Measure 76 would require assessment of gasoline taxes
The issue:
Measure 76 proposes amending
the Oregon Constitution to require
the state assess every two years
whether heavy vehicles and light
vehicles are paying taxes propor
tionate to the damage each inflicts
on Oregon roadways.
Pro: Would lock a taxation policy
into the constitution ensuring that
all motorists pay their fair sure of
roadway maintenance, repair and
improvement costs
Con: It is unnecessary, unbinding
and could invite lawsuits.
By Darren Freeman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregonians will vote on a mea
sure this November that would
amend the Oregon Constitution
and ensure that motorists pay their
fair share of highway maintenance,
repair and improvement costs.
Measure 76 proposes amending
the Oregon Constitution to require
that the Legislature assess every
two years whether or not taxes
levied on heavy vehicles and light
vehicles are proportionate to the
damage each vehicle class incurs
on Oregon roadways.
Backers of the measure say it’s
common sense to tax motorists ac
cording to the toll they take on
road ways and that locking a policy
of fair and proportionate vehicle
taxation into the constitution
would allow motorists to legally
contest unfair taxes on constitu
tional grounds.
Anne O’Ryan, public and gov
ernment affairs director of the
American Automobile Associa
tion for Oregon and Idaho, said the
bill is unnecessary, vaguely word
ed, unbinding and could invite un
productive lawsuits.
The AAA is the only agency to
publicly oppose Measure 76.
Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Lane County,
one of the primary authors of the
bill, said in the past, the Legisla
ture considered the damage differ
ent vehicle classes take on road
ways when discussing raising
vehicle taxes and fees.
“(Measure 76] wouldn’t change
what we’ve been doing but will
make that practice a matter of con
stitutional law instead of just a cus
tom,” said Henry Hewitt, Chairman
of the Oregon Transportation Com
mission Henry Hewitt.
O’Ryan said the measure re
quires the Legislature to review ve
hicle taxes every two years but
doesn’t require any action be taken.
“[The measure] can provide vot
ers a sense of false security because it
can’t do all it says it can do,” she said.
The AAA contracted attorneys
from Portland law firm O’Donnell
& Clark LLP Attorneys at Law to
analyze the wording of the mea
sure. The attorneys felt that vague
wording, including the words
“fair” and “proportionate,” in the
measure could make the state vul
nerable to lawsuits, O’Ryan said.
Supporters of the bill argue that
these words don’t need to be ex
plicitly defined.
“We understand what those
words mean in this context be
cause we’ve been [taxing based on
cost responsibility] for a long, long
time,” Hewitt said.
The measure was drafted in re
sponse to concerns the AAA
voiced about House Bill 20-82,
passed by the Legislature this sum
mer, that would adjust the way
commercial truck drivers pay tax
es, Hewitt said. The bill approved
a diesel fuel tax for truck drivers to
replace a tax on vehicle weight and
mile travel.
O’Ryan said a tax based on
weight and miles traveled is the
most accurate way to make heavy
trucks accountable for the damage
they incur on roadways.
Hewitt said Measure 76 wdS
drafted to ensure that “any change
in truck tax methods shouldn’t
change the amount they’re expect
ed to pay.”
Limiting convicts’ release from prison the goal of Measure 74
The issue:
Measure 74 would amend the Ore
gon constitution by requiring
prison sentences to be fully
served, with exceptions.
Pro: Amendment would protect
society for a longer time and act as
a deterrent to crime.
Con: Measure 74 would remove
the possibility of shorter sen
tences, thereby eliminating incen
tives for prisoners to improve.
By Sara Lieberth
Oregon Daily Emerald
As one of nine ballot measures
proposing to amend the Oregon
constitution on Nov. 2, Measure 74
addresses prison sentencing
terms, requiring they be served
specifically as they are imposed by
a judge in open court.
Under current law, corrections
officials, parole boards and appel
late courts may grant early release
based on good behavior, which
aids in reducing prison over
crowding. Measure 74 would re
strict these provisions and allow
for sentence reductions only in the
instances of a judge’s authoriza
tion, a reprieve or pardon from the
governor or a court’s post-convic
tion proceeding.
Supporters of the measure be
lieve it would ensure that convict
ed criminals, if they serve the
fullest extent of their sentences,
would pose less of a threat to soci
ety for the longest possible time
following their crime. Opponents
argue that Measure 74 removes in
centives for rehabilitation of in
mates, and presents an undue bur
den on taxpayers’ support of rising
prison populations.
