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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 16, 2017 Bill would reclassify some felony drug crimes as misdemeanors Marquis calls legislation ‘white flag’ Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Proceeds from a proposed tax on business sales could go to an education-specific fund. Many schools, like Warrenton Grade School, shown here, are struggling with infrastructure problems. Business tax takes shape Money from levy could go to education By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — A proposed tax on business sales authored by Democrats is going to be amended over the weekend before it is expected to go to the floor of the state House of Representatives. Legislators on Thursday went over several amend- ments to the proposal, which is still taking shape, and is expected in the next iteration to include more specificity on a proposal to direct the tax to an education-specific fund, and to include a proposed exemption on agriculture and forestry businesses. State Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, asked staff to draft two versions, one that does — and one that does not — include the exemption for agriculture. The current draft increases the corporate income tax tem- porarily and then institutes a tax on businesses with sales of more than $3 million annu- ally. The rate varies depend- ing on sector, and businesses with more than $150,000 but less than $3 million in annual sales would pay a flat rate of $250. The proposal also includes reductions in the personal income tax. It is projected to raise more than $500 million a year. The so-called corporate activities tax is a significant piece of legislation this ses- sion, part of an effort to rec- oncile what some lawmakers have described as the state’s volatile tax structure. Law- makers are scrambling to fill an approximately $1.4 billion gap between expected reve- nues and expenses in the next two years. The Joint Committee on Tax Reform is expected to meet again Monday morn- ing. Republicans on the com- mittee Thursday were critical of the tax, which Democrats in the House and Senate have advocated. The bill will need some Republican support in order to meet the legally required vote threshold for raising new revenue. The current version of the bill dedicates the money collected by the commercial activities tax, minus a pass- through credit, to an educa- tion-specific fund. Sen. Herman Baertsch- iger, R-Grants Pass, said the proposed structure creates “winners and losers” depend- ing on the business type. Hass said 92 percent of Oregon businesses have less than $3 million in annual sales. The committee also plans to hear from the state Depart- ment of Revenue next week. The department would be responsible for administering and collecting the new taxes provided for under the leg- islation. The Department of Revenue has come under crit- icism from lawmakers this session, including for the fact that the state is owed more than $3 billion in unpaid taxes, fines and fees. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. By LINCOLN GRAVES KATU News SALEM — A bill being considered in the state Legis- lature would change the way small-scale drug crimes are treated in Oregon. HB 2355 is aimed at reduc- ing unjust profiling. How- ever, the part of the bill that deals with drug-crime classi- fication has drawn most of the controversy. “This bill runs up the white flag,” said Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Mar- quis. “It surrenders to heroin and meth addiction.” Marquis said the bill sends the message to criminals and the community that heroin and meth “just aren’t that big a deal.” The district attorney says a felony drug crime, simply by the nature of its severity, acts as a deterrent to future drug use. “We’re talking about pro- viding the incentives, frankly the coercive tools to force peo- ple who are in addiction into treatment,” said Marquis. The ACLU of Oregon fired back at that assumption. “The idea that there isn’t still some penalty associated with not going through your treatment and not actually doing the things you’re sup- Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian District Attorney Josh Marquis opposes a bill that would reclassify some drug crimes. posed to do when you get this misdemeanor, that’s just abso- lutely false,” said Kimberly McCullough, policy direc- tor for the ACLU of Oregon. “The war on drugs has failed. We need to start treating drug use and addiction as a public health issue.” The debate over drug- crime classification has over- shadowed the main goal of the bill — reducing profil- ing in Oregon. The bill would require law enforcement agen- cies to collect data on the age, race, ethnicity and sex of a person contacted during a traf- fic or pedestrian stop. That data would then be reviewed by 2020 and it would be used to develop strategies for reducing profiling. Drug- crime classification became part of the bill during task force discussions. “The drug war is inex- tricably tied up in and inter- Volunteer Pick of the Week Ellie twined with the issue of pro- filing,” said McCullough. “In order to find out who’s using drugs or who possesses drugs there’s a real incentive to try to search folks. What we found is that profiling is often Marquis said the bill sends the message to criminals and the community that heroin and meth ‘just aren’t that big a deal.’ amplified, that disparities are often amplified in those dis- cretionary decisions to search someone.” The bill is still in commit- tee but proponents are optimis- tic about its eventual passage. CULLABY LAKE June 17 and 18, 2017 • 10am - 6pm Lake will be closed to the public. Spectators welcome! Presented by: Columbia Outboard Racing Association Sanctioned by: American Power Boat Association Questions? Contact Mike Johnson at 503-381-8173 Fresh Oregon Hood STRAWBERRIES Available Now Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. PICKED D AI L Y! Watch for us at the corner of Marlin & 101 in Warrenton at the Putman Pro-Lube Center Call 503-359-5204 for more info. American Medium Hair Life is hard; Soften yours with a sweet little cat. Fo r m o re in fo rm a tio n , ca ll 503-359-5204 (More on http://Petfi nder.com/ ) Sponsored By B AYSHORE A NIMAL H OSPITAL C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat New carnival rides coming to downtown Long Beach B ou n t y New life and old favorites Kittens, Tabbies, Torties, Siamese Many, now free from confi nement in a car, are eager for fresh beginnings. Open your heart and home, Give them a second chance at Happily Ever After. e re is H ! LONG BEACH, Wash. — The Rides at Long Beach isn’t getting a free ride on the city, at least not anymore. The City Council approved a permit earlier this month that allowed the for-profit amusement park free use of a public space to expand its carnival-style attractions. Owners Russell Maize and Chris Summerer got the go-ahead to put two of six new rides in the parking lot east of their downtown busi- ness. But now, Long Beach leaders want them to pay. Freebies aren’t allowed by state law. City Administrator David Glasson asked an attor- ney to check into rules that ban giving away pub- lic resources. After listen- ing to legal advice on Tues- day, he decided to suggest the council ask the business to pay $100 a month to rent the space. He said Maize and Sum- merer seem agreeable. They’re already taking deliv- eries, including the first new arrival, a gentle roller coaster called the “Wacky Worm.” m e m r’s u S By AMY NILE EO Media Group Fort Stevens Park and Friends of Old Fort Stevens O BSERVE THE 75 th A NNIVERSARY OF THE J UNE 21, 1942 J APANESE S UBMARINE A TTACK ON THE F ORT Wednesday, June 21 Noon-4 pm On the date of the attach, an interpreter will be at Battery Russell andthe Pacifi c Rim Peace Memorial with displays and information about the attach. Open 12-4 pm, Tues-Sat 1315 SE 19th St. Warrenton 503-861-7387 503-861-0737 www.dogsncats.org June 21, 1992: Th e 50th Anniversary of the Japanese attack. Over 150 Fort Stevens veterans gathered at Battery Russell to remember the event and to dedicate the Pacifi c Rim Peace Memorial. Sponsored by Th e Friends of Old Fort Stevens and Fort Stevens State Park 503-861-2000 • visitfortstevens.com
