Wednesday, May 29, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Oregon House speaker wants
to cut tax rebate in half
SALEM (AP) 4 House
Speaker Tina Kotek is intro-
ducing a plan to halve cut the
tax rebate Oregon residents
receive.
The Portland Democrat
announced the idea Thursday,
the day after state economists
revealed that the <kicker= tax
rebate could be the largest in
state history.
Oregon Public Broadcast-
ing reports that in a bill Kotek
introduced Thursday morning
roughly half of the estimated
$1.4 billion tax rebate would
be kept by the state and spent
on a set of transportation ini-
tiatives the speaker argues
will benefit public safety, air
quality, and job creation.
The proposal has few prec-
edents 4 the personal income
tax kicker has only been
redirected once, as lawmak-
ers grappled with a budget
shortfall in 1991. And it9s not
an easy task to accomplish.
In order for her bill to pass,
Kotek needs two-thirds sup-
port in both the House and
Senate.
Under
O r e g o n 9s
Constitution, the unique
kicker tax rebate is triggered
when tax revenues for a two-
year budget cycle come in
more than two percent above
economists9 forecast from the
start of the cycle.
Under the plan, $260 mil-
lion would go toward seismic
upgrades of the Abernethy
Bridge on Interstate 205.
Those upgrades are part of a
transportation package law-
makers passed in 2017, but
the bridge work is waiting
on the possible implementa-
tion of tolling before it moves
forward. Kotek said Thursday
she9d like to begin sooner.
Beyond the bridge,
Kotek is proposing spend-
ing roughly $245 million on
an existing <Clean Diesel
Engine Fund= to help freight
carriers in Oregon transi-
tion to cleaner-burning diesel
engines. Both California and
Washington have strict diesel
standards, which have pushed
higher-emissions engines into
Oregon.
<If you look at Washington
and California, they9ve only
been able to make their transi-
tion because they put a signif-
icant amount of resource into
it,= she said.
An additional roughly
$245 million would go into a
new <Zero Emission Fund9,=
which would create the infra-
structure to help the state tran-
sition to zero-emission vehi-
cles, like electric cars.
Both the diesel and zero-
emission funds would be sub-
ject to annual audits.
Gun control measure
expected to return
SALEM (AP) 4 A mul-
tifaceted gun control bill
pushed by Oregon Democrats
may be dead this session, but
advocates and opponents alike
are confident it will return.
The Statesman Journal
reports that Senate Bill 978
was a casualty of the deal that
got Senate Republicans to end
their four-day walkout and
return to the Capitol, allowing
Democrats to pass a multibil-
lion-dollar education revenue
bill on May 13.
The move to include
PIZZA
SB978 in the trade disap-
pointed gun-control advocates
inside and outside the Capitol.
The measure would have
required safe gun storage;
placed liability on gun own-
ers if a gun is stolen, but not
reported, and used to injure a
person or property; outlawed
untraceable and undetectable
firearms; granted local author-
ities the power to regulate
firearm access in public build-
ings; and allowed retailers to
set higher minimum purchas-
ing age restrictions.
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LETTERS
Continued from page 18
our thoughts, and how she can be of most help
to our region. Some wanted her to run again
against Walden to assure we have better repre-
sentation in 2020. Others thought Secretary of
State could maintain fair elections and manage
fair re-districting after the 2020 Census. Jamie
noted her deep connection to rural Oregon
as part of her identity and a desire to ensure
that rural Oregonians are well represented, in
Congress and in statewide office.
Susan Cobb
s
s
s
To the Editor:
From a former skidder operator 4 hard
hats off, and a big thumbs up to Goss Logging
for the excellent job they have done on the tree
removal project on Highway 20.
I9ve driven the road many times just to
observe the progress. There9s nothing like see-
ing a well-oiled crew working the woods. The
cleanup on this high-visibility project is sec-
ond to none. Good job.
Yes, it is unfortunate the many circum-
stances that led to this. To those who are <heart-
broken= and <devastated=: GET OVER IT.
Kris Nirenberg
s
s
s
To the Editor:
I just wanted to speak up about a matter
that is starting to seriously frustrate me. For
the past several nights, I have been repeatedly
tailed by police while driving into Sisters. This
has been happening so extremely often lately
that it feels like it truly is starting to get out of
hand.
I am very often out late and come back
into town during late hours. I do not believe
that I should be tailed for this reason alone. I
am also completely sober but it is extremely
nerve-wracking to have a police officer tail
you when you are already so tired and just try-
ing to get home to go to sleep.
I understand they are looking for intoxi-
cated drivers but I do not feel like it is fair for
every late-night driver to get the short end of
the stick just for simply being out late. I have
already gotten pulled over for <going under
the speed limit.= Personally I do not think this
is a reason to pull someone over. And neither
is < weaving a little in your lane.= As long as a
driver is staying in their lane and going under
541-549-9388
SISTERS
the speed limit, they should not be pulled over.
This is starting to head in the direction of
the conservative police state, which I left,
where there was extremely strict night patrols
and anyone could get pulled over for almost
nothing. I hate to see this small town that
I truly love and care about heading in that
direction.
I am by no means anti-police and think it is
nice that they have patrols around town some-
times. But I do not like the frequency at which
I am seeing them all the time now and the
amount of times I am being tailed. And good
lord, the amount of undercover vehicles I have
seen lately has also been astonishing. This all
just seems a bit overboard and this reaffirms to
me that the idea of this small town having an
entire police department is ludicrous. Do we
really want every car that comes into Sisters
at night to be tailed? And do we, as residents,
want to feel like we are inches away from a
ticket at all times? My vote is no, absolutely
not! Let9s keep things reasonable, please.
Sam Davenport
s
s
s
To the Editor:
In response to the letter in your May 15
issue in which the writer wrote, in part, <I
have never known of a fire started by a bullet,=
I feel it is important for people to know the
proven fact that bullets have caused multiple
wildfires.
Just Google a term such as <fires started
by gunfire= and one will find articles such as:
<Multiple BLM fires caused by target shoot-
ing=; <BLM: Target shooting caused 10 fires
so far in our area=; <Guns blamed for spark-
ing some wildfires in West=; <Gunfire caused
California wildfire that destroyed 63 homes=;
<Fire in the barrel: How shooting causes
wildfires.=
I could go on and on and on but I believe
I have proved the point that gunfire can, has,
and, sadly probably will continue to, cause
wildfires.
Rodney Gregson
s
s
s
To The Editor:
There was a misprint in The Nugget
recently.
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