A12 State news wallowa.com March 22, 2017 Group calls for $312 million to upgrade roads, bridges By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A subgroup of the legislative committee crafting a statewide transpor- tation package has recom- mended an increase of $255.6 million to $312.4 million in annual spending to upgrade roads and bridges. That would require raising revenues equivalent to a 9- to 11-cent increase in the state’s 30-cent gas tax. The mon- ey would likely come from a combination of sources, which could include a hike in the gas tax, registration fees, tolling or other options. “Even the equivalent of 11 cents is yet to be deter- mined,” said Sen. Betsy John- son, D-Scappoose. “This is all highly fluid.” The state now spends about $1.3 billion a year on transportation maintenance and upgrades. The Oregon Transportation Commission has recommended spending an additional $574 million a year to upgrade roads and bridges to ease congestion, particularly in the Portland metro area. But the legislative sub- group could not reach a con- sensus on an amount, said Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, who led the group. “We didn’t reach consen- sus on much of anything, but I think we all agreed we need to do something,” Bentz said. The recommendation comes from the first of five subgroups from the legislative Committee on Transportation Preservation and Moderniza- tion, each working on differ- ent aspects of the package. The other groups are coming EO Media Group A subgroup of the legislative committee hammering out a transportation package has called for up to $312 million in new spending to upgrade roads and bridges. That would require a revenue hike equal to an 11-cent increase in the gas tax, though the money could come from a variety of sources. up with suggestions for easing congestion, improving pedes- trian and cycling commutes, coming up with accountabil- ity measures and addressing air and rail needs. The four other groups will report their recommendations tentatively by April 3. “We have never done a process like this where we have negotiated a giant package functionally in pub- lic, and pieces are going to come and go,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a long, long way to go.” After hearing the five re- ports, the full committee of 14 members will have to rec- oncile the recommendations into a transportation package, expected to send hundreds of millions of dollars for proj- ects to the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation. “That just exacerbates the conundrum that all of us are faced with of putting together a package,” Johnson said. About 33 percent of the road pavement in Oregon is in fair or worse condition and will need replacement soon, according to ODOT. More than 700 bridges in the state need to be seismical- ly retrofitted — at a cost of $5 billion in the next 20 years — to avoid collapse in the event of a major earthquake, the agency estimates. Current- ly, the agency upgrades only three bridges were year, said Paul Mather, ODOT’s High- way Division administrator. The biggest driver for up- grading the bridges is “the long-term economic effects we are going to have on our economy,” Mather said. “We have seen disasters like Katrina and others, and this is going to be on a big- ger scale than that,” Mather said of a major earthquake. “You’re going to have in- dustry … to leave state … if we don’t have ways for their workers to get to work, their goods and services to get out to the marketplace.” The subcommittee fo- cused on economic lifelines in the Portland metro area and looked for ways to con- tinue mobility throughout the state through north, south and east connections. “There are tough choices to make, and we zeroed in on where the biggest impact we were going to have on the economy with the invest- ment,” Mather said. Bill would authorize GMO trespass lawsuits against patent holders Genetic technology companies would be liable for GMO damages By Mateusz Perkowski Capital Bureau SALEM — New lawsuits over tres- pass by genetically engineered crops would be authorized in Oregon under proposed legislation that would hold biotech patent holders liable for damag- es. Supporters of House Bill 2739 say it’s a common sense strategy to remedy problems caused by genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, similar to consum- er lawsuits over defective products. “This is not a wild legal grab. We will not be compensated for our angst. We will only be compensated for provable legal damages,” said Sandra Bishop of the Our Family Farms Coalition, which supports HB 2739. Jerry Erstrom, a Malheur County farmer, said he supports the bill even though he’s planted genetically engi- neered corn on his property. “If you do something that messes up my livelihood, you should be held accountable for it,” Erstrom said at a March 16 hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. Creeping bentgrass that’s genetically engineered to tolerate glyphosate her- bicides escaped control in Eastern Ore- gon, and the crop’s patent holder should be responsible for control costs as it spreads, he said. “It’s coming to the Willamette Val- ley. Say what you want, it’s going to be here,” Erstrom said. Proponents of HB 2739 say there’s nothing new about holding companies li- able for their products hurting people or property, but organic and conventional farmers must currently bear the financial burden from GMO crop contamination alone. “We’re not coming to you from a level playing field. Harm is only com- ing one way,” said Amy van Saun, legal fellow with the Center for Food Safety, which supports the bill. Supporters say the legal mechanism of HB 2739 is simple and fair because the liability rests with companies that profit from GMO patents. Complicated searches for a culprit won’t be necessary, since biotech traits can be determined with genetic tests, said Elise Higley, director of the Our EO Media Group Malheur County farmer Jerry Erstrom points out a genetically engineered creeping bentgrass plant June 2016, on an irrigation ditch bank near Ontario. Erstrom testified March 16 in favor of proposed legislation in Oregon that would allow farmers whose crops are damaged by GMOs to sue patent holders for damages. Family Farms Coalition. “It’s super easy to track it back to who is responsible,” Higley said. Opponents of the bill argue that polli- nation among related crops isn’t limited to GMOs, but neighboring farmers have long found practical ways to avoid un- wanted crosses. “It’s one of the greatest risks I face, but it’s a manageable risk,” said Kevin Richards, who grows seeds and other crops near Madras,. Under a provision in HB 2739, plain- tiffs are entitled to triple the amount of economic damages caused by the un- wanted presence of GMOs, which is clearly meant to be punitive, according to the bill’s detractors. “It would single out and stigmatize biotech patents,” said Barry Bushue, president of the Oregon Farm Bureau. Critics also questioned the logic of making patent holders liable for unau- thorized GMOs, since the problem may be caused by irresponsible practices of neighboring landowners or factors be- yond human control, like birds. “They sell the seed but they have no control once that happens,” said Roger Beyer, a lobbyist for the Oregon Seed Council and other crop groups. Apart from the immediate impacts of the bill, imposing new liability on pat- ent holders may discourage seed compa- nies from offering innovative products in Oregon, said Scott Dahlman, policy director of the Oregonians for Food and Shelter agribusiness group. If companies face the threat of ad- ditional lawsuits, “they will reconsider whether they sell things here,” Dahlman said. Pete Postlewait, a farmer near Can- by, Ore., said he’s disturbed by the precedent of punishing patent holders for the actions of end users, since that logic could be extended to non-GMO cross-pollination. “By weakening plant patent laws in this way, it will surely stifle innovation in plant breeding,” he said. The bill’s language also encompass- es new methods, such as gene editing, that are used by university breeders who often hold their own patents, said Steve Strauss, a professor who studies biotech- nology at Oregon State University. “Wheat breeders and others would love to use this gene editing technolo- gy,” he said. Wallowa County Chieftain