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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2017)
NORTHWEST East Oregonian Page 2A Wednesday, June 21, 2017 BRIEFLY Committee considers dumping new tax in favor of raising existing rates the type of business. It would apply to all businesses, not just C-corporations. Legislators have less than a month to resolve a $1.4 billion gap between projected revenues and expenses. Combined with the expected passage of an assessment on health care providers, changes to business taxes could substantially reduce the shortfall. But the corporate activities tax proposal has been a point of contention throughout the legislative session, and would likely be a tougher sell than increasing the existing corporate income tax. A three-fifths majority vote is required in both chambers to pass a new tax, or change rates. Democrats have the majority in both chambers but are one vote shy of a three-fifths “super- majority,” meaning, at the very least, they need one Republican on board in each chamber to pass new taxes. Republicans have been steadfast in opposition to the corporate activities tax, By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — A proposal to fundamentally change the state’s business tax system appeared to take a detour Monday. Lawmakers have been vetting a Democratic proposal for a new state corporate activities tax based on sales, but the latest proposed amendment to the bill scraps that idea in favor of increases to the existing corporate income tax. But neither change is a sure thing. The most recent amend- ment, released Monday afternoon, to the tax bill could raise $530 million in additional revenue for the state in the next two years by doubling the corporate minimum income tax and increasing income tax rates for C-corporations. Older — and still viable — versions of the bill would instead tax companies based on their sales in Oregon, at rates that vary depending on Oregon ethics commission resumes investigation of Kitzhaber PORTLAND (AP) — After a break of more than two years, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission will resume its investigation into whether Cylvia Hayes used her relationship as the fiancee of former Gov. John Kitzhaber to win contracts for her green-energy consulting business. The ethics commission suspended its preliminary review of Kitzhaber and Hayes in February 2015, when it learned a criminal investigation was under way. The U.S. Department of Justice announced last week the pair will not face charges. With the criminal case out of the way, the ethics investigation resumes. Kitzhaber has maintained he did nothing wrong. He said he resigned in 2015 because the media frenzy prevented him from being an effective leader. the corporate activities tax, called the amended bill “a welcome development.” “The challenge remains that any increase in current taxes will require genuine cost containment,” said Pat McCormick, spokesman for Brighter Oregon. Amendments, in order to make it to consideration by a full chamber, have to first approved by the committee. In the past few weeks, some businesses, including high-tech firms, have said that they could endorse a tax that charges businesses based on Oregon sales. That’s a policy change that certain Democratic lawmakers have been pushing for years as a way to stabilize the state’s revenue stream, but proved unpop- ular in the form of a ballot measure brought forward by union groups last November. That measure would have taxed certain corporations on Oregon gross receipts in excess of $25 million. It would have raised $3 billion a year. but less so to other revenue increases. After a morning meeting in which lawmakers consid- ered the new corporate activities tax, the Joint Committee on Tax Reform went into recess to “digest” those changes, in the words of committee co-chair Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton. They met again in the early afternoon to discuss what turned out to be a very different new amendment. State Sen. Alan DeBoer, R-Ashland, who earlier this legislative session proposed modifications to the corpo- rate