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