FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2017
4 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
Opinion / Politics
— Guest Opinion —
SoS launches grassroots
End of the
petitioning changes
Secretary of State Dennis
Richardson announced an
administrative rule change
to empower grassroots
petitioners who are filing
ballot initiatives.
As it stands today, oppo-
nents of a ballot initiative
can manipulate the initia-
tive process by challenging
ballot titles in court for the
sole purpose of delay-
ing signature gathering.
Often this results in delays
of 2-3 months or even
more, which is especially
burdensome for grassroots
petitions that do not have
the resources to hire a
signature gathering service.
This new grassroots
petitioning rule will allow
petitioners to continue
gathering signatures on
the official sponsorship
templates while a ballot
title is being written and
challenged in the courts,
thereby giving activists
more time to gather signa-
tures and avoiding a gap
of several months in the
signature gathering effort.
“Grassroots petitions
empower Oregonians to
hold their government ac-
countable,” said Secretary
Richardson. “I promised to
make participating in our
democracy easier for the
citizens of our state. Since
ballot initiatives are a key
tool for direct democracy
in Oregon, I am commit-
ted to making the process
fairer, more straightfor-
ward, and less vulnerable
to manipulation.”
The problem of using
court challenges to delay
signature gathering on
petitions was identified by
Independent Party of Or-
egon co-Chair Dan Meek,
a Portland attorney who
frequently works on grass-
roots petitions and serves
as legal representative for
the Progressive Party of
Oregon.
“The grassroots petition-
ing rule will make it easier
for Oregonians to exercise
their right to participate in
the democratic process by
signing initiative peti-
tions,” commented Dan
Meek. “It will help prevent
powerful special interest
groups from delaying the
opportunity to gather sig-
natures for several months,
whether or not the ballot
title written by the At-
torney General is accurate
and impartial.”
This rule should reduce
court costs by remov-
ing the incentive to file
lawsuits solely to obstruct
and delay the signature
gathering process.
This change will apply
to any signatures turned in
after the rule takes effect,
so grassroots petitioners
can begin gathering pro-
spective petition signatures
on the official sponsorship
templates this summer.
OSP evidence technician arrested
On June 23, 2017, former
OSP Evidence Technician
Mark Matlick was arrested
in Klamath County by OSP
detectives and troopers
as a result of a lengthy
investigation. The investi-
gation revealed that during
his time as the Evidence
Technician in the Klamath
Falls Area Command, he
stole over $10,000 from
the Klamath Falls OSP evi-
dence locker. At the time
of his arrest in Klamath
County, OSP detectives
were continuing their in-
vestigation into his actions
in Lake County, where he
was also responsible for
evidence handling.
In Lake County, OSP de-
tectives discovered Matlick
had stolen $2,577.00
and committed addi-
tional crimes to conceal
the thefts. Matlick was
criminally charged with
16 counts based on the the
following crimes in Lake
County:
Theft in the 1st degree,
Computer Crime, Tamper-
ing with Public Records,
Forgery in the 2nd degree,
Official Misconduct in the
1st degree and Official
Misconduct in the 2nd
degree.
On July 14, 2017, Matlick
turned himself into the
Lake County jail and was
subsequently released after
posting bail.
All media inquiries
should be referred to Lake
County District Attorney
Sharon Forster.
VA committee approves GI reform bill
Legislation to ensure
wounded members of the
National Guard and Re-
serve receive the education
benefits they’ve earned
through the GI Bill was
included in a broad, bipar-
tisan veterans’ education
bill that was approved by
the Senate Committee on
Veterans’ Affairs.
The GI Bill Fairness
Act—introduced by U.S.
Senators Ron Wyden, D-
Ore., and John Boozman,
R-Ark.—was included
in the Harry W. Colmery
Veterans Educational
Assistance Act of 2017
(S.1598), a comprehensive
package of legislation that
seeks to improve veterans’
education benefits and
enhance the post-9/11 GI
Bill.
