Washington County adopts access and opportunity resolution after weekslong community review

The Washington County Board of Commissioners on July 22 adopted an Access and Opportunity Resolution and Order intended to let the county sign federal and state contracts while stating that the county will follow federal, state and local law, including Oregon's sanctuary law.

County Administrator Tanya Angie told the board the resolution "states that Washington County will uphold federal, state, and local laws. This means that we will continue to uphold state law. This includes Oregon's longstanding sanctuary promise law." She and consultant teams said the measure is meant to clarify how the county will approach federal grant attestation language that has been changing rapidly.

The resolution follows a five-week drafting and outreach process led by county staff, the county's advisory committee on racial equity (ACRE) and consultant Espousal Strategies. Consultants Jonelle Bell and Lucy Hamer told the board they held staff listening sessions, community-based organization roundtables, a CBO drop-in and an anonymous survey and iterated the draft weekly with ACRE and county leadership. Bell said the process aimed to "center engagement throughout" and that staff, ACRE and CBOs broadly…