12A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2016
Lobbying cash spent in Oregon, 2007-15
A wide range of entities, from hospitals and nursing homes to
utilities and the governor’s office, reported spending more than
$251 million on lobbying Oregon lawmakers and other state
officials from 2007 through 2015.
$35.9
(All sectors, millions of dollars)
million
33.9
31.1
29.8
27.2
26.8
25.6
21.2
19.9
Up 31.7%
from 2007
NOTE: Totals not adjusted for inflation.
2007
’09
’11
’13
2015
Source: Oregon Government Ethics Commission
Hillary Borrud and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group
Lobbying:
State receives an F
grade on disclosure
Continued from Page 1A
estate interests that reported
spending a total of $27.3 mil-
lion on lobbying during the
same period.
Unlike several other states
including Idaho, Oregon does
not require lobbyists to dis-
close the specifi c bills or exec-
utive branch actions they seek
to infl uence. Oregon lobbyists
are only required to disclose
food, drinks and entertainment
purchased for a specifi c law-
maker or other state offi cial if
the cost exceeds $50 on a sin-
gle occasion, and lobbyists do
not have to report individual
expenses reimbursed by their
clients .
Until this year, the only
way to know how much lob-
byists and their clients were
spending to entertain state offi -
cials was to request a copy of
the paper reports fi led with the
Oregon Government Ethics
Commission.
The agency launched a
new electronic fi ling system
for lobbyists late last year, but
that system is not displaying
certain spending details due
to technical glitches. Even
if the system were working
correctly, however, it would
likely provide only a small
sample of lobbyists’ activi-
ties. Of the $35.9 million in
reported spending last year,
only $93,189 was explained in
detailed reports.
An F grade
These minimal reporting
requirements contributed to
Oregon receiving one of the
lowest rankings in the nation
for transparency in lobbying
activity.
Last summer, the Sunlight
Foundation evaluated how all
50 states track spending on
lobbying and created a score-
card ranking the states. The
foundation awarded Oregon
an F grade, meaning lobby-
ists and their clients face fewer
disclosure requirements than
in most other states.
Most of Oregon’s neigh-
bors received higher grades,
from an A in California to a C
in Idaho.
Emily Shaw, a senior ana-
lyst at the Sunlight Foundation
who was involved in the proj-
ect, said the goal was to eval-
uate how much information
states collected about lobby-
ists’ specifi c activities and the
costs of those actions.
“People should be able to
fi nd out who has come to infl u-
ence their laws,” Shaw said.
“That’s not to say there needs
to be any particular restriction
on lobbying in a particular sit-
uation. But for good public
awareness of what’s happen-
ing in these processes, we
need good information about
what lobbyists are doing, and
when.”
Pete Quist, research direc-
tor at the National Insti-
tute on Money in State Poli-
tics in Montana, agreed that
it is important for states to
require lobbyists to disclose
more about how they infl u-
ence lawmaking. The institute
is collecting information about
state-level spending on lob-
bying across the nation. “The
lobbying piece isn’t analyzed
as much in the media as it
should be,” Quist said. “What
we see a lot of public discus-
sion about is the campaign
contributions.”
Resisting disclosure
Oregon lobbyists have
resisted efforts to require
them to disclose more details
of their work, most recently
in 2015 when they won pas-
sage of a bill that allows them
to avoid reporting spend-
ing to lobby other lobbyists,
for example to build a coa-
lition for or against an issue.
The 2015 bill — which eas-
ily passed both chambers of
the Legislature and was signed
into law by Gov. Kate Brown
— extended the disclosure
exemption through mid-2017.
Dan Meek, a public inter-
est attorney and co-chair of the
Independent Party of Oregon,
said this exemption is a major
reason the public cannot fi nd
out how lobbyists use much of
the money their clients report
spending. Still, Meek said he
remains more concerned that
Oregon has no campaign con-
tribution limits because polit-
ical donations do not have to
be reported as gifts, even if
they are connected to lobby-
ing efforts.
“Lobbying regulation in
Oregon is really of secondary
importance because it can be
so easily evaded,” Meek said.
The extension of the lob-
bying reporting exemption last
year provided another exam-
ple of how lobbyists avoid
revealing their impact on Ore-
gon’s laws.
Lobbyist Marla Rae, who
previously served on the Ore-
gon Fish and Wildlife Com-
mission and worked for the
state Department of Justice
and former Gov. Ted Kulon-
goski, advocated for the bill
during legislative hearings on
behalf of the Capitol Club of
Oregon, a professional orga-
nization for lobbyists. How-
ever, the Capitol Club did not
report spending any money
on lobbying last year and Rae
does not appear to have regis-
tered to lobby on behalf of the
group.
