Portland Observer M arch 12,1981 Page 3
D ic k
T w o b ills aim ed at a tta c k in g
ra cia l d is c rim in a tio n here and
abroad were in house hearings at the
Oregon legislature this past week.
The tw o pro po sals, House B ill
2479, w hich w o u ld m ake ce rta in
kind s o f ra cia l and re lig io u s
harassment a felony and House B ill
2618, which would ban investment
o f state funds in countries with laws
th a t d is c rim in a te on the basis o f
race were discussed in hearings
before the House A g in g and
M in ority A ffairs Committee.
H .B . 2479 was proposed by
G o verno r A tiy e h a fte r he became
concerned over the n um ber o f
recent race and religious based in
cidents in Oregon in the past several
months.
That b ill provides that a person
com m its a fe lo n y, i f he o r she in
tim idates another because o f race,
color, religion, ancestry or national
origin.
A lre a d y
some are
ra isin g
questions as to the constitutionality
o f the proposed law and the Gover
nor has said he is w illin g to study
am endm ents to deal w ith those
questions.
Derrick Bell, Dean o f the Univer
sity o f Oregon Law School, who is
B la ck, says i f passed he d oe sn't
th in k the potential victims o f racial
in tim id a tio n have any basis to feel
the law is adequate to protect their
rights.
Bell puts his o p in io n in an
h isto rica l perspective. He says the
history o f civil rights statutes in this
country indicates i t ’ s quite d iffic u lt
to get prosecutions o f those persons
charged w ith racial violence unless
the case is horrendous.
Dean Bell believes prosecutors are
usually concerned about getting the
necessary p ro o f and whether or not
ju rie s are going to c o n v ic t and
th e re fo re a lo t o f cases d o n ’ t get
prosecuted at all.
He says, “ unless i t ’ s a very
serious case, the tendency o f juries
is to be very sym pa the tic to the
d efe nd a nt and very suspicious o f
w hether there is re a lly s u ffic ie n t
p ro o f. So generally those statutes
fall into disuse.”
But Bell does see it as worthwhile
fo r the G o verno r to propose such
legislation. He feels that the current
sense o f conservatism means to a lot
o f people th a t g overnm ent is not
g oing to oppose viole nce against
minorities.
Bell says, ’ the in tro d u c tio n and
strong support o f the bill by Gover
nor A tiy e h puts people on notice
that government is not condoning
the in tim id a tio n o f m in o rity
groups.”
TASK FORCE TO EX A M IN E
C R IM E
L o o k fo r some changes in the
federal approach to crim e in the
United States.
A tto rn e y
G eneral
W illia m
French Sm ith has ordered a special
task force to determine whether the
federal government should make a
b o ld e r a tte m p t to ensure the
domestic tranquility.
The Task Force w ill be headed by
G riffin Bell, an Attorney General in
the C a rte r A d m in is tra tio n , and
Illinois Republican Governor James
Thompson. Other members w ill in
clude persons fro m the academ ic
side and state and lo c a l o ffic ia ls
engaged in the fight against crime.
Smith has also said the task force
w ill look at whether or not the FBI
should assume a greater role in drug
law enforcement. Just recently, FBI
d ire c to r W illia m W ebster has ad
vocated such an expansion o f his
agency’ s role.
It seems to me there w o u ld be
things the FBI could do to beef up
the battle against heavy n arcotics
but it w ouldn’ t be a role paralleling
that o f the D rug Enforcem ent A d
ministration.
The two agencies attract tw o d if
ferent types o f agents. F B I men
have always impressed me as being
text book types w h ile the drug
agents seem more street wise.
L e t’ s face it , b o th agencies are
lo o k in g at some o f the same
crim ina l suspects at the higher end
o f organized crim e so maybe some
sort o f lia is o n between the tw o
would be beneficial.
But i f the F B I was to somehow
pre-empt the D E A in what i t ’ s now
d o in g , then lo o k o u t. There is
nothing more ugly than law enforce
ment agencies b a ttlin g each o the r
over what each feels is its own tu rf.
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224-5367
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The view from the Capitol
'i
■
o f 50,000 to 100,000 barrels o f o il
per day. The resulting price increase
o f gas alone w ill cost consumers an
a d d itio n a l $10 b illio n o r ap
p ro xim a tely $600 per barrel o f o il
saved. The U .S . T re a sury w ill
collect about $6.4 b illion o f that $10
b illion and oil companies w ill get the
remaining $3.6 billion. The only one
who comes out short is the taxpayer
-- who pays fo r it all at the pumps.
