IN BRIEF
Utility bill stalls as House,
Senate pass unlike versions
SALEM — Legislators on both
sides of the aisle in Salem say they
want to stop utilities from collecting
extra from customers to pay for state
and federal taxes, then paying almost
nothing to the government.
But as the session winds down,
there has been no agreement over
how to shut the loophole.
Late this week, an Oregon House
committee passed a dramatically re
vamped version of a bill that has al
ready passed the Senate.
The House version drew
immediate condemnation from
consumer activists.
They charge that the amended
bill is actually worse than current
law, mainly because it could make
Oregon taxpayers pay for taxes
owed by unconnected utility sub
sidiaries, including those that are
not based in Oregon.
In addition, utilities would be able
to maintain their current over-collec
tion practice for three more years be
fore the regulations would take effect.
"This is a big, huge step
backward from what passed the
Senate," said Mark Nelson, a lobby
ist for the Industrial Customers of
Northwest Utilities.
Utility companies, meanwhile,
would prefer that legislators-leave the
current law untouched, said Kevin
Lynch, director of governmental af
fairs for PacifiCorp, the parent com
pany of Pacific Power.
But if changes are inevitable, utility
companies prefer the House version,
he said.
The legislation is headed to the
House floor and then in all likelihood
to a conference committee, where
representatives of the Republican-run
House and Democrat-led Senate will
try to hammer out a compromise that
can pass both chambers.
Industry officials say not paying
government taxes is a byproduct of
an industry in which companies do
more than own and run utilities.
When utility-owning conglomer
ates file their consolidated tax re
turns, the profits from some of their
businesses — such as their utilities —
can be used to offset the losses from
other subsidiaries.
And that reduces their tax obliga
tions, and they don’t pay as much —
if any at all.
Four schools fail to comply
with No Child Left Behind
PORTLAND — Half of Portland's
neighborhood middle schools have
failed to meet targets mandated by
the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Parents of students at four of
the Portland schools were notified
on Friday that their children's
school had failed to meet the federal
standards, bringing to half the num
ber of middle schools failing in the
Portland area.
The parents of 2,097 students at
Binnsmead, Gregory Heights, Kel
logg and Portsmouth middle
schools now have the chance to
transfer their children to a different
neighborhood middle school. The
letter said the children are eligible
for free transportation.
Under the No Child Left Behind
Act, schools are required to show
yearly progress for all students each
year, including those with disabilities.
Last school year, 50 percent of stu
dents had to pass the English test and
49 percent had to pass the math test
to meet the federal requirement. Stu
dents in special categories, such as
those with disabilities or those learn
ing English as a second language, are
also required to make progress, but
their scores can be lower.
The four middle schools new to
the list failed to meet standards for
certain groups of students.
A spokeswoman for the schools said
their status could change after test
scores are rechecked this summer.
—The Associated Press
022647
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