3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2017
Republicans want cost cuts in exchange for revenue hikes
lized the business lobby,
which fought tooth and nail
— and paid mightily — to
defeat it at the ballot box.
increase in the gas tax to sup-
port transportation funding —
which is another major issue
going into the session that kicks
off Wednesday.
Pension system
a GOP priority
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
PERS a starting point
Balancing act
Ferrioli said that crafting the
state’s tax system is, and will
be, a balancing act.
“All those things — prop-
erty tax, income tax, business
taxes, corporate taxes, they’re
all connected and all hydrau-
lic,” Ferrioli said. “The conver-
sation that will occur, I believe,
is how do you find the sweet
spot that sustains job growth in
Oregon and provides enough
revenue for running our infra-
structure, and also provides
some tax relief in strategic
areas?”
Republicans say that before
making changes to taxes, they
want concessions from union
groups on the costs of the state’s
pension system — a high hur-
dle to leap.
The most recent attempt to
reduce the costs of the Public
Employees Retirement System,
or PERS, in 2013, was found
largely unconstitutional by the
state Supreme Court in 2015.
Future obligations are at
least $22 billion more than the
system can pay.
Regular
increases
in
employee costs and benefits
are a significant factor in driv-
ing up the state’s expenses
every year, according to a 2010
“reset report” on the state’s
budget authored during for-
mer Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s
administration.
That report explained,
among other phenomena, how
the state’s revenue structure
leads to revenue instability.
Both Democratic and
SALEM — Driving a hard
bargain a week away from the
legislative session, Republi-
can state legislators say they’d
be willing to consider revenue
reform — but only if there are
changes to the other side of the
state’s ledger.
Without any new revenue,
the state has $1.8 billion less
than it needs to maintain the
current level of state services,
according to the co-chairs of
the legislative Joint Ways and
Means Committee, which
writes the state’s budget.
State Rep. Cliff Bentz,
R-Ontario, vice chairman of
the House Revenue Commit-
tee, suggested this week that
a “broad-based consumption
tax,” coupled with changes to
the state’s income tax, could be
one way to strike a compromise
between business groups and
public labor advocates.
But he and other Repub-
licans are adamant that they
won’t agree to making changes
to taxes without first addressing
the state’s costs, including the
state’s pension system.
Democrats don’t have the
three-fifths majority they need
to pass revenue-raising mea-
sures, so in order to avoid the
drastic cuts to services they’ve
warned of, they need to craft a
resolution that will be palatable
to lawmakers on the other side
of the aisle.
Senate Minority Leader Ted
Ferrioli, R-John Day, says he
would also be amenable to an
Mateusz Perkowski/EO Media Group
Republican leaders in the state Legislature say they
won’t consider tax hikes unless Democrats first consider
spending cuts, especially in the retirement system.
Republican lawmakers have
echoed this observation.
Income taxes
The state’s general fund
relies largely on income taxes,
which can fluctuate with swings
in the economy.
Couple that with the fact
that Oregon’s economy is typ-
ically more extreme than the
overall economy — dipping
lower in recessions and ris-
ing higher in times of prosper-
ity or recovery — and you get
a pattern resembling the Swiss
Alps, as state economists have
pointed out.
Bentz says that the cost dis-
cussion has to start with public
employee unions.
Should they agree to cut
back, Bentz thinks three kinds
of a consumption tax could be
among the possibilities: a gross
receipts tax, a value-added tax,
and a commercial activity tax.
Each type, says Bentz,
would ideally be broader-based
than Measure 97, which would
have imposed a 2.5 percent
gross receipts tax on certain
C-corporations with more than
$25 million in annual sales.
Whichever type leaders pro-
pose, it would ideally in turn be
complemented by reductions in
income taxes, Bentz said.
House Minority Leader
Mike McLane, R-Powell
Butte, described his two con-
ditions for agreeing to reve-
nue changes: first, making the
tax atmosphere more consis-
tent for business owners; sec-
ond, addressing costs, includ-
ing PERS.
McLane argues businesses
are asking themselves, “When
does it end? If we make this
investment in Oregon, how do
we know the tax structure in
Oregon just doesn’t change?”
He pointed to Measure
97 as an example of what he
characterized as the prevail-
ing political attitude toward
business. Both Gov. Kate
Brown and House Speaker
Tina Kotek advocated for the
measure.
The proposal also mobi-
According to Ferrioli,
the starting point for nego-
tiations on McLane’s sec-
ond condition — addressing
costs, including PERS — is a
list of possible changes to the
pension system that’s been
the focal point of a legisla-
tive work group led by Sens.
Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose,
and Tim Knopp, R-Bend.
Two bills were introduced
in the Senate this month
reflecting some of those ideas,
including changes to how
benefits are calculated. They
have faced preliminary vet-
ting by Legislative Counsel.
Unions said back in Sep-
tember that those poten-
tial changes that are now
bills would not significantly
reduce the pension system’s
unfunded liability because,
legally, any changes lawmak-
ers make can’t touch benefits
already accrued.
Kotek said this week that
while PERS has been the
focus of the business commu-
nity, it is not the only driver of
state costs.
“I think there is a relatively
simplistic
understanding
among some folks in the busi-
ness community that there is
only one problem and that
cost driver is PERS,” Kotek
said Monday at a meeting of
the Pamplin Media Group’s
editorial board. “I don’t agree
with that. I think it’s a cost
driver, but you have to remem-
ber the ballot measures that
the voters passed in Novem-
ber, have, practically, an equal
Washington won’t be deterred on climate
will remain undeterred in its
efforts to promote clean energy
and tackle climate change.
