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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 2018
Gas tax bump, fee hikes among new laws
vehicle sales will be taxed 0.5
percent. Car registration fees
will rise by $13 to $43 and title
fees by $16 to $93.
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
The Oregon Legislature
passed about 750 bills in 2017,
many of which take effect
today. Here are some high-
lights of new laws that Ore-
gonians may notice in the new
year:
21 to buy tobacco
Gas tax
Lawmakers approved a
package of new taxes and fee
increases designed to fund
$5.3 billion in transportation
projects over the next several
years.
The one Oregonians may
feel most is a hike in the gas
tax, up 4 cents to 34 cents per
gallon. Employees will see a
new payroll tax deduction on
EO Media Group
Oregon’s gas tax goes up to 34 cents a gallon today, a
hike of 4 cents. The tax increase is part of a host of laws
that take effect with the start of 2018.
their paychecks of 0.1 percent.
Oregon also will debut the
nation’s first bicycle tax.
New bicycle sales will be
taxed a flat rate of $15, when
the bicycle has a wheel diam-
eter of 26 inches or more and
a price of $200 or greater. New
Oregon will become the
fifth state to increase the age to
legally buy tobacco and vap-
ing products to 21. The law
imposes harsh penalties for
clerks and store owners who
violate the law.
Smoking-related diseases
are a leading cause of death
of Oregonians, and advocates
say the new law will reduce
the number of teenagers who
take up smoking and prompt
some existing smokers to try
to quit. Oregon offers one
free session of smoking ces-
sation counseling through the
Oregon Tobacco Quit Line,
1-800-784-8669.
Expanded bottle bill
Oregon’s bottle bill, which
allows people to redeem a
10-cent deposit when they
return empty beer, water or
soda bottles or cans, will
expand to bottled and canned
coffee, tea, kombucha, hard
cider, fruit juice and other
beverages.
Wine, distilled spirits, ani-
mal- and plant-based milk and
meal replacement products
still aren’t part of the redemp-
tion program.
Move over law
Drivers have been required
to move out of the lane when
an emergency vehicle is pulled
over on that side, but begin-
ning today, the law requires
motorists also to move over
when any vehicle is parked or
idling on the shoulder.
Gun-removal orders
Another new law gives
families a legal tool to remove
loved ones’ access to firearms
if they pose a risk to them-
selves or others. The law is
designed to prevent suicides
and mass shootings.
A family member or cohab-
itant may seek an extreme risk
protection order from court for
a period of 12 months, during
which time the person who is
a danger would have their fire-
arm confiscated. The order
could be contested and would
need to be renewed annually.
Study: Wildfire smoke contributes to thousands of deaths each year
By ANNA
BOIKO-WEYRAUCH
Northwest News Network
The wildfires that burned
through the Pacific Northwest
this past summer caused hazy
skies throughout Washington
state and Oregon. Air pollution
from tiny particles released by
fire is a known health hazard.
New research from Colo-
rado State University is try-
ing to quantify the effect on
human health.
Colorado State Associate
Professor Jeffrey Pierce said
the threat to human health
will increase as warmer global
temperatures contribute to
more wildfires.
“The hypotheses here is
that warmer spring tempera-
Tristan Fortsch/KATU
Wildfires, like the Eagle Creek Fire last year, pose a threat
to human health.
tures lead to earlier snow
melt, warmer summer tem-
peratures can dry out the
wood even more and you can
get even more fires,” he said.
The new study estimates
smoke from wildfires contrib-
utes to 25,000 deaths per year
around the world. It predicts
the number will triple by the
end of the century as warmer
global temperatures lead to
more fires in the West, South-
west and Canada.
But researcher Katelyn
O’Dell said the death toll
doesn’t tell the whole story.
She told a recent gathering
of scientists that the short-
term health effects are much
wider.
“Things like kids missing
school, people missing work,
people having asthma attacks
would affect a larger part of
the population, so the impact
of smoke exposure is proba-
bly a lot greater than we’re
even seeing,” O’Dell said.
A University of Hous-
ton study estimates a lower
Seattle settles lawsuit over abuse claims against ex-mayor
By MARTHA BELLISLE
Associated Press
SEATTLE — Seattle has
settled a lawsuit filed by a man
whose sexual abuse claims
effectively ended the politi-
cal career of former Mayor Ed
Murray.
City Attorney Pete Holmes
announced late Saturday that
the city will pay Delvonn
Heckard $150,000 to resolve
the lawsuit, which, along
with accusations by others,
led to Murray’s resignation in
September.
The lawsuit claimed Mur-
ray raped and molested Heck-
ard as a teen. It also blamed
the city for enabling the Demo-
crat to use his political office to
slander Heckard and others for
months as the mayor denied the
allegations. The AP typically
does not identify alleged vic-
tims of sex abuse, but Heckard
said he wants his name made
public.
“With this settlement, the
city takes an important step in
putting this sad chapter behind
us, limiting litigation expenses
and allowing Mr. Heckard to
move forward with his life,”
Holmes said in a statement.
Newly elected Seattle
Mayor Jenny Durkan, a for-
mer U.S. attorney, said settling
the suit will let the city begin to
heal.
“As someone who has rep-
resented victims of sexual
assault, I know this has caused
a lot of pain and trauma for Mr.
Heckard as well as many survi-
vors,” she said.
Heckard’s lawyer, Lin-
coln Beauregard, said Sun-
day that his client appreciates
and accepts the city’s offer. He
says the case was never about
money but the funds will help
Heckard in his recovery.
Murray continues to deny
the allegations and in a state-
ment said the relief of put-
ting the case behind him
is bittersweet, “tempered
by the painful experience
we have all undergone.”
“The lawsuit was painful
for me, my husband, my fam-
ily and my former staff because
the allegations were untrue,”
Murray said. “I did not molest
or have any sexual contact with
the plaintiff. I was prepared
to defend myself in court, as
I have been doing at my own
expense, but wholeheartedly
agree with the city’s decision to
pay $150,000 to avoid the cost
and uncertainty of litigation.”
Murray had built his stand-
ing in the gay community and
in Washington state politics
through a decadeslong push for
bias protections, domestic part-
nerships and marriage equal-
ity. His departure brought an
end to a 22-year career in pub-
lic office, including 18 years as
a state lawmaker.
death toll — around 5,000
deaths per year from 2011 to
2014.
The Washington state
Department of Ecology is
reviewing air quality and
health data from recent wild-
fires and expects to release
a final report and interactive
map early next year.
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