(E d ito r’ s Note: Each week, U.S.
Rep. Ron W yden (D . O re) w ill
report from W ashington, D .C ., on
what’ s been going on in the nation’ s
c a p ito l, key votes, key issues, key
concerns. This week he discusses the
A d m in istra tio n ’ s energy policy, co
sponsorship o f a b ill designed to
help young people buy th e ir firs t
hom e, and his vote on a House
R esolution regarding reestablish
m ent o f the Select C o m m itte e on
Narcotics Abuse and C ontrol.)
Q. Congressman Wyden, when
President Reagan d eco ntro lle d o il
prices on January 28th, he claim ed
a ccelera tion o f d e c o n tro l w o u ld
spur greater production and conser
vation o f oil. Do you agree?
A.
A ccelerated d e c o n tro l is
n o th in g more or less than a back
door energy tax. The Department o f
Energy has estimated that speedup
o f decontrol w ill result in a savings
Q. W ith in fla tio n and in te re st
rates ever on the rise, it is becoming
more and more d iffic u lt f o r young
couples to purchase their fir s t home.
What, i f a n y th in g can be done to
help improve this situation?
A . There is no easy s o lu tio n to
the problem o f soaring inflation and
interest rates. Congress has,
how ever, begun to lo o k to w a rd
le g is la tio n w hich w o u ld make it
more attractive to save for that first
hom e. T his week I agreed to co
sponsor H .R .1 1 0 , the Y oung
Fam ilies H om eow nership O p p o r
tunity Act, which allows individuals
and married couples who have never
owned th eir p rin c ip a l residence to
deposit up to $15,000 in to an in
d iv id u a l housing a cco u n t, and to
take a tax credit equal to 20 percent
o f th e ir annua! d eposit up to a
maximum lifetim e credit o f $3,000.
A n y tax lia b ility on the interest
earned fro m the account w ould be
d efe rre d fo r several years. The
beauty o f such legislation is that not
only would young couples be able to
buy th a t firs t home — but overall
personal savings would increase and
the severely depressed housing in
dustry w ould get the much needed
shot in the arm.
Q. Congressm an Wyden, on
F e b ru a ry 25, y o u voted against
reestablishment o f the select Com-
m ittee on Narcotics and Abuse and
Control. What was yo u r reason?
A. The p ro ble m o f drug abuse
and drug tra ffickin g is a serious one
- particularly in the schools and with
the young. I am c o m m itte d to the
need to crack down on such abuse.
But
p aying
fo r
a n o th e r
congressional com m ittee on top o f
the eight that are already addressing
this issue, is not the way to do it -
p a rtic u la rly when the cost o f ru n
nin g th a t c o m m itte e fo r one year
to ta ls m ore th a n h a lf- a - m illio n
dollars. I f we are ever to balance the
budget and do away w ith g ove rn
ment waste, w e’ ve s im p ly got to
stop paying fo r program s th a t
duplicate existing programs and ser
vices. Congress in particular should
set an exam ple by not fu n d in g
com m ittees th a t are a waste o f
money.
Register
and vote
March 31
Pacific Citizen
Power o f the Week
From the Board Room
By Gladys M cCoy
M ultnom ah County Commissioner
Begin this procedure by then talking
to the assessor; he may be able to
make an adjustment on the spot by
checking the assessment card fo r
e rro rs. A fa ir assessment can be
made if a mistake is found.
I f not satisfied, the next step is to
appeal to the C o u n ty Board o f
Equalization, a citizen’ s committee
I f you believe your property tax is
too high, but you say nothing about
it, then nothing w ill be done. There
are programs that can help.
A ll taxpayers have the rig h t to
appeal a decision i f it is believed
the property has been over-assessed.
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Welcome
Xnrcuir Boclrri «I Oytemrtry — P O R T L A N D
227- 7200
Rs. Utty « M H « -» » M. I1 L L T -K J. I I I I T - B c Cktis M i n i
S.W. 3rd & Yam hill “
m a in
IlM C k a ia k o n It r w t
PAone - M S - I T U
OR OAVIO NEWMAN 0»tonwtwt
om a
(tele * Cammtrcial
P h n n r - .S0S-IA.WI
OR ROBERT MULL. Oplomalrut
A
consisting o f a com m issioner and
two lay persons. Night meetings are
set up to accom m odate day
w o rk e rs .
