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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017
Murderer, rapist denied parole
State lawmakers to
Nulph gets
consider adding stronger another hearing
in two years
invasive mussel defenses
The Daily Astorian
Quagga and
zebra mussels
cause trouble
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregon law-
makers are considering
whether to strengthen the
state’s defenses against inva-
sive aquatic mussels that
threaten both irrigation sys-
tems and ecosystems.
The state House Agricul-
ture and Natural Resources
Committee
has
intro-
duced legislation creat-
ing a new penalty for peo-
ple who refuse to subject
their boats to inspection for
quagga and zebra mussels
at checkpoints, among other
measures.
The mussels threaten to
clog irrigation intakes and
disrupt habitats for native
fish species.
Currently, drivers haul-
ing boats who don’t stop at
check points can be tick-
eted for traffic violations.
The stations are located at
common entry points for
watercraft along Oregon’s
borders.
Under House Bill 2321,
drivers who are pulled over
by police within 5 miles of
failing to stop at a check-
point can be charged with a
misdemeanor if they refuse
to return for inspection.
If convicted, the crime
would be punishable by up
to 30 days in jail and a fine
of $1,250.
The legislation would
also eliminate a current
exemption under which
operators of non motorized
watercraft under 10 feet in
length, such as kayaks, don’t
have to buy Aquatic Invasive
Species Permits, which cost
$5 a year.
Money collected from
selling such permits is used
to control invasive aquatic
species.
Boats would have to be
drained of all water before
leaving a river or lake under
HB 2321, with operators
facing a penalty of $30 for
non motorized watercraft and
$50 for motorized watercraft
in they don’t comply with
this requirement.
Between 2010 and 2016,
the number of boats inspected
for invasive mussels has
grown from fewer than 3,000
to more than 16,000 per year,
said Scott Brewen, director
of the Oregon Marine Board,
during a Thursday committee
hearing.
While
compliance
with the check points has
improved in recent years,
about 18 percent of boaters
still didn’t stop for inspec-
tions in 2016, spurring the
idea for HB 2321, he said.
State Rep. Sherrie Sprenger,
R-Scio, said she sympathized
with the intent of the bill but
was concerned about the poten-
tial for boaters to be charged
with a misdemeanor, the same
class of crime as some thefts and
assaults.
Rep. Brian Clem, D-Sa-
lem, said he wasn’t thrilled
about eliminating the per-
mit exemption for non mo-
torized watercraft under 10
feet in length, but he said
these points would be further
debated in the future.
During the hearing, law-
makers also considered
House Bill 2266, which per-
tains to funding for hatchery
fish research.
Currently,
unobligated
money left over in the Ore-
gon Hatchery Research Cen-
ter Fund is transferred to the
Oregon Hatchery Construc-
tion Fund at the end of each
fiscal year.
Under HB 2266, that
money would be allowed to
remain in the fund dedicated
to hatchery research.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
Senate committee will release
new revenue plan next week
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Lawmakers
on the state Senate’s Finance
and Revenue C ommittee are
expected to release a package
of measures next week that will
likely include a broad-based tax
on business.
Facing a nearly $1.8 bil-
lion shortfall to maintain exist-
ing services, business tax talks
are occurring in the context of
a larger discussion legislators
are having about the volatility of
state revenue.
Most of the state’s general
fund comes from income taxes,
which rise and fall with changes
in the economy and produce
what s tate Rep. Cliff Bentz,
R-Ontario, has described as
“crazy gyrations.”
The Senate Finance and Rev-
enue Committee Thursday dis-
cussed the merits of three main
types of business taxes — a
gross receipts tax, a value-added
tax and a corporate income tax.
As the name implies, a gross
receipts tax is applied to a com-
pany’s gross sales. It is paid
regardless of whether those
receipts generate a profi t.
Measure 97, a $6 billion
state gross receipts tax that
applied to certain corporations,
was defeated at the ballot box
in November. The tax would
have required some corpora-
tions to pay the state 2.5 percent
of their annual Oregon sales
exceeding $25 million. Because
it only applied to “C” corpo-
rations, it would have applied
to a relatively small number of
businesses.
Legislators and lobby-
ists have since discussed the
possibilities for a smaller tax
spread over a broader base of
businesses.
A corporate income tax gen-
erally taxes gross receipts minus
several deductions such as labor
costs and operating expenses,
and typically at a higher rate
than a value-added tax or gross
receipts tax.
A group of public fi nance
economists, whose study of
Connecticut state taxes lawmak-
ers reviewed Thursday, found
that the corporate income tax
“has been eroded by intense
inter-state competition for eco-
nomic development,” legislative
revenue offi cials wrote in a sum-
mary document.
A value-added tax is col-
lected in increments at each
stage of production. It can put
companies at a competitive dis-
advantage if they sell their goods
out of state, where they may be
taxed again.
A gross receipts tax gener-
ally has a broader base, meaning
there are few or no deductions
from what is taxed. It is also typ-
ically simpler to administer than
a value-added tax.
A broader base has advan-
tages, said Paul Warner, the
head of the Legislative Revenue
Offi ce, because it minimizes
distortions in the broader econ-
omy but can be a “powerful rev-
enue generator.”
