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B10 State News wallowa.com February 28, 2018 Wallowa County Chieftain LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Senate passes bill to strip guns from stalkers, abusers By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A bill to strip gun rights from convicted stalkers and intimate part- ners convicted of abuse was approved in the Senate 16-13 Feb. 22. The legislation goes to Gov. Kate Brown who says she intends to sign it. Brown urged U.S. law- makers to enhance protec- tions against gun violence nationwide in the wake of a deadly mass shooting Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The latest in a string of attacks on U.S. schools has sparked unprecedented demonstra- tions across the country for stronger gun laws. “Now’s the time to enact real change, and I’m encour- aged to see students in Oregon File photo A controversial bill stripping gun rights from convicted stalkers and former intimate partners convicted of abuse was approved in the Senate with 16 votes from Democrats. One Democrat and 12 Repub- licans voted against it. The bill now goes to the governor. and across the nation engaged and joining the call for gun safety legislation,” Brown said in a statement. “It’s long past time we hold the White House, Congress, and legisla- tors accountable.” House Bill 4145 closes the so-called “boyfriend” or “inti- mate partner loophole,” in state law that omitted stalkers and abusers in some intimate relationships. Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who presented the bill on the Senate floor, said that his sister was murdered by a boyfriend with a gun and urged his colleagues to sup- port the new protections. The legislation also would require Oregon State Police to notify other law enforcement when they learn someone has tried to obtain a gun illegally. Brown described the bill as “bipartisan,” and in the House, the bill did receive support from both parties. However, in the Senate, oppo- sition, rather than support, was bipartisan. THIS IS NO TIME FOR AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE.” — Sen. Betsy Johnson D-Scappoose Representatives of Gif- fords, the anti-gun violence group led by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona, and her husband, NASA astro- naut Capt. Mark Kelly, praised Thursday’s vote by the Ore- gon Senate. “Oregon is con- tinuing to step up to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Robin Lloyd, Giffords government affairs director. “Guns and domes- tic violence are a particularly lethal combination that have deadly consequences. Once this bill is signed loopholes will finally be closed in state law that let domestic abusers possess guns.” Twelve Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, voted against the measure. John- son said she opposed the bill because it would give estranged dating partners a way to seek revenge. “This is no time for an emotional response,” Johnson said of the bill. Under existing law, only convicted abusers in domes- tic relationships, such as a spouse, former spouse, co-parent or live-in partner, are prohibited from having guns. The bill expands the ban to stalkers and current and past intimate partners of all kinds. Sen. Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass, said exist- ing law already bans abusers who have been intimate sex- ual relationships with their victim from buying or pos- sessing guns. He said the lan- guage in the bill is full of “ambiguity” and would likely result in other loopholes. A study by the Oregon Department of Justice showed that more than 16 Oregonians were killed in nine separate domestic violence incidents between Dec. 25, 2016, and Jan. 16, 2017. Not all of the fatali- ties involved romantic relation- ships. Laws aimed at keeping guns from abusers have reduced homicides of intimate partners, according to recent research published in the American Jour- nal of Epidemiology. Senate passes business tax bill Oregon’s universal health care By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Senate on Friday approved a controversial bill that would prevent certain Oregon busi- ness owners from claiming a deduction included in the recent federal tax reform law on their state taxes. But the bill could face a court challenge if passed by the House because critics con- tend the Senate origins of the legislation violate the Oregon Constitution. Oregon’s income tax code is largely based on the federal code. Tax deductions created by federal tax law are avail- able on state tax returns unless those provisions are specifi- cally disconnected from Ore- gon law. The bill passed by the Sen- ate would disconnects Oregon law from a federal deduction for owners of so-called “pass- through” businesses, whose business income “passes through” to be claimed on their personal income taxes. Recent federal tax changes signed into law by President Donald J. Trump allow own- ers of those businesses — such as LLCs and S-corpora- tions — to deduct up to 20 percent of their income from their tax return. The bill elim- inates that deduction from Oregon income taxes. The bill, after more than an hour of at-times acrimoni- ous debate in the Senate, now heads to the Oregon House of Representatives. All Republicans present voted against the measure, as did one Democrat, Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose. Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dal- las, says he plans to sue the state of Oregon over the rev- enue package. Under the state’s Con- stitution, bills for “raising revenue” require a three- fifths majority vote rather than a simple majority, and must begin in the House of Representatives. Boquist believes the bill qualifies as a bill for raising revenue and thus must meet those guidelines. However, to date there has been no opinion from the legislature’s attor- neys on that question. Boquist told colleagues on the Senate Floor that he’d requested an opinion Feb. 14. Earlier versions of the legislation laid out broader tax changes, but the bill was pared down early this week in an amendment after what the bill’s sponsor described as “general” negative feedback. Senate Democrats have cast the amended bill as allowing Oregon to assert its “self-determination,” in the words of Senate Major- ity Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, and tout the sup- port of the pro-business Tax Foundation for repealing the deduction. Opponents of the “plan argue that this is a tax hike on Wallowa Mountain Chapter 20th Annual B ig g ame B anquet When: Saturday, March 10, 2018 Where: Enterprise Cloverleaf Hall (Hwy 3) Catered by Chuckwagon Paradise Rose back by popular demand! Time: Social Hour/Admission 5:00pm Proceeds benefit elk and other wildlife