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Blue Mountain Eagle
MEASURE
Continued from Page A1
and the assessments on in-
surers, the Public Employees
Benefits Board and coordinat-
ed care organizations.
• How does this ballot
measure affect people on the
Oregon Health Plan? Hun-
dreds of thousands of Orego-
nians gained Medicaid cover-
age under the Affordable Care
Act, which allowed states to
provide coverage to people
making up to 138 percent of
the federal poverty level. As
of November 2016, about
366,000 people were eligible
for OHP under the Affordable
Care Act.
Previously only those
making up to 100 percent of
the federal poverty level were
considered eligible. But that
group, earning between 100
percent and 138 percent of
the federal poverty level, isn’t
legally required by the federal
government to be covered by
states.
Supporters of Measure 101
say that if it fails, the Legisla-
ture could decide to cut those
people from the health plan to
save the money that the state
government won’t be able to
collect.
• If the measure fails,
would lawmakers have to
cut the health plan budget?
No, but proponents note that
faced with funding gaps in
the past, lawmakers have
knocked people off the Ore-
gon Health Plan. “If you are
a Medicaid recipient, this is
about whether you have ac-
cess to your health care,” said
Jessica Adamson, a lobby-
ist for Providence Health &
Services, which is backing
Measure 101. “This is about
whether or not the funding is
there to fully fund this pro-
gram. Anything else besides
Measure 101 is a gamble.
There is no Plan B.”
Opponents counter that
state legislators can find that
money elsewhere in the bud-
get to cover those people.
“This ballot measure isn’t
about whether Medicaid is
good or bad,” said Parrish, the
lawmaker urging a “no” vote.
“It’s about whether we picked
the right funding mechanism
to pay for it.”
• I buy my own insur-
ance. Does this affect how
much I pay? Yes. Under
the law, insurers will be as-
sessed 1.5 percent of gross
Capital Bureau
January election issue
could impact how Oregon
finances its share of the
Medicaid bill.
premiums earned.
Premiums on the individ-
ual market could increase by
1.5 percent because the leg-
islation allows insurers to in-
crease premiums by up to that
amount to offset the tax that
they’ll be paying, opponents
say.
• So if the tax fails, my
rates won’t go up? Not nec-
essarily. Supporters of Mea-
sure 101 say that expanded
Medicaid coverage reduces
demands on costly emergen-
cy care. It also funds a pro-
gram called reinsurance that
is designed to hold down rate
increases in premiums for
people who buy their own in-
surance.
It essentially acts as insur-
ance for insurers, providing a
pool of money to reimburse
insurers part of the cost of
very expensive procedures. In
2018, the program is holding
rates in Oregon’s individu-
al health insurance market,
on average, 6 percent lower
than they would be without
reinsurance, according to the
Department of Consumer
and Business Services. That’s
about $300 less per year, ac-
cording to the “Yes on 101”
campaign.
• I get insurance through
my employer. Does this af-
fect how much I’ll pay? If
you work for a business with
50 employees or fewer, nei-
ther outcome of the measure
likely will affect your rates
in 2018, but likely would in
2019.
Since 2018 rates have al-
ready been approved by the
Oregon Department of Con-
sumer and Business Services,
the Legislature would have to
take action to change those
rates.
Insurers in the small group
market would pay the 1.5 per-
cent tax on gross premiums
earned.
• What about big employ-
ers? For Oregonians who are
covered through an employer
with more than 50 employees,
LAWS
Continued from Page A1
teenagers in Oregon can turn in their
voter registration cards starting at
age 16 so they are already registered
by the time they become old enough
to vote.
• If you’re getting married but ar-
en’t the religious type, you can skip
the ordained minister and be mar-
ried by a secular organization “that
insurance costs will likely not
immediately change due to ei-
ther outcome of the measure,
either. The state doesn’t regu-
late rates for large employers.
Some large employers go
out and buy plans from insur-
ers. The state doesn’t regulate
rates for those types of plans,
but it does regulate benefits,
the way policy contracts are
written and the financial sol-
vency of companies offering
plans. Those insurers who
provide plans in the large
group market will pay the 1.5
percent assessment as well if
Measure 101 passes.
• My company is self-in-
sured. What can I expect?
Some companies — usually
bigger ones — self-insure
and get plans through what’s
called a third-party adminis-
trator. About 790,000 Orego-
nians are enrolled in a plan
through a self-insured em-
ployer, according to the Ore-
gon Department of Consumer
and Business Services.
The state doesn’t regulate
any part of those plans due to
federal law. Self-insured em-
ployers are exempt from pay-
ing the state tax on the premi-
ums specified on the ballot.
• How much does all of
this cost? Oregon’s Medic-
aid program costs $9.3 billion
in state and federal funds per
year, according to the Oregon
Secretary of State’s office.
If the measure is over-
turned, legislators would face
an $840 million to $1.3 billion
hole in the Medicaid budget, a
figure that includes both state
and federal matching funds.
• How does this election
affect people on Medicare?