In an email, Rae explained
the Capitol Club did not have
to report spending any money
on lobbying because she vol-
unteered her time to advo-
cate for the bill. Rae wrote
that she did not spend enough
time working on the issue —
the threshold is 24 hours in a
quarter — to trigger the state’s
requirement to register as a
lobbyist for the group.
Bill Cross, the Legislative
Committee chair for the Cap-
itol Club, said the group still
wants a permanent reporting
exemption for lobbying other
lobbyists, partly because it is
burdensome for lobbyists to
track the information.
“I’m sure we’ll be pursu-
ing some sort of way to adjust
that because the value of that
information just doesn’t seem
apparent to us,” Cross said.
Hundreds of bills
Cross said it would also
create a lot of work for lob-
byists — with minimal bene-
fi t to the public — if lobbyists
were required to report all the
bills or executive actions they
work to infl uence, because he
sometimes tracks hundreds of
bills during a legislative ses-
sion. At the moment, no one is
advocating for expanded lob-
bying disclosures in Oregon,
Cross said. “I’m not aware of
any issues, I guess, that have
evolved in the last four or fi ve
years where other organiza-
tions have said, ‘Wait a min-
ute, we really need to reform
our lobbying disclosure laws
because of problems with cor-
ruption or something. ”
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Lyra Fontaine/The Daily Astorian
American Legion 168 commander Dan O’Reilly and other veterans raise their hands in salute during the playing of taps.
‘Liberty is not free’
In Cannon
Beach, a day of
gratitude and
remembrance
By LYRA FONTAINE
The Daily Astorian
CANNON BEACH —
Flowers in hand, families and
veterans gathered on Fir Street
Bridge Monday to remember
those who lost their lives serv-
ing the country.
The American Legion Post
168 has organized a Memo-
rial Day ceremony in Cannon
Beach since the 1970s. “Today
is a time to pause and refl ect on
just how much we owe others,”
Post C ommander Dan O’Reilly
told the crowd. “Liberty is not
free. Our sons and daughters
have answered the call again
and again. They have done this
without regard for sex, race or
religion. We are the melting pot.
This is what makes us strong.
Many have given their all ... for
the freedoms we enjoy.”
This price, he added, has been
paid in all corners of the world.
“We must be watchful that
our leaders never commit our
valuable resources to a cause
that’s not necessary, because
again, freedom is not free,”
O’Reilly said. “The playing of
taps tells those who have pre-
ceded us to rest, for their day is
done. Rest in peace, my brothers
and sisters. We have the watch.
We have your legacy.”
He ended his oration with
the U. S. Marine Corps motto
“Semper fi delis,” or “Always
faithful.”
Cannon Beach Community
Church pastor David Robinson
led a prayer honoring fallen vet-
erans. “May they rest in peace
and may your perpetual light
shine upon them,” Robinson
said.
Robinson issued a plea for
justice for the oppressed and
peace for all peoples so mili-
tary sacrifi ce will not have been
in vain.
“And may we never fail to
remember the awesome cost of
the freedom, which we enjoy
here on this bridge and in this
fi ne city,” Robinson said.
While taps were played,
O’Reilly and those who served
the country, whether retired or
on active duty, raised their hands
in salute. Others in the crowd
placed their hands over their
hearts.
Following the bugle call,
families stepped forward to toss
fl owers into Ecola Creek from
the Fir Street Bridge to remem-
ber loved ones who died in
service.
Memorial Day: ‘Most of the guys are silent’
Continued from Page 1A
“Yesterday, I walked out
on the beach and I looked
at the ocean and the sand
and I realized I owe a debt
to 1,355,000 million Ameri-
cans who gave up their life so
I could stand on that beach,”
said Michael Heuvelhorst, an
offi cer of the Seaside Elks
Lodge. “I just can’t imagine
what it would take to repay
that debt.”
The liberty Americans
enjoy — to celebrate the
national holiday, to spend
time with their loved ones
— was paid for by those who
gave their lives fi ghting for
the country.
“We need to remember
this not only today, but every
day,” Heuvelhorst said.
Col. Michael Becker,
from the Camp Rilea Armed
Forces Training Center, gave
a brief history of Memorial
Day, which he called “Amer-
ica’s most solemn holiday.”