The Wallowa Mountain Chapter invites you to A GREAT TIME FOR A GREAT CAUSE. YES, your dollars do work locally! RMEF contributed $695,751 to Wallowa County and enhanced 37,400 acres thru 2015. As Always, there will be a superb selection of raffle and auction items, including firearms, wildlife prints and other top quality merchandise. measure dies in the Senate Oregon businesses, an argu- ment that stretches the imag- ination,” wrote Nicole Kae- ding, director of special projects at the Tax Founda- tion, in a post on the organiza- tion’s website Thursday. “No business currently receives this deduction in Oregon; pre- venting it from existing in the state doesn’t cause a tax increase.” State Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, sponsor of the bill and chair of the Sen- ate Committee on Finance and Revenue, contended the deduction, when combined with the favorable state tax rates for pass-through busi- nesses that the Legislature passed in 2013, would be another giveaway to the same group of people. “This bill will not cause any small business in Oregon to pay one cent more in taxes than it did last year,” Hass said in a statement after the bill’s passage. “The folks we’re talking about already enjoy a lower state tax rate on their net income, and they just got a 20 percent federal deduction. We’re simply unhitching the state from the Trump tax train so they aren’t double-dipping on the deduction.” The move is expected to allow the state to collect $244 million more in taxes through mid-2019 than if Oregon allowed the deduction from state income taxes. Republicans cast the mea- sure as a “hit” to small busi- ness owners in the state and claimed it would put small businesses at a disadvantage compared to larger compa- nies, which are benefiting from dramatically lower fed- eral tax rates as a result of tax reform. “Democrats claim that (the bill) will merely prevent businesses from ‘double-dip- ping,’” Boquist said in a state- ment. “This is wrong.” By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — A legislative referral to ask voters to amend the Oregon Constitution to make access to cost-effective and affordable health care the right of all of the state’s resi- dents lacks the votes to pass the Senate, according to Sen- ate Democrats. Despite proposed word- ing changes, “there were still concerns about individ- ual suing the state,” said Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee. “We were just down to the wire. Trying to come to an agreement on language changes was just really tough.” The measure, called House Joint Referral 203, passed the House along party lines Feb. 13. Monnes Anderson announced Monday, Feb. 26, that her committee would not hold a vote on the referral. Even though the committee had enough votes to send the measure to the Senate floor, there are not enough votes to pass the bill in the larger body, she said. “The bill would have needed extensive amend- ments for it to get the support it needs in the Senate, and given this late timing in the session, the committee chair made the difficult decision to not move forward with it,” said Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland. Had the referral been approved in the Legislature, the proposal would have gone to voters in the November general election. In the House, all 35 Dem- ocrats voted for the measure, while the 25 Republicans Positive Approach to Care Normal Aging Workshop Understanding and Recognizing the Differences in “Normal” and “Abnormal” Aging March 6th 2018 • 2:30-4:30p VFW Hall • 800 N. River St. • Enterprise Volunteers Welcome! Come celebrate 20 years with Wallowa Mountain Chapter I’m concerned that you send it to the voters and the voters say yes and it comes back, at what expense do we pay for it?” — Sen. Alan DeBoer R-Ashland opposed it. Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, who has repeat- edly sponsored the measure, said this is the third consec- utive time the Senate has blocked the referral. In light of federal efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act, Greenlick said it is important for Oregon voters to weigh in on whether they want health care to be acces- sible to everyone. “I think we are mak- ing a terrible mistake not to give them the opportunity to tell us whether they really believe that universal access to health care is something that our citizens deserve and that we should take seriously as we consider how we move forward in dealing with the health care system,” he said. Using a catchphrase from the 1984 science fiction film, “The Terminator,” Greenlick said: “I will be back.” Gavin Nash ENTERPRISE SDA CHRISTIAN SCHOOL This workshop will benefit all individuals who find themselves in the role of caregiver to those with dementia For addtional information contact Jennifer Olson • Wallowa Valley Senior Living • 541-426-5311 605 Medical Parkway Enterprise, OR 97828 541.426.5311 The practical impact of creating such a right was unclear. House Speaker Tina Kotek and Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, both Democrats from Portland, described the measure primarily as “aspi- rational,” but some legal experts said adding the right to the Constitution could spur litigation. “I think we all agree that health care should be an inalienable right for every- one. I’m concerned that you send it to the voters and the voters say yes and it comes back, at what expense do we pay for it?” said Sen. Alan DeBoer, R-Ashland, a mem- ber of the Senate Health Care Committee. “We need the federal government to come to the table. I have always been a supporter of single payer … but how do you pay for it once you approve it and the lawsuits?” eek W e h t f o t n e d u St Gavin is a fourth grader at Rod Harwood, our workshop trainer, is an Older Adult Behavoral Health Specialist with GOBHI serving much of Eastern Oregon Register online at events.rmef.org Or for more information call: Gabe Hale 541-263-1594 Tickets Scott Reinhardt 602-329-2133 Pamplin Media Group Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, chairman of the House Health Care Committee, was the sponsor of a voter refer- ral to amend the Oregon Constitution to make health care a fundamental right. The measure died in the Senate for lack of votes. Enterprise SDA Christian School and is the son of Chad and Amy Nash. Gavin loves to make everyone laugh. He finds life humorous and enjoys finding the good in every situation. He is a creative, hardworking, and perceptive student. Gavin is a friend to all. He loves to read, experiment, and figure things out through trial and error. He has an adventurous spirit and a craving to learn. Proudly sponsored by Joseph 432-9050 Enterprise 426-4511 Wallowa 886-9151 The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools.