The Capital Bureau is a col-
laboration between EO Media
Group and Pamplin Media
Group.
The state parole board has
deferred the potential release
of convicted murderer and
rapist George Nulph for two
years.
The parole board con-
cluded, based on a doctor’s
report and diagnosis, that
Nulph suffers from a severe
emotional disturbance and is
a danger to the community.
Nulph was convicted in
1976 of murder and kidnap-
ping in the abduction of Fran-
ces Christians in Cannon
Beach. He was sentenced to
life in prison but, under a new
sentencing system, he was
released in 1986. Nulp bru-
tally raped a Portland woman
shortly after his release, and
was sent back to prison.
The Oregon Board of
Parole and Post-Prison Super-
vision ruled on Nulph’s mur-
der and sodomy convictions
after holding a parole hearing
in January.
Submitted Photo
George Nulph in his 1976 booking photo from Clatsop
County.
released him on ‘leave’ he
would not have been able to
rape an 18-year old woman in
Portland.
“This case languished
without any action for over
25 years, and while the mem-
bers of the current parole board
bear no responsibility for fail-
ures of previous boards, Nulph
should serve the rest of his
life in prison. Now my offi ce
and Multnomah County DA’s
Offi ce will need to notify the
victims again that in two years
we are likely to repeat this
process.”
Michael DeMuniz, a
Portland attorney who rep-
resented Nulph before the
parole board, declined to
comment.
Clatsop County District
Attorney Josh Marquis had
argued against parole for
Nulph at the January hearing.
“While I’m gratifi ed that
the (parole board) recognized
Nulph did not deserve release,
the fact he served less than
10 years on a life sentence
is outrageous,” Marquis said
in an email. “If the Depart-
ment of Corrections had not
“Right to farm’ law could
get weakened on pesticides
Proposal
would remove
protections
By MATEUSZ
PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM — State l aw-
makers with strong track
records of supporting pes-
ticide restrictions are chair-
ing two Senate committees
that are positioned to affect
Oregon agricultural poli-
cies this year .
Senate Bill 499 — a
proposal to strip pesticide
protections from Oregon’s
“right to farm” law — was
introduced at the behest of
the Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee, whose chair is state
Sen. Floyd Prozanski,
D-Eugene.
The law prohibits local
ordinances restricting com-
mon farm practices as well
as nuisance and trespass
lawsuits against such farm
practices.
People who lose such
lawsuits are required to
pay the opposing party’s
attorney fees, which has
discouraged such cases
against farm practices from
being fi led in Oregon.
Under SB 499, however,
complaints alleging nui-
sance or trespass from pes-
ticides are exempted from
the law.
The bill’s introduction
at the request of the Senate
Judiciary Committee bodes
well for its chances for a
vote before the full Senate,
particularly since Prozanski
has supported a harder line
against pesticide usage.
In 2015, for example,
Prozanski sponsored bills
that would ban neonicotinoid
insecticides and increase noti-
fi cation and reporting require-
ments for spraying pesticides.
All of those bills died in the
Senate Committee on Environ-
ment and Natural Resources,
which was then chaired by Sen.
Chris Edwards, D-Eugene.
Edwards left the Legis-
lature last year to take a job
at the University of Oregon,
so Sen. Michael Dembrow,
D-Portland, will replace him
as chairman of that committee.
Dembrow was a chief
sponsor of legislation in 2015
— Senate Bill 613 — that
would have increased notifi -
cation requirements for aerial
pesticide spraying of forest-
land, which died in committee.
The Oregon League of Con-
servation Voters gives Dem-
brow a 94 percent “lifetime
score” based on his support of
environmental legislation.
Scott Dahlman, policy
director of the Oregonians for
Food and Shelter agribusi-
ness group, said his organiza-
tion hasn’t always seen “eye to
eye” with Dembrow.
Even so, Dembrow is
known for having an “open
door” policy and will hope-
fully keep an open mind on
issues affecting agriculture,
Dahlman said.
Beyond Toxics, an environ-
mental non profi t, believes Dem-
brow is the right choice to chair
the c ommittee , though it’s too
early to say how he might infl u-
ence legislation, said Lisa Arkin,
the group’s executive director.
Arkin
said
Oregon’s
approach to pesticides in
farming and forestry is “out-
dated and unscientifi c” and the
state’s pesticide laws are over-
due for reform.
In the state House, the
elimination of the Commit-
tee on Rural Communities,
Land Use and Water has cre-
ated some uncertainty for leg-
islation that affects agriculture,
said Dahlman.
Bills that would have previ-
ously been steered to this com-
mittee will now likely wind up
before the House Agriculture
and Natural Resources Com-
mittee and the House Energy
and Environment Committee,
he said.
The House Agriculture
Committee is chaired by Rep.
Brian Clem, D-Salem, who
is a part-owner of a farm and
is familiar with agricultural
issues, Dahlman said.
Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaver-
ton, isn’t as familiar with natu-
ral resource issues but there’s
no reason to think he won’t be
receptive to industry concerns,
he said.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
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