NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Thursday, March 9, 2017
Governor restructures staff to respond to Trump edicts
Oregonians I’ve met from
across the state who’ve
told me how my office
can better serve them. To
seize the opportunity that
challenge has presented,
it is imperative the Gover-
nor’s Office is poised
to respond nimbly and
bring stability to the vital
services Oregon families
rely on.”
The changes entail new job
descriptions and titles for two
existing staffers, Gina Zejdlik and
Debbie Zoreski, and a new part-
time position of senior adviser on
transformation and budget stability.
Former Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ash-
land, has been appointed to fill the
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown has restructured
her staff to respond to
rapid policy changes
coming down from the
Trump administration and
potential reforms to the
state pension system and Brown
state revenue.
“Oregon faces unprecedented
challenges, new and institutional,
on both the statewide and national
scale,” Gov. Brown said in a prepared
statement Tuesday, March 7. “The
appointments I’m announcing
today are part of a larger internal
staffing adjustment informed by the
new part-time role.
As former co-chair of the Joint
Committee on Ways and Means
from 2008 to 2016, Buckley
oversaw the state budget-writing
process.
In his new role, he will focus
on building stability for major cost
drivers in state government and
potential revenue reform. He will
earn a salary of more than $5,400
per month for 20 hours of work.
In a text message to the Pamplin
Media Group/EO Media Group
Capital Bureau, Buckley said he
plans to maintain his job working
at the Southern Oregon Education
Service District in Medford, where
he is project manager of the Southern
Oregon Success program. He will
Oregon lawmakers consider
limiting biodigester tax credits
SALEM (AP) — Faced with an
estimated $1.6 billion-deficit in the
upcoming two-year budget cycle, poli-
cymakers in Salem are looking to poten-
tially boost the state’s revenue stream
directly from Oregon homeowners.
State lawmakers are hosting debates
this week on two proposals that would
reduce or nix entirely the allowable
deductions that some taxpayers can
claim from mortgage interest and
property taxes.
While the state so far hasn’t officially
estimated how much extra revenue
might be raised, Jody Wiser, founder of
Tax Fairness Oregon, told lawmakers
this week her organization recently
calculated that Oregon homeowners
were saving $1.9 billion per biennium
from mortgage interest and property tax
deductions and also capital gains-tax
exclusions.
“These help people buy bigger
homes, but they don’t necessarily
help people buy a home,” said Wiser,
who supports both proposals but also
acknowledged the changes may be
“abrupt” for those who’d be dually
affected by each.
Wiser’s comments were heard
during the first debate Tuesday for
House Bill 2771, which would revoke
property tax deductions for the wealth-
iest Oregon homeowners who earn at
least $125,000 annually, or $250,000-
plus when married and filing jointly.
Others may deduct only a percentage of
their property taxes, the rates of which
would be determined by how much
income they earn above $50,000, or
$100,000 filing jointly.
Additional revenues as a result of the
changes would go to the state’s general
fund, the biggest pot of discretionary
spending money for the Legislature and
Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Bureau
Steve Smith, a technician for Farm Power Tillamook LLC,
explains the functioning of a dairy biodigester near Tillamook,
in this file photo. Lawmakers are considering limiting tax
credits for biodigesters to facilities operational before 2017.
The tax credit is one approach,
but Oregon could simply require
large “confined animal feeding
operations” to cover the cost
instead of using the general fund,
he said.
Lawmakers should consider
the extent to which the tax credit
encourages the development of
new large CAFOs, Barnhart said.
“They have a number of prob-
lems associated with them,” such
as air and water pollution, he said.
Representatives of the Oregon
Dairy Farmers Association,
the Oregon Farm Bureau and
Threemile Canyon Farms — a
dairy near Boardman — testified
against HB 2853, arguing the tax
credit has promoted air quality
and contributed to renewable
energy development.
By relying on regulation rather
than incentives, the government
would effectively impose a new
tax on dairies as well as their
customers, said Len Bergstein,
representative of Threemile
Canyon Farms.
“There’s a reason we’ve
decided to go in a different direc-
tion in Oregon,” Bergstein said.
By limiting the tax credit,
lawmakers would unwittingly be
playing into the anti-dairy agenda
of certain activists who oppose
new facilities in Oregon, he said.
