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
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Corrections
The June 17 feature “The Sighting” referred to ufologist
Robert Hastings as a “regular” at the annual UFO festival
in McMinnville. That description applies to Peter Daven-
port, director of the National UFO Reporting Center.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and
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— 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.
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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