KATHRYN B. BROWN
Owner
ANDREW CUTLER
Publisher/Editor
ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Editor/Senior Reporter
ThURSDAy, AUgUST 4, 2022
A4
Founded October 16, 1875
OUR VIEW
Cities
may urge
Legislature
to raise
taxes
I
ncrease taxes on booze. Allow cities to
increase taxes on marijuana. Change
incentives in the wake of Measure
110 so more people in Oregon get drug
treatment. Change the law so tempo-
rary local property taxes become perma-
nent if they pass three or more times.
Those are all possible priorities that cities
in Oregon may lobby the Legislature to take
action on in 2023. The League of Oregon
Cities has asked cities across the state to
pick their top ove priorities from a list.
We decided to highlight a couple
of things on the list that we thought
you might be interested in.
The League of Oregon Cities may push
for state taxes to be increased on beer and
wine, so in turn, cities would get more
money trickling in. One possible piece
of legislation: Cities could be allowed to
have local sales taxes on beer and wine.
When recreational marijuana was
legalized, cities were receiving 10% of
the net revenue of the state tax of 17% on
all sales of recreational marijuana. That
changed with Measure 110. Revenue to
cities dropped. Cities can still have a local
tax of up to 3%. The League of Oregon
Cities proposal is for the state to some-
how restore the money that cities lost
because of Measure 110 or allow voters in
cities to raise the local pot tax above 3%.
Measure 110 decriminalized much
minor drug possession in Oregon and
replaced it with a $100 ticket. The concern
has been that if a goal is to get more people
into drug treatment the measure might not
work as intended. The measure did shift
more money into treatment centers. It also,
though, made it easy for someone cited
with a ticket to avoid paying, avoid getting
treatment and not face any repercussions.
The League of Oregon Cities proposes
to encourage legislators to restore more
incentives for people to get treatment.
The League has come up with a number of
possible changes to property taxes. In Oregon
the permanent tax rates for cities were frozen
at 1997 levels and cannot be increased. That9s
because of Measure 50. Property taxes are
very important for cities. For instance, taxes
and special assessments make up 38% of
Pendleton9s $19.3 million general fund. One
idea is to make it so local option levies that
pass three or more times become perma-
nent. Another idea is to allow voters to set
tax rates outside of the current limits.
These are just some of the changes that
the League of Oregon Cities may gear up to
advocate. You can see the complete list here
tinyurl.com/ORcitypriorities. What do you
think your community should support?
EDITORIALS
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the East
Oregonian editorial board. Other columns,
letters and cartoons on this page express the
opinions of the authors and not necessarily that
of the East Oregonian.
LETTERS
The East Oregonian welcomes original letters
of 400 words or less on public issues and public
policies for publication in the newspaper and on
our website. The newspaper reserves the right
to withhold letters that address concerns about
individual services and products or letters that
infringe on the rights of private citizens. Letters
must be signed by the author and include the
city of residence and a daytime phone number.
The phone number will not be published.
Unsigned letters will not be published.
SEND LETTERS TO:
editor@eastoregonian.com,
or via mail to Andrew Cutler,
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton, OR 97801
Playing politics with wildlife conservation
BILL
ANEY
THIS LAND IS OUR LAND
n June, orst-term U.S. Rep Andrew
Clyde, R-Georgia, introduced
a law that would undo what is
likely the most successful wildlife
conservation program in history.
Clyde9s bill, entitled the RETURN
(Repealing Excise Tax on Unalienable
Rights Now) Our Constitutional Rights
Act, would repeal the Pittman-Robert-
son Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937.
Pittman-Robertson was proposed and
supported by sportsmen and estab-
lished an excise tax on orearms, ammu-
nition, and archery equipment with
the proceeds dedicated to wildlife
management, conservation, and devel-
opment of sport-shooting facilities.
In the past 85 years, the program has
funneled more than $11 billion to state
wildlife agencies, where the money is
matched by the states (usually from
hunting license fees). It9s a beautiful
system, with users (hunters) taxing
themselves to pay for wildlife manage-
ment thereby allowing us to proudly
claim that hunting is conservation. In
Oregon, this dedicated funding source
brings $15-20 million per year to wild-
life conservation programs in the state.
Clyde9s bill to dismantle Pitt-
man-Robertson has been unanimously
criticized by a broad sweep of organi-
zations including professional societ-
ies and large and small conservation
groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation, Pheasants Forever, Back-
country Hunters and Anglers and the
Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Part-
nership. Even the National Rine Asso-
ciation and National Shooting Sports
I
Foundation have joined the chorus.
So why did Rep. Clyde propose such
a destructive piece of legislation? Clyde
is the owner of a gun and ammunition
retail business, so perhaps he ogures
lower gun prices would mean more
sales. Or is he anti-wildlife? Perhaps
he has noble (if misdirected) motives
when he states, <In case my Democrat
colleagues forgot, the Bill of Rights
enumerates rights to which the govern-
ment cannot infringe. Unquestionably,
infringement exists when the govern-
ment taxes those rights to limit the
people9s ability to exercise them.= An
interesting argument, equating Pitt-
man-Robertson excise taxes to a poll tax.
