Brookings Harbor for the boarding dock replacement in the recreation basin, with another $24,000 going to seal coating and repainting the parking lot in the last grant cycle. $50,000 went to the Curry County Aquatic Safety program in the last cycle to help expand their ASCEND after-school program. The Port of Gold Beach received $68,000 for electrical upgrades at its sport dock.

From farm store rules to Moda Center renovations, these Oregon bills got bipartisan support Nearly 90% of bills passed in 2026 received bipartisan support that ski areas, gyms and rafting guides offer. After several rounds of amendments, the bill received nearly unanimous support in both chambers. It awaits a signature from Kotek.

The Oregon Pioneer, commonly known as the Gold Man, is a 23-foot-tall, 8.5-ton statue atop the state Capitol in Salem.

voter-approved constitutional amendment, any lawmaker who racks up ten unexcused absences from skipping session is barred from running for reelection. Despite those tensions, both parties by the end of the session that adjourned Friday worked together to pass funding to renovate Portland’s Moda Center, to keep a rural Coos Bay hospital from closing and to fund statewide wildlife conservation. Nearly 90% of bills — or 128 of 143 — that passed both chambers received at least one Republican vote, according to the Oregon Senate Majority Ofﬁce. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the bills where Oregon lawmakers worked together. Some have already been signed into law by Gov. Tina Kotek, while others await her signature She has 30 business days to sign or veto bills.

BY: MIA MALDONADO

Oregon Capital Chronicle

Republicans during Oregon’s 2026 legislative session repeatedly criticized Democrats, who hold the majority in the Legislature, for not working across the aisle on measures such as moving the date of a gas tax referendum and policies they said conﬂict with President Donald Trump’s tax and immigration agenda. Democrats hold 18 of 30 seats in the Senate and 37 of 60 in the House, meaning they can generally pass legislation without Republican votes so long as they stay uniﬁed. There are tactics Republicans can use to stall or block a bill from a vote. That includes denying a quorum by leaving the chamber — which they did at least twice this session. The House requires 40 members present and the Senate 20 to conduct business. However, under a 2022

Rural Oregon

INDEX

• Stabilizing Bay Area Hospital: House Bill 4075 approves a $44 million loan from the state’s unclaimed property and estates fund to loan a rural Coos Bay hospital. It is awaiting a signature from the governor. • Farm stores: House Bill 4153 allows for “farm stores” of up to 10,000 square feet on lands zoned exclusively for farm use. It is awaiting a signature from the governor. • Transient lodging tax: HB 4134 increases a tax on shortterm lodging from 1.5% to 2.75% and declares those funds be distributed toward conservation efforts, including combatting poaching and invasive species, wolf management, wildlife law enforcement and protecting ﬁsh, wildlife and natural habitats. It is awaiting a signature from the governor. • Liability waiver reform: Senate Bill 1517 aims at protecting small businesses by strengthening liability waivers

Affordability • Banning speculative ticketing: House Bill 4024 bans people and websites from selling event tickets they don’t actually have, unless they have a written contract to obtain the ticket from an initial sale. It received unanimous approval in the Senate and a 55-2 vote in the House. Kotek already signed it into law. • Cervical cancer costs: Senate Bill 1527 eliminates out-ofpocket costs for cervical cancer screenings and procedures for Oregonians. It received unanimous approval in both chambers and Kotek already signed it into law. • Tariff relief for small businesses: House Bill 4061 allocates $950,000 to Business Oregon to administer tariff relief grants for small businesses, and work with other state and local agencies to update the state’s uniﬁed trade strategy. It received near unanimous support in both chambers and awaits Kotek’s signature. Education • Free books for kids: House Bill 4022 establishes the Oregon Imagination Library Program to provide a free book each month to eligible children ages 1-5 and encourage literacy. It received near unanimous votes in both chambers and was signed into law on Thursday. • Requiring emergency response plans in schools: House Bill 4160 requires that schools have a cardiac emergency response plan in place, including ensuring access to automated external deﬁbrillators and that all coaches be trained in CPR/AED Please see BILLS Page 3

We are asking Gov. Tina Kotek to veto HB 4177, an ill-advised measure approved by the Oregon Legislature that undermines Oregon’s long- revered Public Meetings Law. A work group that proposed HB 4177 excluded media organizations that were deeply em-bedded in the creation of our Public Meetings Law in 1973 and in subsequent amendments. Coming late to that table, representatives of the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association were shocked to find this warning from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission: “This exception would allow governing body members to meet in private and/ or communicate privately with each other, outside of any public meeting, in order to gather information. Much of the information gathering that normally occurs in public meetings (work sessions or execu-tive sessions) could instead be done privately … with no meeting notice, no minutes or record-ings, and no news media observers.” Here are additional notes of caution from OGEC, obtained through a public records request: - “It should be noted at the outset that whenever a quorum of a governing body gathers togeth-er, whether in public or private, that quorum has the power to exercise government authority and bind the government to any decision. Even if that decision occurs in private and in viola-tion of the Public Meetings Law, the action still binds the government.” - “It (HB 4177) is effectively rewriting the Public Meetings Law in ways that create much more ambiguity and inhibit enforcement, and doing so in a short session without any public in-volvement.” HB 4177 contains significant legal and political complications, and there is no emergency need-ing immediate legislative action without adequate attention to those problems. Some portray HB 4177 as a measure simply to clarify issues related to “serial communica-tions,” which are ‘daisy-chain’ discussions among members of a governing body allowing de-liberation without a meeting. Instead, as testified by citizens, ONPA and OGEC, HB 4177 actually expands permissions for serial communications while allowing full-quorum gatherings of governing bodies with “no meeting notice, no minutes or recordings, and no news media observers.” And of course, no citizen observers. Enactment of HB 4177 would result in loss of govPlease see VEO 4177 Page 2

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