Federal law does not
recognize as eligible for
Post-9/11 GI Bill educa-
tion assistance the type
of orders (under 10 USC
12301(h)) that members
of the Guard or Reserve
are often given for their
recovery and rehabilita-
tion if they are wounded
in combat. The Wyden-
Boozman provision would
end that unequal treatment
by ensuring these service-
members are eligible for
the same GI Bill benefits
as active duty members of
the military.
“No member of the
military should lose educa-
tion benefits for getting
wounded, but that’s the
current cruel reality for
— Contact Us —
men and women serving
in the National Guard and
Reserve,” Wyden said. “
This reform is neces-
sary because, unlike other
members of the military,
members of the Guard
and Reserve actually lose
benefits for being injured
in the line of duty. Senator
Wyden and I are working
to get correct this com-
pletely absurd injustice by
including this language in
the comprehensive bill the
committee cleared for pas-
sage,” Boozman said.
The U.S. House of Rep-
resentatives unanimously
passed an identical version
of the Harry W. Colmery
Veterans Educational As-
sistance Act of 2017 earlier
this week.
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Copyright © 2014 -2017
541.523.8201
session
By Rep. Greg Barreto
The last day of the 2017 Oregon leg-
islative session was July 7, 2017. The
session was long, it was tiring, and it was
frustrating in the last days, but I remain
hopeful that we will be able to turn things
around in Oregon with the 2018 elections
already rapidly approaching. The only
way things change for the better is when
we elect those that will challenge the
status quo.
Over 130 bills were heard and voted on
in the last four days of the session. Below
is an overview of some of the more con-
troversial measures, some of which may
be challenged in court:
SB 719 was passed by the House
Democrats on a 31 to 28 vote. SB 719
allows law enforcement to confiscate
guns based on a family member saying
someone is mentally unstable and should
not retain their firearms. It also allows a
judge to make the decision instead of a
qualified medical professional. This bill
challenges “due process” and our 2nd
Amendment rights. Our office received
over 5,0000 emails from Oregonians who
were against this bill and I was proud to
stand up for them by casting a no vote on
this legislation.
HB 3391 passed without a Republican
vote in either the House or the Senate
and will cost 10 million dollars for abor-
tion on demand including sex selection
abortions, mandating that all health care
insurance providers apart from Provi-
dence must comply. These abortions are
allowed until the child is born, extended
to undocumented people in Oregon and
without a co-pay or deductible. No provi-
sions were given for those wanting a child
and facing infertility. This was a dark day
for Oregon. Providence protested early,
stood their ground and got carved out for
religious status. Would have been nice if
they would have stood up for the prin-
ciple and helped other companies fight
against this.
HB 2391, the provider tax bill, will also
raise the cost of health care and those that
purchase insurance. It establishes a 1.5%
tax on health insurance providers to help
pay for Obamacare for all who reside in
the state. For my company, that is already
looking at a 27% premium increase will
now have an additional $6000.00 annu-
ally and that does not account for their
mark-up on the 1.5 increase. Insurance
premiums will continue to rise with legis-
lation such as this.
The House Democrats passed HB 2060.
A tax bill that would have raised $667
million of new taxes on the backs of the
smallest of Oregon small businesses.
The qualifications of the tax increase
were tied to the number of employees a
business has, not to profits or income.
Unbelievable! And they did this on a
simple majority vote, defying the Oregon
Constitution and the vote of the people
that requires a 3/5 majority to approve
revenue raising bills. Thankfully this
measure was killed in the Senate.
There were a lot of good bills introduced
and some good bills passed:
SB 106, SB 481, HB 2101 were pub-
lic records reform bills that will help
modernize availability for Oregonians to
information and improve transparency of
government.
HB 2066 retained the rural medical
provider tax as a tool for attracting and
retaining medical professionals in rural
areas of the state.