The Democrat told report-
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Washington
Gov. Jay Inslee says the state
ers Thursday that “we will
not be slowed one iota by the
foolishness that we’re hearing
out of the White House.”
Asked about his response
to a potential shift in focus
at the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency under President
Donald Trump, Inslee said
the state “can be and must
be masters our own destiny”
when it comes to fighting car-
bon pollution.
He said “we see no rea-
son to believe we will receive
assistance from the fed-
eral government under this
president.”
Inslee said Washington
is already taking action to
reduce carbon pollution and
will continue to do so. He
noted that the state passed a
clean-air rule that limits emis-
sions from the state’s top car-
bon polluters.
Experienced
caregivers for senior
homecare
AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, shown here in March, says
the state will remain undeterred in its efforts to promote
clean energy.
We’re Hiring!
Long Beach, WA
360-892-4442
www.visitingangels.com
NOW HIRING
5
$ 00
OFF
FULL GROOM
With this coupon. New customers only. Valid through 2/28/2017
Immediate
appointments available.
Call now
to reserve your spot!
1480 SE 9 TH S TREET , W ARRENTON
(503) 861-9817
BAYBREEZE - BOARDING . COM
CLATSOP CRUISE HOSTS
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Applicant must be at
least 21 years of age
and have a high school
diploma or equivalent.
Must work well with
people. The Volunteer
Coordinator is an
independent contractor position.
Position description and application available at:
www.clatsopcruisehosts.org
Or email: lhbruner@charter.net
Celebration of
Kim (Kyong S) Fuhrmann’s
Beautiful Life
Teri and I would like to invite everyone who
knew Kim of Kim’s Kitchen, to join us in
sharing memories and celebration of Kim’s
beautiful life. We especially hope her many
caregivers will attend. We include every
shopkeeper, waitress and cab driver who
took the time and effort to ensure her safety
and well-being. We thank you. If you have
stories you want to share, there will be open
mic during the celebration for you to share.
If you cannot make it to the event or don’t
feel inclined to share your story in front of
the group, please write the story and email
them to kimskitchenastoria@gmail.com. I will either read them or
post them at the Celebration Service for all to hear. Teri and I look
forward to seeing old friends who knew Kim along with new friends
Teri and I have yet to meet.
January 28th 1 to 4pm
Pier 39 (Hanthorn Cannery) Banquet Room
133 Howerton Way
Illwaco WA 98624
WWW.FREEDOMMARKET420.COM
Huge Selection!
Great Prices!
Exclusive Product Lines!
MON -SUN
8AM -8PM
amount of additional expense
on the state budget, over $300
million. So there are a variety
of things that people want us
to do, and trying to figure all
that out remains to be seen.”
Ballot measures that vot-
ers approved to fund veterans’
services, outdoor school pro-
grams and career and techni-
cal education added approx-
imately $357 million in
additional costs, according to
the preliminary spending plan
released by legislators last
week.
Senate President Peter
Courtney, D-Salem, said
unions and business groups
had not yet come together to
hammer out a compromise.
Brown has also sug-
gested a number of smaller
tax measures in the budget
she released in December —
such as an increase in the cig-
arette tax — that together, if
approved, her office estimated
would raise nearly $900 mil-
lion in new revenue.
All that new revenue
requires multiple votes on
taxes, Courtney said.
“Are you kidding me? I get
one damn tax vote out of this
session,” he said.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
NOW HIRING
ASTORIA DOWNTOWN
HISTORIC DISTRICT
ASSOCIATION
PART-TIME
COMMUNITY
OUTREACH OFFICER
The primary tasks of this
position are to
1) monitor city streets and
parking areas to enforce
Astoria’s parking ordinances,
2) improve the quality of our
downtown visitors’ experience,
including information
distribution, and
3) communicate with downtown
businesses to address any
issues with the ADHDA such as
planters, tiles, fl ags or
2nd Saturday Art Walk.
To apply for this position, send a resume
and cover letter outlining your interest
and qualifi cations to:
Sarah@astoriadowntown.com
Position closes
February 1, 2017
Warning: This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit
forming. There may be health risks associated with consumption of
this product. For use only by adults twenty-one or older. Keep out of
reach of children Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination,
and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the
influence of this drug.
Our family would like to thank
everyone who helped during Dan’s
illness and recent passing.
From visits, car rides, fl owers, cards,
and assistance with his celebration,
your “being there” for all of us meant
more than you’ll ever know.
Th ese fr iendships are genuine and will
not be forgotten.
With much love,
Evelyn Laughman
Jenny and Cary Johnson and family
Robert Laughman
Bekah Laughman
JOIN US!!!
Assistance League ® Columbia Pacifi c
ACCESSORIZE SALE!
ACCESSORY
DONATIONS
NEEDED
FEBRUARY 5 TH
SUPER BOWL
SUNDAY 2017
The Loft in the
Red Building
20 Basin St.
in Astoria
Drop off donations of purses, jewelry, belts, scarves, etc..
in the BIG RED BINS in all Columbia Banks
YOU KNOW WHAT A GREAT SALE THIS
IS AND FOR A WONDERFUL CAUSE!
All proceeds will go towards programs of
Assistance League ® the Columbia Pacifi c
ACCESSORIZE SALE • SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5TH • 11AM TO 3PM
Assistance League the Columbia Pacifi c is a non-profi t organization whose
volunteers raise funds to assist school children in our community.
For more information about this event, call Mary Davies at (503)738-2672
For more information about ALCP or becoming a member,
visit our website at www.assistanceleaguecp.org