income tax rather than a new tax, and has emerged as a possible swing vote, voiced apparent approval of the increases to the corporate income tax as outlined in the latest amendment Monday. “I think we’re certainly on the right track,” DeBoer said at the conclusion of the committee’s afternoon meeting. A spokesman for Brighter Oregon, a coalition of Oregon businesses that opposes Oregon moves to strengthen its unique sanctuary state status SALEM (AP) — Oregon’s Legislature has taken a step closer to defying a federal government crackdown on illegal immigration, with the House passing a bill that seeks to restrict the ability of state and local agencies, including law enforcement, to inquire about a person’s immigration status and prohibiting public agencies from disclosing information to federal officials except in certain circumstances. The bill, passed Tuesday and introduced at the request of Gov. Kate Brown and Attorney General Ellen Rosen- blum, has sharply divided lawmakers, with Republicans opposed and Democrats in favor. The House Republican Office called it “an attempt to subvert federal immigration policy.” House Democrats said it “will strengthen privacy protections for vulnerable populations.” Review: No violation at immigrant’s court hearing in Oregon Fund to aid commercial gillnetters never tapped ment of Fish and Wildlife, the Legislature is now poised to do away with the last $500,000 installment. That leaves $500,000, a third of the amount initially intended, and it’s not imme- diately apparent whether commercial gillnetters will end up applying for or receiving the money. Gillnets are hung vertically and catch fish by the gills. Their use is a source of a longstanding dispute between commercial fishermen and sports anglers. But the issue has come to a head in recent years. These days, sportsmen have rights to most — 70 to 80 percent — of the catches in the main stem of the Columbia, depending on the season. That’s a fact most commercial gillnetters resent. Gillnets were, back in 2013, likely to be phased out of legal usage on the lower main stem of the Columbia by entities other than tribes. The By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — A fund that was supposed to provide commercial fishermen $1.5 million to adjust to new regu- lations curtailing gillnetting in the Columbia River has never been tapped. The Columbia River Fish- eries Transition Fund, a 2013 creation of the Legislature, was supposed to set aside $500,000 every two years to provide financial assistance to commercial gillnetters through 2019. The money was intended to help fishermen buy replace- ment gear and offset economic harms due to the expected phasing out of non-tribal gillnetting in the lower main stem of the Columbia. The money’s not been used yet, and after some of it was reverted back to the general fund due to an accounting error at the Oregon Depart- biennium was over. After the agency caught the error earlier this year, Smith said analysts from the Legislative Fiscal Office and the Department of Adminis- trative Services told ODFW the $500,000 couldn’t be returned because the sum had already been included in fund balance projections. “It was our mistake, and we had to pay for it, I guess,” Smith said of the issue. “But, also, they knew that none of the funds were being used, so that, I think, was the real big driver. The funds weren’t being used, hadn’t been used and at that time there was no indication that they would be used.” Matt Markee, a lobbyist for Salmon For All, an associ- ation of gillnetters, processors and fish buyers, said that the $500,000 that did make it to the fund in 2015-17 wasn’t yet spent because fishermen hadn’t found an adequate replacement for gillnets. bill followed an agreement with Washington brokered by former Gov. John Kitzhaber. But new regulations adopted by Oregon’s Fish and Wildlife commission in March differ from Washington’s. Oregon will allow commer- cial fishermen to harvest a greater share of fall chinook than Washington, for example. Cameron Smith, acting deputy director for admin- istration at ODFW, says an accounting error at the agency meant the first installment of $500,000 for the transition fund was reverted back to the general fund after the 2013-15 budget biennium, which ended June 30, 2015. But that issue wasn’t discovered until recently. ODFW was supposed to move the money to the Columbia River Transition Fund, but failed to do so in time, Smith said, leading it to get automatically reverted to the general fund after the Didn’t receive your paper? Call 1-800-522-0255 before noon Tuesday through Friday or before 10 a.m. Saturday for same-day redelivery 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211 333 E. 