SB 1067 was a cost containing bill that
prevents the state from doubling up on
insurance benefits for households with
two public employee incomes.
SB 372, of which I was a sponsor with
Sen. Hansell as Chief Sponsor, was
signed into law on June 14, 2017. This
law permits the salvaging of game meat
for human consumption if it had been
killed by a vehicle collision.
SB 373, of which Sen. Hansell and I
were Chief Sponsors, directs the Oregon
Fish and Wildlife Commission to estab-
lish a pilot program to control urban deer
populations in cities where deer constitute
a public nuisance. This was signed into
law on June 14, 2017.
HB 2382 and its Senate counterpart
SB 230, were Bills to increase student
achievement, improve college attendance
and career placement for students in Ag
courses. And compensation for the exten-
sive amount of time that FFA teachers put
Submitted Photo
Rep. Greg Barreto of Cove is a
Republican representing House
District 58 in Oregon.
in through the summer months. When
education in Oregon is lagging behind
in national state ranking, FFA programs
across the state are a proven bright
shining light in building character and
leadership qualities in our young people.
Throughout education this program is
recognized and should be encouraged and
rewarded for the product that FFA puts
out. JD Cant from Imbler was the cata-
lyst for this legislation which Bill Hansell
and I fought hard for that would have
enhanced and benefitted education and
our FFA programs. This bill or a similar
form of it should be introduced in the next
long session.
HB 2017 The transportation package
that started out at 8.2 billion dollars, a 14-
cent gas tax, increased registration fees,
employee tax, added fees when purchas-
ing new or used cars, bike tax, gravel
tax, tolls on some stretches of road, etc.,
etc., etc. We were told that if a legislator
wanted projects for their district, those
members working on the package wanted
a commitment early that the legislator
would vote for the package, however it
turned out. I was not on the commit-
tee and was unwilling to commit to the
tax and fee increases at the start of the
package not knowing how much it would
end up costing the people of Oregon.
This was a bill that was in a process of
continual change and development all
the way to the end. Because I and other
legislators would not commit to vot-
ing yes early, on a bill that was not fully
formed, many of our districts were not
awarded projects. Those on the transpor-
tation committee that put in an inordinate
amount of time and effort made out very
well and some that committed to vote for
it brought projects back to their districts
and some projects were actually awarded
based on cost/benefit. Transportation is
vital to Oregon and there is a huge cost
to funding and maintain a statewide need.
Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz put his heart
and soul into this project and worked dili-
gently, negotiating with a lot of players to
see it come about. Republican Rep. Andy
Olson, also on the committee, worked
hard and got a measure of accountability
into the project also.
In the end, the package was whittled
down to a little over 5 billion. Gas tax
was lowered to 10 cents over 6 years; it
still included the employee tax which I
totally disagree with because it has noth-
ing to do with transportation and can be
easily raised in the future. The best part
of the bill in my opinion was the funding
for counties and cities for infrastructure
maintenance. It was dispersed through-
out the state based on a formula based
on the number of registered vehicles and
miles of road in the counties. This part of
the bill will be a significant help to rural
areas. Most local elected officials respon-
sible for communities were in favor of
any package. A lot of constituents did not
want to see gas taxes increased by 20%
along with the other fee’s, taxes and the
Low Carbon Fuels Tax still subsidizing
electric cars.
There was much more that went on in
Salem over the last six months that I will
comment on in future newsletters. And
future responsibilities that will take more
of my time. The budget issues from this
session will continue to grow through the
next 12 years as PERS costs will continue
to rise for the state, counties, cities and
schools. Medicaid costs, individual and
business premium costs and availability
along with the uncertainty of the health
care system in general will be front and
center both on a state and national level
well into the future.
Thank you for your support, encourage-
ment and even criticisms, knowing that in
this business, there are many views on the
issues at hand. Special thanks to the crew
and leadership at Barreto mfg. that are do-
ing an outstanding job and allow me to do
serve in this capacity.