I suspect, however, that the real
reason he introduced this bill was plain
and simple polarizing politics. Right
versus left, red versus blue, urban versus
rural, us versus them. Shortly before
the RETURN act was introduced, Rep.
Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia,
introduced a bill to impose a 1,000%
excise tax on manufacturers, import-
ers or producers of assault weapons and
high-capacity magazines. His bill was
triggered by a string of mass shoot-
ings across the country, and the implied
assumption is that increasing the cost of
these weapons by a factor of 10 would
mean there would be fewer people with
access to them. An $1,800 assault rine
would cost $20,000, and it may very well
be that gun retailer Clyde felt his own
ox was being gored by Beyer9s bill.
So, the timing of the two bills
is not coincidental, but rather
tit-for-tat petty politics. A stick
in the eye of the other guy.
To be clear, neither of these bills
has much chance of becoming law. But
they are good for stirring up the masses
and reinforcing divisions in our soci-
ety. Clyde9s bill has 54 co-sponsors, all
Republican. Beyer9s bill has 41 co-spon-
sors, all Democrat. (Clif Bentz, our
representative in D.C., is not a cosponsor
of either bill. Thank you, Rep. Bentz.)
Anyone who has studied wild-
life conservation in the United States
knows the signiocance of Pittman-Rob-
ertson and the sport oshing coun-
terpart known as Dingell-Johnson.
They are the cornerstone of state osh
and wildlife management programs,
and they work wonderfully. In part
because of this funding to support the
work of our state wildlife agency, the
Blue Mountains support thriving elk
herds that are famous across the coun-
try. Don9t believe me? Just try to draw
one of the prized tags for a chance to
hunt mature bull elk in the Mt. Emily,
Mill Creek, or Wenaha units; there9s a
long line of hunters in front of you.
Those that care about osh and wild-
life conservation in our country should
be disgusted with Clyde9s ham-handed
attempt to strike back at those across
the aisle, using wildlife conservation
as a pawn in his perverse political (and
perhaps personal onancial) game.
We9ve all seen enough entrench-
ment of political divisions in American
society. When people stake out extreme
positions the opportunity for mean-
ingful conversation ends, threatening
our very system of government. We
deserve, and should demand, better from
our elected oïcials and should expect
our lawmakers to be part of a solution
instead of stirring and dividing us.
The RETURN act doesn9t stand a
chance of becoming law but does show
the worst of the state of our democracy
circa 2022. Lawmakers who spend time
and energy on this type of efort should
also be returned from whence they came.
444
Bill Aney is a forester and wildlife biol-
ogist living in Pendleton and loving the
Blue Mountains.
YOUR VIEWS
Write in Pullen for
Umatilla County
commissioner
Community Counsel-
ing Solutions director and
Umatilla County commis-
sioners didn9t get the memo.
In February 2022, out of
36 Oregon counties, East-
ern Oregon has the ove top
overdose counties: Umatilla,
gilliam, Union, Wallowa and
Malheur.
Under current commis-
sioners9 leadership, our
county has grown in drug
deaths and incarceration as
our county commissioners
enjoy more salary individu-
ally than several governors.
Having newly remodeled
buildings and pretty signs
at CCS9s many locations
demonstrates the commis-
sioners are motivated to look
good, but the drug death
count is the truth teller.
Community Counseling
Solutions has been transi-
tioning since January 2017
from Lifeways. The wait
time is now ove months for
an assessment. Commis-
sioner John Shafer defended
this failure for addressing
the current drug issues in our
county by stating the situa-
tion is nothing new and the
demand has risen for mental
health services. Of course,
demand is up when none of
the programs are success-
ful. He added the problem is
not unique to CCS. Citizens
were sold the idea CCS would
be great communicators and
efective. After four years of
transitioning, families are
asked to understand as their
loved ones die.
Commissioners have
shot down any Blue Moun-
tain Community College
drug counseling program
ideas since 2015 yet Shafer
complained of staf shortages.
Struggling families could
start a write-in campaign
for Rick Pullen for Umatilla
County commissioner. He
will honestly address the
drug crisis without shying
away. Rumors and mistruths
were spread that he was not
eligible. Rick Pullen is a
worker with follow through.
He cares more.
Sally Sundin
Pendleton
Idaho Power should
stay in Idaho
This is support of Whit
Deschner, who is absolutely
on point regarding the Board-
man to Hemingway power
lines destroying the natural
beauty of Eastern Oregon.
Idaho Power should ond a
way to destroy their own state
and get the bloody hell out of
ours.
As president of the
National historic Oregon
Trail Interpretive Center9s
TrailTenders Board of Direc-
tors, the thought of massive
electric tower supports
obstructing the view that the
center promotes and works
hard to preserve is not to be
borne. And every preser-
vationist in the state has an
obligation to protest, let alone
allow Idaho Power to cross
our state lines.
Public Service Announce-
ment: Idaho Power 4 stay in
your own lane.
Kate Dimon
Pendleton