NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Minimum wage tax credit proposal on hold
to ¿ nd a way to prioriti]e how
to divvy out the tax credits,
Clem said.
A group of associations
representing agriculture has
indicated it wants lawmakers
to take more time to ¿ gure out
those details, rather than push
through legislation this session,
which is scheduled to end by
Sunday.
“The reality is that more
time is needed to fully run cost
and bene¿ t scenarios to ensure
any wage relief actually bene-
¿ ts the agriculture industry as
a whole,” representatives from
the agriculture industry wrote
in a letter to Clem. “We believe
there may only be one shot at
alleviating the burden S.B.
1532 imposes on agriculture.
The solution must meet the
needs of our member families
without picking winners and
losers among the industry.”
The letter was signed by
the Oregon Farm Bureau,
Oregon Dairy Farmers Asso-
ciation, Oregon Association
of Nurseries, Northwest Food
Processors Association, Oregon
Cattlemen’s
Association,
Oregon Blueberry Commis-
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A legislative
proposal to offset the cost
of minimum wage increases
to small businesses, farmers
and other natural resources
employers appears to be on
hold until at least 2017.
Reps. Brian Clem, D-Salem,
and John Davis, R-Wilsonville,
had proposed giving tax credits
to certain employers who are
most likely to struggle ¿ nan-
cially to meet the requirements
of a new three-tier minimum
wage plan. The plan was laid
out in Senate Bill 1532, which
passed both legislative cham-
bers earlier this month.
During negotiations with
legislative leadership, the plan
was whittled down to tax credits
of no more than $15 million
a year only for employers
involved in animal production,
aquaculture, crop production,
¿ shing, hunting, trapping and
food manufacturing.
That amount was insuf¿ -
cient to cover the additional
costs of all of those employers,
so lawmakers would have had
sion, Oregon Seed Council,
Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers
Association, Far West Agribusi-
ness Association and Oregon
Wheat Growers League.
“I’m extremely disappointed
that our bipartisan effort to try
relieve some of the sign burden
imposed by the minimum wage
bill has been reduced so far,”
Davis said. “Part of why there
is so little interest in the current
proposal is it’s just so small. If
we were going to try to cover
part or all of increase each year
to all businesses, it is hundreds
of millions and possibly
billions of dollars. This is really
a defacto tax we were trying to
impose.”
Clem, who voted for the
minimum wage bill, said he was
concerned that small employers
would have to lay off workers
due to the cost of the increased
minimum wage while larger
employers would easily be able
to absorb the cost.
The tax credit would have
reduced the effective wage
rate for those employers. The
amount would gradually climb
in tandem with the minimum
wage, reaching up to $2 per
One ballot proposal dropped
hour per employee in July
2022.
Clem and Davis said their
original concept also would
have set smaller increases in
minimum wage and lifted a ban
against setting higher wages
in Portland. It became clear
early on in negotiations that
both of those proposals were
too complex to push through
the waning days of the Legis-
lature’s 35-day session, Clem
said.
The minimum wage plan
hikes minimum wages over a
period of six years. The amount
differs in each of three regions
and is set according to a coun-
ty’s median income and cost of
living. In Portland, minimum
wage will reach $14.75 in the
Portland area, $12.50 in rural
and coastal counties with strug-
gling economies and $13.50 in
the rest of the state by 2022.
Clem said he plans to pursue
the wage support proposal in
2017.
“I think it’s fair to say the
independent-minded Demo-
crats are satis¿ ed that if Ag
thinks we can wait then we can
wait to get it right,” Clem said.
SALEM (AP) — Oregon lawmakers have
avoided at least one ballot ¿ ght with this month’s
passage of an alternative measure to raise the
state’s minimum wage through a unique tiered
system based on geography, although a second,
more aggressive ballot proposal still looms.
A coalition of labor and community groups,
called the Raise the Wage coalition, said Monday
that members have stopped gathering signatures
for their November ballot proposals that would
have raised the minimum wage to $13.50 an hour
statewide over two or three years and allowed
cities and local governments to set their rates
above that threshold.
Instead, Senate Bill 1532, which Gov. Kate
Brown has until Thursday to sign into law, will
impose smaller hikes — except in metro Portland
— in double the time period. The increases will
differ based on three geographic regions, rather
than a statewide hike, and keeps pre-emption in
place that bans local governments from setting
their own rates.
“While this proposal (SB 1532) diverges
from our initial plan for raising the wage, it is
overwhelmingly a win for Oregon workers — in
large part because it gives a raise to over 100,000
minimum-wage workers this July,” Andrea
Miller, executive director of Causa Oregon, one
of the coalition members, said in a statement.
“Most notably, this bill contains no carve-outs
or exceptions for different classes of workers,
like farmworkers or restaurant workers, or for
people just starting out in their career.”
