State
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
A9
Kitzhaber, Hayes will not be charged
By Claire Withycombe,
Paris Achen
and Nick Budnick
Capital Bureau
Former Oregon Gov. John
Kitzhaber or his fiancee,
Cylvia Hayes, will not face
criminal charges following a
two-year investigation into
allegations they used their
positions for profit, federal
officials announced Friday.
A statement by the U.S.
Attorney’s Office in Oregon
indicated federal officials
would not comment further
on reasons for the decision.
“Today, the U.S. attorney
concluded the investigation
that began shortly after I was
elected to a fourth term as Or-
egon’s governor, coming to
the same conclusion I start-
ed with over two years ago:
there was nothing nothing
to pursue,” Kitzhaber wrote
on his Facebook page Fri-
day. “As I have said from the
beginning, I did not resign
because I was guilty of any
wrongdoing but rather be-
cause the me-
dia
frenzy
around these
questions
kept me from
being the ef-
fective leader
John
I wanted and
Kitzhaber
needed to be.”
Hayes did
not immediately return mes-
sages seeking comment Fri-
day.
Kitzhaber and Hayes had
been under investigation for
more than two years after
Willamette Week reported the
first lady may have used her
position to win several con-
sulting contracts.
State law prohibits public
officials such as the first lady
from using their position or
public resources for private
benefit.
Willamette Week report-
ed that Hayes gave input on
shaping policies while accept-
ing payments from private ad-
vocacy groups that wanted to
influence those policies. She
also used her title of first lady
when she appeared as a paid
consultant, the alt-weekly
newspaper reported.
The scandal eventually
prompted Kitzhaber’s resig-
nation in February 2015.
Secretary of State Dennis
Richardson, who challenged
Kitzhaber in 2014, respond-
ed Friday that the U.S. At-
torney’s decision “does not
change the fact that the gov-
ernor and Cylvia Hayes ac-
cepted money from those de-
siring to purchase influence.”
“It is unfortunate that the
recent U.S. Supreme Court
decision regarding influence
peddling by former Virginia
Governor Robert McDon-
nell and his wife has set the
bar so high that it is now
nearly impossible to bring
federal charges in political
corruption cases,” Richard-
son wrote in a statement. “It
is clear that Oregon and the
nation still have a long way
to go to restore trust in gov-
ernment.”
Former Republican Gov.
Robert McDonnell and his
wife accepted more than
$175,000 in gifts from a Vir-
ginia businessman with politi-
cal interests. They were found
guilty of federal corruption
charges and sentenced to
prison, but won their appeal
to the Supreme Court, which
found in September that pros-
ecutors’ definition of “official
act” was too broad.
Oregon Department of
Justice officials announced in
mid-February that they had
halted their investigation of
the allegations because the
federal investigation had tak-
en longer than anticipated,
and the statute of limitations
was expiring.
“Our understanding was
that the federal investigation
would be concluded in suffi-
cient time to allow our office
to review findings from the
investigation and determine
whether state charges were
warranted,” Michael Slau-
son, chief counsel for the
Oregon Department of Jus-
tice, wrote in a letter to Billy
Williams, U.S. Attorney for
the District of Oregon.
The Oregon Ethics Com-
mission had initiated an in-
vestigation into misconduct
by Kitzhaber and Hayes, but
that investigation was stayed
during the state and feder-
al probes, said commission
Chairman Dan Golden.
He said the commission
would review available infor-
mation and consider whether
there are grounds for further
action.
Ronald Bersin, executive
director of the Oregon Gov-
ernment Ethics Commission,
was unavailable for comment
Friday afternoon.
Well-wishers posted Face-
book messages on the former
governor’s public page Fri-
day.
“Congratulations,
John
and Cylvia! The decision
took far too long but happily
this unfortunate chapter is fi-
nally closed. Best wishes for
both of you in the future,”
wrote Chris Dearth, a former
Kitzhaber staffer.
Both Hayes and Kitzhaber
began to re-emerge publicly
over the past year.
The former governor spoke
mostly on health care topics
— a post March 12 touted his
invitations to speak at “health
care summits” across the West
Coast. He was also critical of
efforts in Congress to dis-
mantle the Affordable Care
Act.
Kitzhaber, in a post on
his Facebook page, thanks
his supporters for standing
by him through the ordeal.
He said he would continue to
“help Oregon deal with the
challenges we face in a way
that moves us beyond the cur-
rent division and polarization
and brings us back together as
a community.”
Hayes recently updated
her website, which is focused
on public speaking, writing,
and a coaching business tai-
lored toward “resiliency.”
A spokesman for Gov.
Kate Brown, who succeeded
Kitzhaber when he resigned
in 2015, declined to comment
Friday.
Corporate taxation bill could test constitutional case law
By Paris Achen
Capital Bureau
A bill passed in the House
of Representatives Monday
to change the way corpora-
tions are taxed for services
could serve as a test for new
case law on what constitutes a
new tax.
Senate Bill 28 would tax
national corporations on the
percentage of their services
they sell in Oregon instead of
the existing “all-or-nothing”
system of taxing only national
corporations who perform the
bulk of their business in the
state.
