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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
A8 News wallowa.com SPENDING Oregon lobbying cash by industry sector, 2007-15 Continued from Page A1 Industry/sector The EO Media Group/ Pamplin Media Group Capital Bureau categorized lobbying spending in Oregon by indus- try and sector using data from the Center for Responsive Pol- itics, which tracks spending on lobbying by industry at the federal level. In total, groups spent more than $251 million on lobbying over the last nine years, according to state data. The health care sector — whose ranks include nurses, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and doctors — re- ported spending the most on lobbying from 2007 through 2015, a total of $36.5 million. Next was the business sector, which spent $30.8 million, followed by fi nance, insurance and real estate interests that re- ported spending a total of $27.3 million on lobbying during the same period. Unlike several other states including Idaho, Oregon does not require lobbyists to dis- close the specifi c bills or exec- utive branch actions they seek to infl uence. Oregon lobbyists are only required to disclose food, drinks and entertainment purchased for a specifi c law- maker or other state offi cial if the cost exceeds $50 on a sin- gle occasion, and lobbyists do not have to report individual expenses reimbursed by their clients . Until this year, the only way to know how much lobbyists and their clients were spend- ing to entertain Oregon state offi cials was to request a copy of the paper reports fi led with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The agency launched a new electronic fi ling system for lobbyists late last year, but that system is not displaying certain spending details due to techni- cal glitches. Even if the system were working correctly, how- ever, it would likely provide only a small sample of lob- byists’ activities. Of the $35.9 million in reported spending last year, only $93,189 was ex- plained in detailed reports. These minimal reporting re- quirements contributed to Ore- gon receiving one of the lowest rankings in the nation for trans- parency in lobbying activity. Last summer, the Sunlight Foundation evaluated how all 50 states track spending on lobbying and created a score- card ranking the states. The foundation awarded Oregon an F grade, meaning lobbyists and their clients face fewer disclo- sure requirements than in most other states. Most of Oregon’s neigh- bors received higher grades, from an A in California to a C in Idaho. Emily Shaw, a senior ana- lyst at the Sunlight Foundation who was involved in the proj- ect, said the goal was to eval- Health $36.5 million Misc. business 30.8 Finance, insurance, real estate 27.3 Civil servants/public officials 27.1 Energy, natural resources 23.1 Agribusiness 19.1 Education 18.7 Ideological/single-issue 15.3 Communications/electronics 13.9 Labor 11.3 (Millions of dollars) Transportation 11.2 The health care sector spent the most on Construction 7.3 lobbying state officials in Oregon over the last Lawyers and Lobbyists 3.9 nine years, according to an analysis of data reported Non-profit institutions 3.5 to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. Clergy, religious organizations 0.9 Defense 0.7 NOTE: Totals not adjusted for inflation. Other 0.6 Sources: Center for Responsive Politics; Oregon Government Ethics Commission Unknown 0.1 Hillary Borrud and Alan Kenaga/EO Media Group uate how much information states collected about lobby- ists’ specifi c activities and the costs of those actions. “People should be able to fi nd out who has come to in- fl uence their laws,” Shaw said. “That’s not to say there needs to be any particular restriction on lobbying in a particular situation. But for good public awareness of what’s happen- ing in these processes, we need good information about what lobbyists are doing, and when.” Pete Quist, research direc- tor at the National Institute on Money in State Politics in Montana, agreed that it is im- portant for states to require lob- byists to disclose more about how they infl uence lawmak- ing. The institute is collecting information about state-level spending on lobbying across the nation. “The lobbying piece isn’t analyzed as much in the media as it should be,” Quist said. “What we see a lot of public discussion about is the campaign contributions.” Oregon lobbyists have re- sisted efforts to require them to disclose more details of their work, most recently in 2015 when they won passage of a bill that allows them to avoid reporting spending to lobby other lobbyists, for exam- ple to build a coalition for or against an issue. The 2015 bill — which easily passed both chambers of the Legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown — extend- ed the disclosure exemption through mid-2017. Dan Meek, a public interest attorney and co-chair of the Independent Party of Oregon, said this exemption is a major reason the public cannot fi nd out how lobbyists use much of the money their clients re- port spending. Still, Meek said he remains more concerned that Oregon has no campaign contribution limits because political donations do not have to be reported as gifts, even if they are connected to lobbying efforts. “Lobbying regulation in Oregon is really of secondary importance because it can be so easily evaded,” Meek said. The extension of the lob- bying reporting exemption last year provided another example of how lobbyists avoid reveal- ing their impact on Oregon’s laws. Lobbyist Marla Rae, who previously served on the Ore- gon Fish and Wildlife Commis- sion and worked for the Ore- gon Department of Justice and former Gov. Ted Kulongoski, advocated for the bill during legislative hearings on behalf of the Capitol Club of Oregon, a professional organizations for lobbyists. However, the Capitol Club did not report spending any money on lobbying last year and Rae does not appear to have registered to lobby on behalf of the group. In an email, Rae explained the Capitol Club did not have to report spending any money on