,QPDWHVDFFXVHSULVRQRI¿FLDOV
of misplacing breast milk
Two competing energy bills up for Senate vote
the bills including caps on how
much the utilities can raise
rates each year to cover their
costs, including a pro¿ t on new
renewable energy facilities.
The ¿ rst bill, House Bill 4036,
calls for the Oregon Public
Utility Commission to adopt
regulations that encourage
competitive bidding and
diverse ownership of renewable
energy facilities, something not
required under the second bill,
Senate Bill 1547. That second
bill also includes incentives
to boost wood-burning power
plants.
Senate Bill 1547 has more
momentum, thanks to support
from environmental groups and
the two investor-owned utili-
ties. Brad Reed, a spokesman
for the politically active
nonpro¿ t Renew Oregon which
represents environmental and
renewable energy groups, said
Senate Bill 1547 appears to
have the clearest path forward.
“And this bill enjoys support
from clear majorities in both
the House and Senate,” Reed
wrote in an email Monday
afternoon.
By HILLARY BORRUD
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Lawmakers
in the Oregon Senate could
on Wednesday vote on two
competing bills to double
the state’s renewable energy
mandate, thanks to maneuvers
by Democrats and Republicans
to either fast track or delay the
legislation.
The controversial legisla-
tion, which is a top priority
for utilities, environmental
groups and Democrats in both
chambers, could be among the
last major policy proposals
lawmakers vote on before the
end of the short legislative
session.
Both bills would require
Paci¿ Corp
and
Portland
General Electric to use sources
such as solar and wind to serve
50 percent of their customers’
energy demand by 2040. The
bills would also require the two
investor-owned utilities to stop
using coal power to serve their
Oregon customers.
However, there are also
signi¿ cant differences between
Utility representatives have
also said they dislike the 3
percent annual cap on renew-
able energy rate increases in
the ¿ rst bill, and they would
prefer the 4 percent cap on
renewable rate increases in the
second bill. The utilities can
request the renewable energy
rate increases on top of broader
periodic rate increases.
House lawmakers already
voted 39-20 to pass House
Bill 4036, in mid-February.
After news reports that Gov.
Kate Brown’s administration
had told public utility commis-
sioners not to go public with
their concerns about the bill,
a Senate committee added
language to the bill to protect
consumers and ensure utilities
use competitive bidding to
acquire cost-ef¿ cient new
sources of renewable energy.
Next, Republicans in the
Senate, who oppose the bill,
brought it to a standstill by
requesting that lawyers draft
a minority report. There is
no deadline to produce the
report, so the move threatened
to prevent the measure from
coming to a vote before the end
of the session.
Supporters of the bill,
including Democrats in both
chambers and Rep. Mark
Johnson, R-Hood River,
responded with a plan on
Thursday to insert a new
version of the renewable energy
mandate legislation into a
different bill, Senate Bill 1547,
that had already passed in the
Senate. Lawmakers negotiated
that legislation in closed-door
meetings with representatives
of the utilities, environmental
and renewable energy groups.
Although two represen-
tatives of the Public Utility
Commission attended the
negotiations, none of the
public utility commissioners
were involved nor did they
testify last week when a House
committee voted to insert
the negotiated language into
Senate Bill 1547. Members of
the Public Utility Commission
have said an earlier version of
the legislation would be costly
for consumers but do little to
reduce greenhouse gas emis-
sions from coal plants.
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THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Mostly cloudy with
a little rain
Rather cloudy
Cloudy
57° 39°
60° 43°
60° 44°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
55°
51°
66° (1968)
33°
32°
13° (1960)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.86"
1.17"
2.37"
1.55"
2.55"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
57°
53°
72° (1972)
38°
31°
7° (1960)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.39"
0.99"
1.49"
1.06"
2.27"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Mar 1
Mar 8
6:33 a.m.
5:42 p.m.
12:40 a.m.
10:38 a.m.
First
Full
Mar 15
61° 34°
61° 42°
61° 45°
Seattle
55/45
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Mar 23
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
TODAY
PORTLAND (AP) — Inmates at Oregon’s only
prison for women are accusing staff of mixing up
breast milk they pumped for their infants on the
outside, potentially exposing their children to risks.
Four inmates at Coffee Creek Correctional
Facility in Wilsonville say prison staff mixed up
their bags of milk last fall, The Oregonian reported.
One of the nursing mothers was diagnosed with
Hepatitis C, causing the mothers to worry about
their children’s health.
“I wanted to feed my baby healthy natural milk
for at least a year,” said Marcie Harris, 35, who gave
birth to a girl in August. “...They disregarded my
baby’s health and well-being.”