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Classified & Legal Advertising 1-800-962-2819 or 541-278-2678 classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com Advertising Director: Marissa Williams 541-278-2669 • addirector@eastoregonian.com Advertising Services: Laura Jensen 541-966-0806 • ljensen@eastoregonian.com Multimedia Consultants: • Terri Briggs 541-278-2678 • tbriggs@eastoregonian.com • Danni Halladay 541-278-2683 • dhalladay@eastoregonian.com • Jeanne Jewett 541-564-4531 • jjewett@eastoregonian.com • Dayle Stinson 541-278-2670 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com • Angela Treadwell 541-966-0827 • atreadwell@eastoregonian.com • Audra Workman 541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com Subscriber services: For home delivery, vacation stops or delivery concerns: 1-800-522-0255 — Founded Oct. 16, 1875 — PORTLAND (AP) — Multnomah County Circuit Court administrators have determined that Pro Tem Judge Monica Herranz didn’t violate any rules of judicial conduct when she allowed an undocumented criminal defendant to leave her courtroom through a back door as immigration agents waited in the hallway. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Trial Court Admin- istrator Barbara Marcille investigated Herranz’s actions from Jan. 27 and found that Herranz didn’t knowingly help impaired-driving defendant Diddier Pacheco-Salazar elude capture. Marcille said Herranz didn’t know if the defendant was indeed in the country illegally. Rather, all she’d been told by Pacheco-Salazar’s defense attorney was the defendant didn’t have his immigration documentation with him and agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were in the hall asking various defendants of Hispanic ethnicity for their documentation. Marcille says Herranz didn’t know if the agents were there to specifically arrest Pacheco-Salazar. Single copy price: $1 Tuesday through Friday, $1.50 Saturday NEWS • To submit news tips and press releases: • call 541-966-0818 • fax 541-276-8314 • email news@eastoregonian.com • To submit community events, calendar items and Your EO News: email community@eastoregonian.com or call Tammy Malgesini at 541-564-4539 or Renee Struthers in at 541-966-0818. • To submit engagements, weddings and anniversaries: email rstruthers@eastoregonian.com or visit www.eastoregonian. com/community/announcements • To submit a Letter to the Editor: mail to Managing Editor Daniel Wattenburger, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801 or email editor@eastoregonian.com. • To submit sports or outdoors information or tips: 541-966-0838 • sports@eastoregonian.com COMMERCIAL PRINTING Production Manager: Mike Jensen 541-215-0824 • mjensen@eastoregonian.com Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group REGIONAL CITIES Forecast TODAY THURSDAY Sunshine and beautiful Sunny and beautiful 81° 50° 80° 50° FRIDAY SATURDAY Partly sunny and pleasant Plenty of sunshine SUNDAY Mostly sunny and very warm PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 87° 52° 90° 55° 95° 63° HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST 86° 49° 87° 50° PENDLETON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE HIGH LOW 87° 80° 103° (1900) 68° 53° 38° (1893) 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" 1.05" 0.91" 10.20" 6.45" 7.42" HERMISTON through 3 p.m. yesterday TEMPERATURE Yesterday Normals Records HIGH LOW 89° 81° 101° (1958) 71° 54° 42° (2012) 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" 0.28" 0.45" 6.59" 4.64" 