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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
81/50 LAVENDER FESTIVAL RETURNS HEALTH BILL SHOWDOWN NEXT WEEK REGION/3A NATION/6A WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2017 141st Year, No. 177 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2016 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD Corporate tax bill could test case law Change would yield about $5.5M in the next two years By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau “We’re here to keep the public safe, to keep our staff safe, but also here to release a person we hope to never see again. We don’t want them to come back.” SALEM — A bill passed in the House of Representatives Monday to change the way corporations are taxed for services could serve as a test for new case law on what constitutes a new tax. Senate Bill 28 would tax national corpora- tions on the percentage of their services they sell in Oregon instead of the existing “all-or-nothing” system of taxing only national corporations who perform the bulk of their business in the state. The change would yield about $5.5 million in the next two years and $11.1 million the two subsequent years, according to an estimate by the Legislative Revenue Offi ce. Corporations already are taxed on the proportion of tangible items they sell in Oregon, but taxes on sales of services or intangibles are only levied on corporations where a majority of their services are performed in Oregon. “The Senate Bill 28 would move away from that and toward a market-based policy that mirrors that for tangible products and is more in line with the policy intent of a single sales factor,” said Chris Allanach, senior economist with the Legislative Revenue Offi ce, during a hearing on the bill last month. In the past, Legislative Counsel would have considered the bill to be a new tax or a “revenue-raising” proposal. Under the Oregon Constitution, a revenue-raising proposal requires a three-fi fths majority vote in both legislative chambers, and the measure must originate in the House. An Oregon Supreme Court decision in 2015 changed Legislative Counsel’s interpretation of what qualities defi ne a revenue-raising measure. The court ruled in City of Seattle v. Department of Revenue that a bill to remove a tax exemption for out-of-state utility companies did not need a three- fi fths majority because it didn’t have the “essential features” of levying a tax. — Brigitte Amsberry, incoming EOCI superintendent See TAX/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution superintendent Jeri Taylor, right, is retiring after a 32-year career in the Department of Corrections. She is handing over the reins of EOCI to incoming superintendent Brigitte Amsberry, left. SUPER-WOMEN Jeri Taylor to pass on torch as EOCI superintendent By JADE MCDOWELL East Oregonian When Brigitte Amsberry set foot in Eastern Oregon Correc- tional Institution 17 years ago, she knew that this was where she wanted to work. “I came out here for a tour and I kind of knew right off that this is home, this is where I’m meant to be,” she said. Amsberry said yes to a job as a nurse at EOCI after the tour, eventually working her way through the Department of Correction ranks to become superintendent of Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla. Now she returns to EOCI as its new superinten- dent. She will replace superinten- dent Jeri Taylor, who retires Friday. Taylor says as much as she’ll miss the job, she knows she’s handing the reins over to someone who is already very familiar with the institution. “I don’t think they’ll skip a beat,” she said of prison staff. Taylor might know EOCI better than anyone. She worked there back when the building was a state mental hospital, then transitioned to being a Department of Corrections employee when it was retro- fi tted and re-opened as EOCI in 1985. “I came with the building,” she said. See EOCI/8A EO fi le photo This 2014 fi le photo shows an aerial view Eastern Oregon Correctional Institute in Pendleton. Mushroom compost company drops plans for Athena facility Will build in Sunnyside, Washington By GEORGE PLAVEN East Oregonian After months of fl irting with development in Umatilla County, Ostrom’s Mushroom Farms has decided instead to build its new mushroom compost facility across state lines in Sunnyside, Washington, partially blaming regula- tory hurdles in Oregon. The company, based in Olympia, Washington, had proposed a location for the facility on Sand Hollow Road between Adams and Athena, going so far as to obtain a conditional use permit from the county. But on June 16, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported that Ostrom’s instead signed an agreement with the Port of Sunnyside to purchase 25 acres south of Interstate 82. David Knudsen, presi- dent and CEO of Ostrom’s, did not return calls for comment, but Umatilla County planning director Tamra Mabbott confi rmed the news Tuesday. “It was unfortunate,” Mabbott said. “It would have really been a nice complement to all of the other types of agriculture we have here.” Knudsen met with local landowners in February during a community meeting at Athena Elementary School, where he described how the specialized composting process works and how the building design would mitigate for odor. The plant was expected to produce See COMPOST/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Karlee Rogers, 4, jumps through a sprinkler as Noah Joy, 3, looks on while the pair, both of Pendleton, played in Joy’s front yard Tuesday. Summer Photo Shootout Do you fancy yourself a photographer? Do you like to go out and search for that one special shot? Then send us your best photos taken in Eastern Oregon this summer for our 2017 Summer Photo Shootout. Email your best, high-res photos taken this summer between the dates of June 20 to Sept. 22 with your name, date the photo was taken and phone number with “Summer Photo Shootout” in the subject line to lifestyles@eastoregonian. The best will be selected to run in a special weekend edition lifestyle section.
