COMMENTARY
Open meetings law
obstructs creativity
By Davison Soper
I would like to reply to the Emerald editorial of Oct. 29, con
cerning the first meeting of the Assembly Committee on
Multicultural Curriculum.
Acting as president of the University Senate, I convened that
meeting and acted as its temporary chair. I organized the meet
ing as a meeting of committee members only, not as a meeting
open to the public, acting in the belief that the Oregon Open
Meetings Law did not apply to the ACMC meetings.
Accordingly. I explained to University student Preston Can
non when he came to visit the committee meeting, that the
meeting was not open to visitors. Subsequent investigations
turned up a clause in Oregon law that, it can be argued, brings
the ACMC under the Open Meetings Law. I am not inclined
to contest this interpretation. Thus, we should have announced
the meeting and had it as an open meeting in order to be in
compliance with the law. My apologies to Mr. Cannon for
excluding him when he probably had the right to attend.
The Emerald editorial states that "no meeting of this type
should have to fall under some law in order for it to be made
open to the public." Here I beg to differ. The committee should,
of course, gather information from the University community,
according to its charge to consult widely. The question is, what
value is there in the committee meeting by itself?
I submit that the ACMC has important work to do — work
that involves creative effort. For creative work. I believe in
using the model that I myself use for physics research. I get
together with collaborators and discuss the issues in private.
All of us are free to say whatever comes to mind, even some
thing that might, upon careful reflection, turn out to be silly or
stupid. Even sometning that might turn out to be so silly or stu
pid that we would be embarrassed to have said it in public.
In fact, my collaborators and I should feel free to say espe
cially those things that just bubble up from the unconscious
and have not been analyzed — just those ideas that we would
not want to state publicly. That is where creative ideas come
from. Accordingly, when I meet with collaborators to .. >rk on
creative research, we do not invite outsiders. Only when we
have begun to sort out our ideas do we present them to the out
side world for its criticism.
I had hoped that this model for creative work could apply to
the ACMC. I am sorry that, because of the Open Meetings Law.
it will not.
Davison Soper is president of the University Senate and a
professor in the University's physics department
COMMENTARY
Delivering facts on sales tax
By Bobby Lee
What is all this fuss
about a sales tax any
way?
Welcome to Oregon, folks. We
are in the midst of an enormous
debate over stable funding for
state services, including higher
education On Nov. 9. members
of our student body will be vot
ing on a statewide sales tax ini
tiative called Measure 1. Mea
sure 1 earmarks all of the money
it makes for education You will
hear great arguments from both
sides, but here 1 will attempt to
present the facts gathered pri
marily from Oregon Tax
Research (OTK) concerning the
sales tax package
When the I-egislature began to
formulate this tax package, they
applied four basic principles: to
provide stable funding for
schools, provide property tax
relief, maintain Oregon's pro
gressive tax system (based on
ability to pay), and to simplify
the tax system. The vehicle for
enacting the tax is known as HJR
10. which, if approved by vot
ers. amends the Oregon Consti
tution to establish a sales tax.
This amendment will lie placed
on the ballot tiefore Oregonians
on Nov. 9. Once it is passed, it
cannot be changed without the
vote of the people The imple
menting statutory legislation
(HB 2500 and HB 2443) become
effective only with passage by
the voters of the legislatively
referred tax proposal.
Mere are the facts about the
sales tax itself:
First, all the monies generated
must be dedicated to public
education, grades K-t2 and com
munity colleges
Second, it establishes a 5 per
cent limit on the sales tax Other
limits in the constitution
include: prohibition of local
sales taxes (what has happened
in California, where cities and
counties can enact their own
lax. will not happen hern).
Them am constitutional exemp
tions on food for home con
sumption. sheltor. prescription
medications, essential services,
water, light. heat, power, aircraft
and motor vehicle fuel. feed,
seed and fertilizer for farm pro
duction and more. If it passes,
the sales tax will take effect
starting May 1 of 199-4.
Other elements of the sales tax
hill include:
• An increase in the corporate
income tax rate, from 6.6 per
cent to 7.6 percent, beginning in
1994.
• The addition of an earned
income credit. Beginning in
1994, working families with
children earning generally less
than $24,000 would qualify for
an earned income tax (redit
equal to half of the federal
earned income tax i redd
• Sales tax relief for working
families Based on household
income and size, low income
families would he eligible for a
refund of part of the sales tax
paid. Generally speaking, fami
lies earning less than $27,000
will qualify for the rebate.
• An up-front investment hi
school reform, beginning in the
1994-95 school year It is esti
mated that, from the time of
enactment (May 1. 1994) to the
end of the 1995 fiscal year, the
state will collect $65! million.
Of these monies, $451 million
will lie allocated directly to
schools The spending of
income taxes is limited to infla
tion plus the rate of growth in
population. Any expenditures
beyond this limitation must bo
approved by a super-majority of
each house in the stuto Legisla
ture (60 percent) and be signed
by the governor.
Third, this sales tax will elim
inate property taxes for operat
ing public schools on owner
occupied principal residences
This means property taxes will
)h> lowered an additional $5 per
$1000 of home value below the
limits of 1990's Measure 5.
Fourth, them will bo changes
in how the lottery funds are
used At least one half of the nut
receipts must bo used for educa
tion and other children's ser
vices.
Finally, this initiative also
provides voters with a chance to
change their minds. All laws
regarding the sales tax are tem
porary. unless voters choose to
continue them in 199H
Mow much will the sales tax
raise? So far. lawmakers believe
that for the biennium of 1993
95. about $5(>9 million will be
earned, with an approximate net
gain of $2,009 billion per bien
nium beginning in the 1995-97
biennium Oregon's higher edu
cation system, which includes
this University, was not success
ful in becoming part of the ded
icated use of the proceeds of the
sales tax However, some have
argued that by providing secure
funding for grades K.-12 and
c ommunity colleges, the higher
education system will not have
to further increase tuition and
could avoid more cuts to pro
grams and services Further
more. higher education will he
eligible to apply for programs
funded by the Fducation Trust
Fund earnings and lottery fund
ing. Education reform initia
tives. Head Sturt programs, early
childhood intervention pro
grams. and other children's ser
vices (which are programs
which often include higher edu
cation involvement) are eligible
fur targeted funding
Remember, a good price is not
necessarily what an object is
marked, but what it is worth to
you. Remember to vote on Nov,
9.
Bobby Lor is a student mem
brr of the ()rvgon Shite Board of
Higher Education, and is a for
mer president of the ASUO.
THIS WEEK
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