Rep. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eu
gene, said rewarding inmates for
good behavior is a sound policy
and that implementation of Mea
sure 74 would significantly “tie the
hands” of legislators when decid
ing parole in the future because it
is a constitutional amendment.
“It’s foolish to pre-empt and lim
it the procedures already in place,”
he Said. “As a crime victim myself,
I want people to be held account
able, but at the same time I’m not
ready to do away with the consti
tution to accomplish that goal. ”
Prozanski’s sister was murdered
26 years ago in Texas.
Clatsup County District Attor
ney Josh Marquis supports what
he and other proponents term the
“Truth in Sentencing” measure on
the principal that sentences
should be administered as they are
handed down at trial.
“Everybody has the right to
know what the sentence will be,”
he said. “The victim, their families
and the accused. They deserve to
have them served without some
correctional bureaucrat in Salem
deciding differently.”
Marquis offered the example of
a case he recently prosecuted in
which an individual sentenced to
36 months for a gang-related as
sault was released to serve a six
month boot camp program in
stead. The man was subsequently
arrested within 30 days for assault
ing someone else.
“It’s simple,” he said. “He
shouldn’t have been let out. ”
Eugene resident Carol Berg said
the group of measures being pre
sented on next month’s ballot are
not representative of the claims
their “pro” arguments make. She
said Measure 74 is no different.
“It’s not helping victims; it’s
helping the prisons,” she said.
But the group Crime Victims
United, which is spearheading the
campaign to pass measures 69-75,
hold “victim’s rights” as paramount
to a fair and just legal system.
Organization president Steve
Doell, though unavailable for com
ment, was fervent in his reprisal of
a justice system that lets criminals
serve reduced sentences in an Oct.
16 Register-Guard article.
“Every one of these measures has
a direct impact on the victim once
they’re in the criminal justice sys
tem,” he said. “They give the victims
the right to know that there’s going
to be some balance in the system. ’ ’
Measure 68 to restrict prison laborers from taking private jobs
.U
The issue:
Measure 68 lets voters decide
whether prisoners should compete
for private sector jobs.
Pro: Gives private industry first
dibs on labor contracts. Prevents
competition and loss of jobs due to
prison work groups.
Con: No known opposition to Mea
sure 68.
By Brian Goodell
Oregon Daily Emerald
On Nov. 2, Oregon voters will
decide whether prisoners deserve
to compete with law-abiding citi
zens for jobs as they consider Bal
lot Measure 68.
If approved, Measure 68 would
amend the Oregon Constitution to
require prison officials to avoid
displacing or reducing private
sector jobs as the result of a prison
work program. A previous mea
sure, Measure 17, passed in 1994
and asked voters to amend the
constitution to require prisoners
to work full time. The measure
was believed to promote competi
tion between prisoners and pri
vate sector workers.
“The proponents of Measure 17
don’t want to be perceived as tak
ing jobs away from law abiding
citizens,” said Sen. Peter Court
ney, D-Marion County. Courtney
is a member of the legislative com
mittee that framed the text of Mea
sure 68.
There are no known opponents
to Measure 68.
Paul Phillips, spokesman for
the Oregon State Building and
Construction Trade Council, said
the measure has no opposition be
cause it is the right thing to do.
“No one disagrees with the need
for a change to Measure 17,” he
said. “My fear is that this bill
would not pass because nobody
understands the need for a
change.”
The OSBCTC, the organization
that sponsored Measure 68, be
lieves Measure 17 was well inten
tioned but administratively
flawed.
“People who have not violated
the law should not lose their jobs
to people who have violated the
law,” Phillips said.
According to Rep. Lane Shetter
ly, R-Benton and Polk counties,
there have only been a few inci
dents of citizens losing their jobs
to competition with prison work
parties since Measure 17 took ef
fect five years ago.
“We’re looking prospectively to
prevent job loss in the future,” he
said.
Shetterly, who was appointed
to the legislative committee that
drafted the text of Measure 68,
said he expects it will pass easily.
“This is one of those clean-up
bills,” Shetterly said. “It’s clear that
we did not want to take away fami
ly jobs from the private sector. ”
Miguel llarth-liedoya* Conductor
Dean Krumen Piano
Let Your
pirit Soar
Thursday, October 28, 8 pm
Soar with the epic yearning of Tristan and Isolde. The brilliant piano work
of Uszt s dazzling Dance of Death. And Richard Strauss’s absolutely glorious
Death & Transfiguration. Music to raise the rafters!
Concert (
sponsor:
Financial
Advisors
Eugene Symphony
Tickets: 682-5000