Dairy producers already made
a sacrifice last year, when they
agreed for the tax credit to be
reduced from $5 per wet ton of
manure to $3.50 in exchange for
keeping the incentive until 2021,
Bergstein said.
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REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
FRIDAY
Cloudy with a little
rain; cool
Breezy with
periods of sun
52° 46°
57° 35°
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Cloudy with a
couple of showers
Cloudy with a
shower or two
MONDAY
Remaining cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
52° 42°
57° 41°
64° 49°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
60° 34°
51° 46°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
45°
53°
73° (2004)
41°
34°
18° (1897)
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
0.05"
0.41"
0.29"
4.33"
2.87"
2.80"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
53°
55°
72° (2005)
43°
32°
15° (1931)
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
0.02"
0.17"
0.26"
3.63"
1.92"
2.50"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Full
Last
Mar 12
Mar 20
New
Mar 27
61° 40°
65° 48°
Seattle
46/44
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
52° 44°
6:19 a.m.
5:53 p.m.
3:01 p.m.
4:44 a.m.
First
Apr 3
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
39/36
38/32
Tacoma
Moses
45/43
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 43/37
43/40
47/43
46/42
48/37
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
53/47
51/48 Lewiston
49/45
Astoria
49/42
53/45
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
55/49
Pendleton 46/40
The Dalles 51/46
52/46
53/41
La Grande
Salem
51/44
56/49
Albany
Corvallis 56/48
57/49
John Day
55/47
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
55/42
57/48
52/41
Caldwell
Burns
58/46
48/34
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
53
49
52
55
48
46
57
51
51
55
57
51
48
61
53
57
55
49
52
55
56
56
39
48
55
51
48
Lo
45
36
41
47
34
40
48
43
46
47
39
44
44
46
48
50
42
42
46
49
38
49
36
41
48
48
37
W
r
r
r
r
c
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
c
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Lo
31
63
50
41
51
30
44
43
26
65
40
W
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
sh
pc
s
pc
s
Lo
37
27
33
43
21
28
40
33
34
36
30
33
32
38
42
44
31
34
35
38
30
40
29
29
39
40
30
W
sh
pc
c
c
pc
pc
c
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
c
sh
c
c
pc
pc
sh
c
sh
c
pc
sh
sh
pc
Fri.
Hi
65
74
61
55
75
42
58
68
49
74
54
Lo
34
67
45
47
51
35
41
42
28
64
40
W
s
pc
s
pc
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r
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pc
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WINDS
Medford
61/46
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
57/39
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: Periods of rain today. Rain
and drizzle tonight, except a shower in the
south.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Considerable
cloudiness today with a shower; however,
dry in the south.
Western Washington: Times of rain today.
Eastern Washington: Rain today; however,
snow and rain in the north; a bit of snow, ac-
cumulating up to an inch in the mountains.
Cascades: Periods of rain today.
Today
Friday
SSE 4-8
SSE 6-12
WSW 10-20
WSW 10-20
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
0
1
2
1
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.
Northern California: Mostly cloudy today
and tonight. Intervals of clouds and sun-
shine tomorrow.
NEWS
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
WORLD CITIES
Hi
61
69
72
57
72
42
57
65
49
72
53
Corrections
The East Oregonian works
hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a
mistake in the paper, please call
541-966-0818.
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Fri.
Hi
50
56
52
57
50
47
59
54
60
56
57
54
52
63
52
56
58
60
57
56
56
57
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50
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59
59
governor that mostly benefits education,
health care and various human services.
Lawmakers will hear testimony
Thursday for House Bill 2006, which
would allow mortgage interest deduc-
tions from loans only on the home-
owner’s primary residence, excluding
vacation homes or other secondary
properties. The deductions would
also be capped at different thresholds
depending on the homeowner’s taxable
income above or below $100,000, or
$200,000 filed jointly.
Additional revenue resulting from
those changes would be diverted to
the Oregon Housing Fund to boost
funding for various housing-assistance
programs that are currently strained by
the ongoing housing affordability crisis
occurring statewide.
Federally, there’s already a cap on
mortgage interest deductions for the
first $500,000 of any loan for single
filers, or the first $1 million for joint
filers; deductions from second mort-
gages are allowed on the first $100,000
of loan debt.
House Republican leader Mike
McLane blasted the measures as “toxic”
policies put forth by the Democratic
majority.