The change would yield
about $5.5 million in the next
two years and $11.1 million
the two subsequent years, ac-
cording to an estimate by the
Legislative Revenue Office.
Corporations already are
taxed on the proportion of
tangible items they sell in
Oregon, but taxes on sales of
services or intangibles are only
levied on corporations where a
majority of their services are
performed in Oregon.
“The Senate Bill 28 would
move away from that and to-
ward a market-based policy
that mirrors that for tangible
products and is more in line
with the policy intent of a sin-
gle sales factor,” said Chris
Allanach, senior economist
with the Legislative Revenue
Office, during a hearing on the
bill last month.
In the past, Legislative
Counsel would have consid-
ered the bill to be a new tax or
a “revenue-raising” proposal.
Under the Oregon Constitu-
tion, a revenue-raising propos-
al requires a three-fifths ma-
jority vote in both legislative
chambers, and the measure
must originate in the House.
An Oregon Supreme Court
decision in 2015 changed Leg-
islative Counsel’s interpreta-
tion of what qualities define a
revenue-raising measure.
The court ruled in City of
Seattle v. Department of Rev-
enue that a bill to remove a
tax exemption for out-of-state
utility companies did not need
a three-fifths majority because
it didn’t have the “essential
features” of levying a tax.
Hence, Legislative Coun-
sel now considers reve-
nue-raising proposals to mean
only measures that would
change a tax rate. A change
to the tax base alone needs
only a simple majority vote,
Legislative Counsel Dexter
Johnson told lawmakers on
the House Interim Committee
on Revenue last year.
The Senate Bill 28 passed
the House and Senate without
a three-fifths majority. The
vote in the House Monday
was 34-to-23. The bill was ap-
proved in the Senate 17-to-13.
If signed by the governor,
the bill could face a legal
challenge, said House and
Senate Republicans Monday.
The bill’s passage fails to
meet the requirements of the
constitution for a measure that
raises revenue, said House
Minority Leader, Mike Mc-
Lane, R-Powell Butte.
“I swore an oath to uphold
the Oregon Constitution, even
when it might be inconve-
nient. I am not willing to risk
violating that oath by support-
ing this bill,” McLane said
Monday.
Senate Republican spokes-
man Jonathan Lockwood ac-
cused legislative Democrats
of “trampling on the consti-
tution.”
“Oregonians can’t afford
any more tax increases, and a
lot of this is hidden,” Lock-
wood said.
“These pile up before
they hit the consumer,” he
added.
House Democrats who
passed the bill Monday didn’t
issue a formal response to
Republicans’ assertions.
Scott Moore, a spokes-
man for House Democrats,
referred to the Oregon Su-
preme Court ruling.
“I kind of think the legal
argument speaks for itself,”
Moore said.
Debbie Ausmus
245 South Canyon Blvd.
John Day, OR 97845
OPEN WED. & THUR.
9 am - 5 pm
541-575-1113
24 hrs/7 days wk
A TTENTION G RANT
C OUNTY
debbie.ausmus@
countryfinancial.com
V ETERANS :
05745
Did you know a service-connected
disabled veteran is entitled to
FREE use of Oregon State Parks?
See your Grant County Veteran Services
Officer today for more information,
located at Grant County Courthouse. Jeff Wilcox
09573
Monday - Thursday
7am- 6pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Mendy Sharpe FNP
Apppointments
available
Let our family of Pharmacists
serve you!
The Class of 2017
GU
would like to extend a big thank you to the businesses who donated
gifts & items that made our Grad Night such a huge success! Without
the support of our community this night wouldn’t be possible.
We would like to thank the
John Day Elks Lodge
once again for graciously
offering their facilities.
Give us a call today
541-676-9158 - Heppner
541-384-2801 - Condon
We welcome the opportunity to visit with
you about our services!
Heppner & & Condon
Heppner
Condon
1188 Brewing
Berry Creek Ranch
Blue Mountain Eagle
Grant Union Booster Club
Chester’s Thriftway
A Cut Above Salon
Doug’s Motor Vehicle Repair
Dr. Caughlin
Ed Staub & Sons
First Choice Auto Body
A Flower Shop & More
Gander Ranch
Gardner Enterprises
Grant Education Service District
Hair It Is Salon
Iron Triangle
Java Jungle
We would like to thank
the The Ugly Truth
for delivering pizzas
JC Oliver
John Day Auto Parts NAPA
John Day River Veterinary
Center
John Day True Value
Keerins Ranch
King’s of John Day
Len’s Drug
Les Schwab Tire Center
Mike & Shannon Springer
Mobile Glass
Mosier’s Home Furnishings
Mt. Vernon Grange
Old West Federal Credit
Union
Oregon Telephone
Oregon Trail Electric Coop
Oster Professional Group
Outpost Pizza Pub and Grill
Pioneer Feed and Farm
Supply
Rob Raschio Law
Rude Logging
Sinclair
Snaffle Bit
Steve and Shae Speth
Subway
Tanni Wenger Photography
The Blvd Salon
Timber’s Bistro
Triangle Oil
Velvet Touch Car Wash
05798