5.56" SUN AND MOON Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today New First June 23 June 30 95° 57° 100° 58° Seattle 70/51 ALMANAC Yesterday Normals Records 92° 56° Full 5:06 a.m. 8:48 p.m. 3:25 a.m. 5:59 p.m. Last July 8 July 16 Today Spokane Wenatchee 78/52 81/53 Tacoma Moses 72/45 Lake Pullman Aberdeen Olympia Yakima 84/51 75/46 66/47 73/45 86/50 Longview Kennewick Walla Walla 73/49 84/54 Lewiston 87/47 Astoria 82/53 64/50 Portland Enterprise Hermiston 75/52 Pendleton 76/41 The Dalles 87/50 81/50 83/55 La Grande Salem 78/45 78/50 Albany Corvallis 78/47 81/50 John Day 80/48 Ontario Eugene Bend 90/57 77/47 80/44 Caldwell Burns 88/54 84/40 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 64 78 80 74 84 76 77 80 87 80 89 78 74 88 61 66 90 87 81 75 83 78 78 75 74 84 86 Lo 50 41 44 57 40 41 47 46 50 48 49 45 40 55 47 53 57 49 50 52 42 50 52 38 50 54 50 W pc s s s s s s s s s s s s s pc s s s s pc s s s s pc s s NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY Thu. Hi 68 76 79 78 82 73 82 79 86 79 89 76 73 94 64 68 86 85 80 80 83 82 78 74 79 83 85 Lo 51 39 46 58 40 40 50 45 49 48 50 43 41 59 49 54 53 49 50 55 44 53 52 40 52 56 51 Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day. W s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s WORLD CITIES Today Beijing Hong Kong Jerusalem London Mexico City Moscow Paris Rome Seoul Sydney Tokyo Hi 90 90 78 92 79 62 97 82 86 65 78 Lo 70 83 61 65 54 48 67 65 67 54 70 W t t s s pc pc t s pc pc r Thu. Hi 74 90 78 79 82 64 97 84 83 64 80 Lo 66 84 60 59 53 48 61 65 68 49 70 W t t s pc pc sh pc s pc pc pc WINDS Medford 88/55 (in mph) Klamath Falls 89/49 Boardman Pendleton REGIONAL FORECAST Eastern Washington: Plenty of sunshine today. Tonight: a starry night. Plenty of sunshine tomorrow. Cascades: Sunny and pleasant today. Tonight: a starry night. Plenty of sunshine tomorrow. Northern California: Clouds, then sun at the coast today; hot in central parts. Sunshine elsewhere. Thursday NW 4-8 WNW 6-12 UV INDEX TODAY Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Coastal Oregon: Windy today; mostly sunny, except low clouds followed by some sun across the north. Eastern and Central Oregon: Sunny today. Not as hot in the upper Treasure Valley; very warm in the south. Western Washington: Periods of clouds and sunshine today. Clear tonight, but partly cloudy at the coast. Today WSW 6-12 W 6-12 2 5 7 7 5 2 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. ©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: Tropical downpours and areas of flooding will extend across the Deep South today. Showers will affect the Northeast as severe storms erupt over the northern Plains. Heat will continue in the Southwest. Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states) High 123° in Needles, Calif. Low 34° in Dillon, Colo. 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 102 77 82 88 85 79 88 82 82 86 80 79 92 95 79 104 72 83 86 86 86 86 93 116 85 87 Lo 71 70 68 65 54 71 56 63 72 65 67 64 74 63 64 78 52 53 74 75 70 75 70 87 71 66 W pc pc pc pc s pc s pc c pc pc pc s pc pc pc pc t pc t pc t s s s pc Thur. Hi 103 79 81 91 78 79 83 81 87 85 89 90 89 91 88 110 75 80 85 81 86 89 91 115 82 84 Lo 70 72 72 72 48 75 53 67 75 67 66 72 75 57 71 83 53 53 73 75 69 74 67 87 72 64 W s t pc pc s r s pc c pc t pc pc s t s pc s pc r pc t s s r pc Today Hi Louisville 91 Memphis 88 Miami 91 Milwaukee 76 Minneapolis 78 Nashville 89 New Orleans 83 New York City 84 Oklahoma City 94 Omaha 95 Philadelphia 87 Phoenix 119 Portland, ME 79 Providence 82 Raleigh 83 Rapid City 89 Reno 97 Sacramento 107 St. Louis 95 Salt Lake City 100 San Diego 79 San Francisco 78 Seattle 70 Tucson 113 Washington, DC 89 Wichita 93 Lo 72 74 81 64 63 70 78 67 67 69 68 90 57 61 69 55 65 71 75 68 66 60 51 81 72 69 W pc pc t pc t s r pc s pc pc s pc pc pc pc s s s s pc pc pc pc pc s Thur. Hi 86 84 90 86 73 79 84 83 91 90 90 114 80 83 88 79 97 107 91 90 75 83 75 109 93 92 Lo 72 75 80 64 56 72 77 72 69 62 74 88 61 64 70 49 63 67 74 60 65 60 53 81 75 70 Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice. W pc t c t t t r pc s pc pc s pc pc pc pc s s pc s pc s s s pc s