The
d eadline
fo r
’ ’ Homesteads” (a main residence in
which you live and own) is February
15. A ll other properties’ deadline is
the T h ird M onday in M ay (M ay 18
for 1981). While the time is over for
1980 hom estead exem pts, the
process is the same each year.
I f s till n ot sa tis fie d w ith the
board’ s decision, the appeal can be
taken to e ith e r the Sm all C laim s
D ivision o f the Oregon Tax C ourt,
which can not be fu rth e r appealed,
or to the O regon D epartm ent o f
Revenue, and fro m there the
Oregon Supreme C ou rt. However,
most often appeals to the Revenue
D ep artm en t are co rrected at that
level.
Besides th is rig h t to appeal an
assessment decision, there are other
program s that can reduce or delay
taxes.
1. The O regon P ro p e rty Tax
R e lie f Plan reduces the am ount
owed on a homestead, with the state
p aying up to $800 d ire c tly to the
c o u n ty. Renters may also q u a lify
for a refund o f up to $400. There is
no income lim it fo r elig ib ility in this
program.
2. The H om eow ner and Renter
R efund P rogram (H A R R P ) was
designed for low and middle income
Oregonians earning up to $17,000
annually. A refund o f up to $750 for
homeowners, and $375 fo r renters,
w ill be sent to eligible persons in Oc
tober. Applications are found in the
state incom e tax packet m ailed to
each Oregon resident, or picked up
fro m the D epartm ent o f Revenue.
H A R R P may be filed even i f no in
come taxes were filed that year. Ap
p lic a n ts m ay q u a lify fo r both
property tax relief and H AR R P.
3. The Senior C itiz e n ’ s Property
Tax D e fe rra l P ro gram can delay
taxes on a residence. The state w ill
pay taxes o f q u a lify in g citizens to
the county, w ith the deferred taxes
becoming a lien on the property.
The p ro gram requires the ap
plicants living on the property to be
at least 62 years o f age by M arch I
o f the year filed; there be a recorded
deed to the property; and less than
$1800 is earned fro m the property.
The taxes m ust be p a id , w ith six
percent interest, when the applicant
dies, sells the p ro p e rty , o r earns
more than $1800 from the property.
Paym ents can be made to the
revenue departm ent to reduce the
deferred taxes. Q u a lify in g persons
m ay s till a pp ly fo r H A R R P and
property tax relief. Applications are
taken between January 1 and A p ril
4. The V e te ra ns’ s E x e m p tio n
Program provides a $7500 property
tax exem ptio n fo r q u a lify in g
veterans and veterans’ s widows.
To qualify, a veteran must be cer
tifie d w ith at least a 40 percent
d is a b ility fro m the U.S. • Veterans
A d m in is tra tio n or a branch o f the
U.S. Armed Forces and have had 90
consecutive days o f w a rtim e
services. A w id o w ’ s q u a lific a tio n s
are that o f her husband served 90
consecutive days o f wartim e service
and she has never re m a rrie d . Her
husband need not have been
disabled. Each year an application
must be file d between Ja n u a ry 1
A p ril 1.
For further tax in fo rm a tio n , call
Tax Help, 229-5116, or the D epart
ment o f Revenue, 229-5833.
Interested in current books
about African Liberation?
Visit:
JOHN REED BOOKSTORE
In the Dekum Building
519 S. W. 3rd Avenue
Sixth Floor
Or call 227 2902
As an active union member, Bob Boyer organized
and is currently president of the Portland Chapter of the
A. Phillip Randolph Institute. The Institute promotes
unionism and community service. Among the activities
of the organization during the past year was Operation
Big Vote, a national voter registration drive.
Boyer, who is employed at Waterway Terminals, is a
shop steward for the Inland Boatman Union, Columbia
River Chapter; a member of the Executive Board and
Chairman of the education committee. He is a fraternal
member of the Multnomah Labor Council and a mem
ber of the Executive Board of Pacific Northwest Labor
College.
Boyer attended Portland Community College, where
he earned an associate degree in supervision and
management, and graduated from Marylhust College
with a BS in business management.
He is a member of Sabin Neighborhood Association
and participates in the schools where his five children
attaend - Adams, Jefferson, Benson and King.
Among his previous community activities are serving
as Labor and Industry Chairman of the Portland Branch,
NAACP, and as Finance Chairman for the National
Convention held in Portland. He belongs to several
community organizations.
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