Coffee Creek offers a number of parenting
programs for incarcerated mothers, including the
milk program for women who give birth while
in prison. Milk is stored in bags, sometimes
marked with an inmates’ name and sometimes not,
and delivered to families, foster parents or case
workers.
Oregon Department of Corrections spokeswoman
Betty Bernt said milk program supervisors have
addressed the problem and now require inmates to
check bags before they are sent to caregivers.
Spokane
Wenatchee
49/36
44/34
Tacoma
Moses
57/41
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 52/37
54/39
53/45
54/42
55/36
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
54/44
63/42 Lewiston
60/43
Astoria
59/42
56/44
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
56/43
Pendleton 52/30
The Dalles 64/40
64/39
56/41
La Grande
Salem
56/35
57/42
Albany
Corvallis 56/39
55/40
John Day
64/32
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
64/36
55/40
58/32
Caldwell
Burns
65/38
53/27
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
56
53
58
56
53
52
55
62
64
64
56
56
54
58
56
58
64
60
64
56
61
57
49
58
55
63
55
Lo
44
31
32
45
27
30
40
35
40
32
31
35
31
38
45
44
36
42
39
43
27
42
36
30
45
42
36
W
r
c
r
r
c
sh
r
sh
sh
c
sh
sh
sh
r
r
r
c
r
sh
r
r
r
r
sh
r
sh
r
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Wed.
Hi
55
52
58
59
51
49
59
58
62
62
59
54
52
66
58
63
60
61
58
58
62
57
48
54
57
59
59
Lo
47
32
39
49
31
32
47
41
39
45
35
41
39
44
48
50
37
40
41
46
36
46
36
37
46
42
35
W
r
pc
pc
r
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
r
r
s
pc
pc
c
pc
c
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
54
66
75
54
69
29
47
63
38
81
47
Lo
27
58
59
39
51
25
41
42
28
70
37
W
s
s
s
r
pc
c
r
s
s
s
pc
Wed.
Hi
66
67
77
47
64
39
49
60
49
84
50
Lo
31
60
56
39
47
32
38
49
33
71
41
W
s
s
pc
sh
pc
i
sh
pc
s
pc
s
WINDS
Medford
58/38
Klamath Falls
56/31
(in mph)
Today
Wednesday
Boardman
Pendleton
N 6-12
S 8-16
WSW 4-8
SSW 4-8
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Breezy today with periods
of rain. Mostly cloudy tonight with a shower
in places.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Variable
clouds today with a passing shower, except
dry in the south.
Western Washington: Periods of rain today;
a morning shower in spots, then periods of
rain across the south.
Eastern Washington: A little rain today; rain,
mixed in the north with snow early. A bit of morn-
ing snow, then a little wintry mix in the mountains.
Cascades: Periods of rain today. Turning
colder in central parts; mild in the south.
Northern California: Cloudy today;
afternoon rain; however, dry in the interior
mountains.
0
2
3
2
0
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: A storm will spread snow across the Great Lakes with rain near the
Ohio River and severe storms farther south to the Gulf Coast today. Another storm will
bring rain and mountain snow to the Northwest.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 91° in Imperial, Calif.
Low -11° in Flag Island, Minn.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
70
71
52
59
55
71
64
43
76
67
30
45
69
58
34
79
27
26
81
80
52
80
45
81
66
81
Lo
40
39
44
46
38
40
40
34
57
34
16
24
41
37
19
47
1
18
64
50
23
57
26
55
37
56
W
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
c
pc
pc
pc
sn
sn
s
pc
sn
s
s
s
pc
t
r
s
c
s
t
pc
Wed.
Hi
73
55
47
50
54
57
59
50
69
38
30
28
71
63
31
83
25
35
79
72
39
75
63
82
62
77
Lo
41
36
28
26
31
39
40
19
41
26
23
21
57
32
19
49
1
22
64
55
28
42
41
55
49
55
W
s
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
s
r
pc
sf
pc
sf
s
pc
c
s
s
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
Today
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
59
64
79
29
27
66
79
47
63
38
57
89
36
46
71
49
69
74
53
63
74
66
55
86
62
60
Lo
30
36
66
12
17
34
53
41
36
25
46
59
26
35
51
24
36
45
27
42
58
51
45
50
47
33
W
t
r
pc
sn
pc
t
t
pc
s
c
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
r
pc
pc
pc
r
s
pc
s
Wed.
Hi
43
57
83
29
34
48
68
51
70
54
51
90
49
53
54
53
69
74
50
60
74
66
55
87
49
72
Lo
32
46
66
17
24
36
50
24
44
34
26
60
12
20
29
29
40
50
41
38
57
55
45
51
29
43
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
r
s
pc
r
s
r
r
pc
sh
pc
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
c
s
pc
s