lobbying because she volun- teered her time to advocate for the bill. Rae wrote that she did not spend enough time working on the issue — the threshold is 24 hours in a quarter — to trigger the state’s requirement to register as a lobbyist for the group. Bill Cross, the Legislative Committee chair for the Cap- Monday, May 23 itol Club, said the group still wants a permanent reporting exemption for lobbying other lobbyists, partly because it is burdensome for lobbyists to track the information. “I’m sure we’ll be pursuing some sort of way to adjust that because the value of that infor- mation just doesn’t seem appar- ent to us,” Cross said. Cross said it would also create a lot of work for lobby- ists — with minimal benefi t to the public — if lobbyists were required to report all the bills or executive actions they work to infl uence, because he some- times tracks hundreds of bills during a legislative session. At the moment, no one is advocat- ing for expanded lobbying dis- closures in Oregon, Cross said. “I’m not aware of any issues, I guess, that have evolved in the last four or fi ve years where other organizations have said, ‘Wait a minute, we really need to reform our lobbying disclo- sure laws because of problems with corruption or something,” Cross said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Me- dia Group and Pamplin Media Group. Hillary Borrud can be reached at 503-364-4431 or hborrud@eomediagroup.com. 7:03 a.m.: Gerrit Johnson, 23, of Enterprise was arrested by Enterprise Police Department on probation violation on original charges of burglary, violation of release agreement and distribution of a controlled substance. Subject released by P&P. 11:03 a.m.: Possible wolf dep- redation in rural Enterprise. 12:35 p.m.: Civil dispute in rural Joseph. 1:42 p.m.: Jack Donald Fuller, 51, of Joseph was arrested on a Wallowa County detainer warrant for probation violation on an origi- nal charge of failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged. Subject was transported to Umatilla County Jail. 2:08 p.m.: Misty Beebe, 35, of Joseph was arrested on charges of violation of release agreement on an original charge of theft. Beebe was transported to Umatilla County Jail. 10:27 p.m.: Joshua Rhodes, 28, of Enterprise was arrested for probation violation and transported to Umatilla County Jail. Tuesday, May 24 9:47 a.m.: Report of a scam call from Joseph. 12:27 p.m.: Traffi c complaint in rural Enterprise. 1:45 p.m.: Theft complaint in rural Joseph. 4:32 p.m.: 911 theft complaint in Enterprise. 6:54 p.m.: Theft complaint in Joseph. Wednesday, May 25 5:18 p.m.: Complaint of a dog as a public nuisance. Owner located. 7:51 p.m.: Report of an injured deer on Highway 3. Thursday, May 26 7:03 a.m.: Report of violation of a no-contact order in Wallowa. 11:12 a.m.: Report of possible scam in rural Enterprise. 12:46 p.m.: Report of a dis- abled vehicle as a road hazard in rural Joseph. Owner notifi ed. 2:01 p.m.: Welfare check in Enterprise resulted in Enterprise Police Department arresting Jim- my Joe Weber, 39, of Wallowa for probation violation on an original charge of disorderly conduct. Sub- ject was sanctioned and released. STILL RUNNING OUT TO FETCH THE PAPER? 6 months $26.00 1year * $40.00 1year, online $40.00 541-426-4567 • wallowa.com * $40.00 is the in county price, $57.00 for out of county subscribers. Wallowa County Chieftain 5:48 p.m.: Arrest detainer issued by Parole and Probation for David Jesse Drinkard, 35, of Enterprise for probation violation on original charges of felon in pos- session of a weapon and hindering prosecution. Friday, May 27 7:40 a.m.: Report of a missing juvenile in Wallowa. Subject located. 11:57 a.m.: Animal neglect reported in Wallowa. 2:48 p.m.: Traffi c stop in En- terprise. Citation issued for driving uninsured. 5:11 p.m.: 911 call reporting a domestic disturbance in Enterprise. 9:16 p.m.: Kyle Power, 31, of Enterprise was arrested by Enterprise Police Department for disorderly conduct. Power was transported to Umatilla County Jail. 10:00 p.m.: 911 call reporting a possible intoxicated subject in Joseph. Referred to Oregon State Patrol. Saturday, May 28 8:00 a.m.: 911 call to report possible forest fi re in Garfi eld County, Washington. 9:45 a.m.: Lost wallet in Enterprise. 7:57 p.m.: 911 call reporting a disturbance in Enterprise. 9:21 p.m.: Traffi c complaint in Joseph. 11:56 p.m.: Randy Dale Dover, 33, of Kennewick was arrested by Wallowa County Sherrif’s Offi ce on a Multnomah County warrant for failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged. Dover was transported to Umatilla County Jail. Sunday, May 29 4:11 p.m.: Tyus James Wright, 20, of Pasco was arrested by Enterprise Police Department for giving false information to a police offi cer. Subject was cited and released. Monday, May 30 4:15 a.m.: Pendleton Police arrested David Jesse Drinkard, 35, of Enterprise on an arrest detainer issued by Parole and Probation for probation violation on original charges of felon in possession of a weapon and hindering prose- cution. Drinkard was lodged at Umatilla County Jail. OHSU Resident Carl Rasmussen, MD 5/17/16- 6/2/16 The Wallowa County Chieftain Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00am to 7:00pm Saturday 9:00am to 1:00pm 603 Medical Parkway Enterprise, OR 97828 ge Get your messa Don’t miss your chance to view this amazing location! Operate your dream business from your dream home in beautiful Joseph, OR. Less than 2 miles from Wallowa Lake, this gorgeous property has it all with 8 rental rooms, commercial kitchen, hot tub, guest cabin, and private owner’s quarters. Don’t miss this turnkey opportunity with incredible potential! Start living your dream! Call Rob Despain at 541-398-0300. ofered by Real Estate Associates Dispatch highlights : Subscribe Today! Sunday June 5th 1-4pm 700 S. Main St Joseph FOR THE RECORD Total spending Open House June 1, 2016 OUT THERE! in the Chieftain’s print and online classifieds. Visit wallowa.com or call 541-426-4567 Lam p re e y : fr friend or o f foe?... o e?... 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