“At a time when housing afford-
ability is already a major concern in
our state, HB 2006 and HB 2771 would
only make it more difficult for Oregon
families to pay their bills,” McLane
said in a statement.
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
of Staff Nik Blosser.
Her resume also includes posi-
tions as deputy legislative counsel
for the Oregon Legislature and chief
of staff, legislative director, and
interim elections director during
Brown’s tenure as secretary of state.
In her new role as senior director
of budget and children’s policy,
Koreski will coordinate the gover-
nor’s budget for the next biennium
and retain her policy advising duties
related to housing and human
services.
Koreski joined the Governor’s
Office in December 2016 after
serving as associate vice president
for government relations at Port-
land State University. She will earn
a monthly salary of $10,828.
Lawmakers eye homeowner
tax breaks for budget fix
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Bureau
SALEM
—
Oregon’s
anticipated budget shortfall has
prompted lawmakers to consider
limiting tax credits for processing
livestock manure into energy in
biodigesters.
Biodigesters break down
manure, releasing methane gas
which is used to generate elec-
tricity. The remaining solids have
many uses.
They are expensive, and
farmers have used the tax credits
to offset the costs.
Under House Bill 2853, tax
credits would only be available
for manure processed in biodi-
gesters that were operational
before the end of 2016.
The credit effectively costs
Oregon about $4 million a year in
foregone tax revenue and has the
potential to grow more expensive
due to the proposed construction
of a large dairy, said Rep. Phil
Barnhart, D-Eugene, during a
March 7 hearing on HB 2853.
Barnhart said he’s not
“wedded” to the idea of disqual-
ifying biodigesters that became
operational in 2017 or later from
tax credits and would appreciate
alternative suggestions from the
House Agriculture Committee.
“If we don’t do anything,
this credit is going to increase
significantly over the next couple
years,” he said.
The question pertains to how
Oregon encourages the adoption
of biodigesters, said Barnhart.
work remotely from Southern
Oregon but will report to work in
Salem for meetings throughout the
Legislature’s 160-day legislative
session, which started Feb. 1.
Buckley represented Southern
Oregon from 2005 until January.
In addition to Ways and Means,
he served on the House education,
rules and transportation commit-
tees.
Zejdlik, a staffer in the Gover-
nor’s Office since 2013, has been
appointed as deputy chief of staff
with a monthly salary of $10,828.
Zejdlik will lead the Governor’s
Office’s evaluation of and response
to new federal policies. She most
recently led the chief of staff search
and transition of duties to new Chief
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
-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: Rain and snow showers will affect northern New England today.
Showers and storms will gather from Texas to Florida. Rain and snow will fall on the
Northwest. Rain and snow will develop over the Ohio Valley.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 89° in McAllen, Texas
Low 3° in Crosby, N.D.
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
73
74
58
67
25
74
58
48
76
68
43
48
79
69
43
84
1
17
78
80
64
81
71
81
74
87
Lo
42
57
41
42
17
61
46
30
55
43
21
29
63
37
21
50
-9
-9
68
64
29
53
29
59
54
59
W
s
s
s
s
sn
s
c
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
s
pc
s
pc
s
Fri.
Hi
74
71
45
47
31
70
59
39
79
44
31
32
77
71
32
84
12
13
80
78
39
84
45
83
64
82
Lo
44
41
22
19
20
39
35
16
44
17
16
16
61
40
13
52
-9
1
69
62
19
52
24
60
39
58
Today
W
s
pc
sn
c
sn
pc
c
sn
pc
c
pc
sf
t
pc
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pc
pc
pc
sh
t
pc
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s
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
72
75
80
41
33
74
77
56
80
55
62
86
40
51
75
36
65
73
75
61
77
65
46
87
68
74
Lo
39
55
66
15
4
50
62
36
44
20
41
59
22
28
50
12
39
49
34
42
57
51
44
54
46
34
W
s
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s
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Fri.
Hi
49
60
82
28
21
57
77
41
63
35
45
88
35
37
72
33
66
73
46
62
73
66
51
89
51
55
Lo
26
40
65
12
7
31
62
20
50
20
21
59
9
16
32
15
37
48
26
37
56
51
38
55
24
36
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
t
sn
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pc
sn
s
sf
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