A8
State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Minimum wage bill
headed to House Àoor
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
SALEM — A controver-
sial proposal to set three re-
gional minimum wage rates
in Oregon is headed for a
vote by the House of Repre-
sentatives.
After holding a three-hour
public hearing, the House
Business and Labor Com-
mittee voted 6-to-5 Monday
to recommend passage of the
bill. The vote was along party
lines, and Republicans said
they plan to offer a minority
report and alternative to the
proposal on the House Àoor.
The vote could come as
early as Thursday.
“I think what you have
before you in this particular
legislation is a policy deci-
sion and that is whether we
expect that Oregonians who
are working full time should
be living in poverty,” Gov.
Kate Brown told lawmakers
Monday. “The answer for me
is no.”
The Senate approved the
measure 16-to-12 Thursday,
also largely along party lines.
The bill hikes wages
from $9.25 to $14.75 in the
Portland metro area, $12.50
in rural and coastal areas
with struggling economies
and $13.50 in the rest of the
state by 2022. The rates are
based on median income
and cost of living in those
regions and what it takes
to be “self-suf¿cient” ± to
pay basic expenses such as
food, housing and transpor-
tation, said Sen. Michael
Dembrow, D-Portland, who
proposed the measure.
The proposal hikes wag-
es beginning in July from
$9.25 to $9.75 statewide.
The minimum gradually
would climb to $14.75 in
2022 in the Portland urban
growth boundary, which in-
cludes parts of Multnomah,
Washington and Clacka-
mas counties. It will rise to
$13.50 in Benton, Clatsop,
Columbia, Deschutes, Hood
River, Jackson, Josephine,
Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Mari-
on, Polk, Tillamook, Wasco,
and Yamhill counties, and
parts of Multnomah, Clack-
amas and Washington coun-
ties outside Portland’s urban
growth boundary.
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Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Sex workers, advocates oppose
EiOO aiPed at sex traI¿ckinJ
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Sex workers and their ad-
vocates are speaking out against a bill on
the fast track for passage in the Oregon
Legislature that would criminalize re-
ceiving goods or services for promoting
prostitution.
The bill is designed to allow district
attorneys to prosecute human traf¿cking
cases when traf¿ckers receive goods,
services or something else of value in
exchange for the sexual contact with
victims. 8nder existing law, traf¿ckers
commit a crime of promoting prostitution
only when they accept monetary com-
pensation for facilitating sexual contact
with a victim.
³Many traf¿ckers and exploiters un-
derstand the law and have changed their
tactics to take advantage of this over-
sight,” said J.R. Ujifusa, a Multnomah
County deputy district attorney.
The bill would close that loophole,
Ujifusa said.
Matilda Bickers, a strip club dancer
and founder of the Portland chapter of
Sex Workers Outreach Project, said the
proposed provision makes no distinc-
tion between sex traf¿ckers and pimps
or client screening services that receive
compensation in a consensual business
relationships with sex workers.
“Unfortunately, there are actually sys-
tems in place which would be de¿ned as
pimping in this bill, which are actually
ways that sex workers use to stay safe,”
Bickers said.
Bickers gained publicity last year for
suing Casa Diablo Vegan Strip Club in
Northwest Portland for wage theft and
harassment.
The bill passed the House unanimous-
ly Feb. 4. The Senate Judiciary Commit-
tee unanimously voted Monday to rec-
ommend the bill for consideration by the
Senate.
Capital Bureau/Paris Achen
Sex worker advocates, left to
right, Matilda Bickers of the
Portland chapter of the Sex
Workers Outreach Project
and Michelle Schilz of the Sex
Workers Outreach Coalition,
discuss their testimony in
front of the Senate Judiciary
Committee.
House doubles renewable mandate, nixes coal
By Hillary Borrud
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Lawmakers in the Ore-
gon House voted 39-20 Monday to pass
a bill that would double the state’s re-
newable energy mandate and eliminate
coal from the state’s power mix.
The bill heads next to the state
Senate, where lawmakers could make
changes in committee before it comes
up for a vote.
Critics have raised concerns the bill
will cost Oregonians more than utilities
have projected, yet do little to reduce
the state’s carbon emissions compared
to the status quo. Supporters said the bill
could create renewable energy construc-
tion and maintenance jobs and is critical
for Oregon to meet its greenhouse gas
reduction goals.
Republicans cast all of the “no” votes
on Monday, but a handful of Republi-
cans — Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend,
Rep. Mark Johnson, R-Hood River,
Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach,
Rep. Vic Gilliam, R-Silverton and Rep.
John Huffman, R-The Dalles — voted
for the measure. State Rep. Brent Bar-
ton, D-Oregon City, was excused from
the House vote on Monday.
Buehler said he would vote for the
bill based on information he received
that showed it would have a minimal
impact on Oregonian’s power bills, but
“a big impact” on reducing pollution.
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“I’ve been assured after looking at a va-
riety of data from many sources that the
impact on rates will be small,” Buehler
said.
Paci¿cCorp and Portland General
Electric, the state’s largest utilities, re-
leased analyses in January that showed
House Bill 4036 would increase the
cost of power to customers by roughly
1 percent annually in the lead-up to full
implementation. Paci¿Corp’s analysis
showed the bill would reduce Oregon’s
carbon emissions through 2040 by 35
million tons. That is approximately 58
percent of the total greenhouse gases
Oregon emits in one year, according to
data from the state Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality.
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