“This day is observed on
the last Monday of May,”
he said. “It is the day we set
aside in which we give honor
to the men and women who
died while serving in the U.S.
military.”
The history is important,
Becker said, to understand
its signifi cance. He urged the
audience to share with their
children “what this day is all
about.”
The event was capped by
the traditional wreath-laying
ceremony. Standing atop the
Broadway Bridge and accom-
panied by First Vice Com-
mander Brad Moore, Greg
McCollum, of Seaside, laid
a wreath in the Neawanna
Creek in memory and celebra-
tion of his father, Jack McCol-
lum, who served in the Korean
War and died in November.
Although Jack McCol-
lum received a Bronze Star
and was proud of his ser-
vice to the United States, “he
was a very quiet individual,”
and kept silent regarding his
memories of the war, Greg
McCollum said.
“Most of the guys are
silent,” he added.
To have the life and service
of his father, who was a mem-
ber of the Seaside American
Legion, remembered during
the Memorial Day service was
“overwhelming,” McCollum
said.
“It’s very special,” he said.
The
ceremony
also
included the singing of “The
Star-Spangled Banner” and
“God Bless America,” by
Kayla Vowels, and “Amazing
Grace,” by Maureen Boggs, a
member of the Seaside Amer-
ican Legion Auxiliary.
Instead of an opening
prayer, Post 99 Chaplain
Jeanie Peterman shared lines
from the war poem “In Flan-
ders Fields,” which is written
from the perspective of those
who died in confl ict.
Milligan: He’s in custody at Two Rivers Correctional Institution
Continued from Page 1A
Burton ruled on two of the
central issues in the case, both
of which, in different ways,
deal with statutes limiting the
windows of time in which
claims may be fi led for dam-
ages stemming from injury or
sex abuse.
The defense had argued
that the $5.5 million law-
suit was subject to the Ore-
gon Tort Claims Act, which
requires claims against gov-
ernment agencies to be
noticed within six months of
the alleged injury and fi led
within two years. In this case,
the crimes occurred in 1998,
and the claim was not fi led
until 2014 because — accord-
ing to the plaintiffs — J.M.
had repressed the memories
of the abuse.
However, the plaintiff had
countered that a different pro-
vision of Oregon law should
apply, which allows victims of
child sex abuse until the age of
40 to fi le claims. One of J.M.’s
attorneys, Dennis Steinman,
said his client was only 30
when the claim was fi led.
Burton ultimately ruled
in favor of the Oregon Youth
Authority .
In a phone interview , Stein-
man said the decision creates a
“disconnect” in the law.
“The net effect of the
judge’s ruling is that if a child
is abused by a church or the
Boy Scouts or some other pri-
vate entity, you have until
you’re 40 years old to bring
the claim, but if you’re abused
by a public entity, you have
this very short window to fi le,”
he said. “And if you’re 5 years
old, you may not even real-
ize that you were abused until
you’re 30.”
The second issue con-
cerned differences between
Oregon and U.S. case law in
regard to a federal statute com-
monly used to bring claims of
alleged civil and constitutional
rights violations.
Steinman said that fed-
eral case law has established
a tighter window for when a
plaintiff discovers the claims,
but he and his fi rm had argued
the court should use a differ-
ent discovery standard that
was established by the Oregon
Supreme Court.
But Burton decided that her
decision was bound by federal
case law. That means J.M. had
only until his 19th birthday, in
2002, to fi le his claim.
Steinman said he could
not comment on whether they
would appeal, citing attor-
ney-client privilege.
The initial complaint
alleged that, on two separate
occasions during the plaintiff’s
fi rst month at MacLaren , Mil-
ligan ordered J.M. to accom-
pany him to the laundry room.
Once there, Milligan forced the
plaintiff to perform a sex act
on him and sexually assaulted
him, the complaint alleged.
The complaint also said
Milligan grabbed J.M.’s throat,
told him to keep his mouth
shut because no one would
believe him and threatened to
break his neck.
“Plaintiff lived in fear
that Milligan would sexu-
ally assault him again during
the time that p laintiff was at
MacLaren,” the complaint
read in part. J.M. was released
from MacLaren in September
1999.
The petition said J.M.
blocked out the abuse after
being released, and the mem-
ories did not begin to resurface
until 2012, when news broke
of the sex abuse scandal at
Penn State University involv-
ing Jerry Sandusky.
Milligan is currently in cus-
tody at the medium-security
Two Rivers Correctional Insti-
tution in Umatilla.
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