Measure 101 will not have
an effect on Medicare cov-
erage. Medicare, the health-
care coverage program for
people age 65 and older, is
funded solely by the federal
government and would not
be affected by changes in
state policy.
• What about Tricare?
Tricare, the health insurance
program for military mem-
bers, will not be affected by
the insurance tax.
• Will the outcome of the
vote settle this issue? No.
If Ballot Measure 101 fails
in January, legislators will
have to re-balance the bud-
get during the February spe-
cial session. But even if the
measure passes, the funding
provisions expire, meaning
lawmakers would be debating
this again in 2019.
occupies a place in the lives of the
organization’s members parallel to
that filled by a church or particular
religious authority.”
• The wait time to get a vasec-
tomy should go down in Oregon as
nurse practitioners can begin per-
forming the procedure.
• Fewer crashes will be required
to be reported to the Department of
Motor Vehicles, after the minimum
monetary damage requiring a report
was raised from $1,500 to $2,500.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
PROJECTS
Continued from Page A1
“That would be people
who like to look at regulations
and look for blind spots,” he
said.
Each committee would
have about 10-12 members
appointed by the city council,
but they don’t need to be John
Day residents, Green said.
Broadband
network
Improving internet access
in Grant County is a top pri-
ority for the city, and Green
successfully lobbied state leg-
islators for $1.8 million to pay
for running a fiber cable from
the backbone fiber network in
Burns to John Day.
The city council and the
county court approved cre-
ation of the Grant County
Digital Network Coalition
to oversee development of
a broadband network in the
county, but it will be March
before the coalition will begin
meeting.
“I hadn’t expected a 90-
day delay with the county or-
dinance,” Green said.
In the meantime, the city
council approved two con-
sulting contracts Dec. 12 to
get the process started. Green
said he spoke to three firms,
but it was not a formal bidding
process.
Victor Braud, managing
director of Fiber Channels
Inc., will negotiate with in-
ternet service providers for
access to the fiber backbone at
Burns. Braud’s contract is not
to exceed $15,000 and will
run through April 30.
Braud has extensive ex-
perience at the highest levels
of wholesale marketing for
internet connections, and “is
ideally positioned to help the
coalition,” Green said.
The second contract is
with Commstructure Consult-
ing LLC to provide infrastruc-
ture design and project man-
agement. The contract is not
to exceed $25,000. Together,
Green estimates the city will
spend $91,800 of the $1.8 mil-
lion by July.
Innovation
Gateway
The city’s acquisition of
the former Oregon Pine mill
property will address several
city goals: provide land for
Drivers are still required to report
to the DMV within 72 hours if dam-
age caused by the crash is more than
$2,500, a vehicle is towed from the
scene or the crash caused injuries.
• Manufacturing employers must
get advance written consent from
most employees before they work
more than 55 hours in a week. Man-
ufacturers are also barred from hav-
ing employees work more than 60
hours a week, unless they get tem-
porary exemption due to seasonal
a new wastewater treatment
plant, turn a brownfield prop-
erty into a public venue called
the Innovation Gateway and
utilize reclaimed water from
the treatment plant in a com-
mercial greenhouse that will
provide a revenue stream to the
city.
The city will receive a
$200,000 state Transportation
Growth Management grant
in February for planning and
design, which might not be
completed until March 2019,
Green said.
Construction of a river-
front trail could start in April.
The overall plan also calls for
extending Seventh Avenue to
Patterson Bridge Road and
converting the former planer
building into an open market.
Remodeling the steel shop
building for use by the Public
Works Department could be
completed this year.
Plans for the commercial
greenhouse were presented to
the council Dec. 12. The city
will solicit additional funding
and start harvesting this fall.
The city plans to reclaim
about 80 million gallons per
year at a new wastewater
treatment plant constructed on
the north side of the John Day
River. A feasibility study for
the plant began in September,
with contracts awarded to An-
derson Perry Associates of La
Grande and Sustainable Water
of Glen Allen, Virginia.
The estimated cost for either
a conventional or reclaimed wa-
ter plant is at least $10 million,
which might mean sewer rate
increases. An income survey of
John Day and Canyon City res-
idents will help determine if the
city is eligible for federal and
state funding.
Housing
and blight
The city has two projects
to address housing inventory
and blight in John Day. The
city used a $100,000 Main
Street Building Revitalization
grant to purchase the Weaver
Building on Main Street in No-
vember after the owner said it
might close the building.
The goal is to provide a
mixed-use downtown building
with four commercial business-
es on the ground floor and six
condos at about 1,000 square
feet each on the second floor.
The city will hold an open
house for contractors this year.
The completed cost is estimated
to be around $2 million.
work with perishable foods. Manu-
facturing employers must also calcu-
late each employee’s overtime by the
week (for more than 40 hours) and
by the day (more than 10 hours) and
then pay whichever sum is greater.
• The definition of vehicular as-
sault has been expanded from strik-
ing pedestrians and bicyclists to in-
clude striking motorcycle riders or
their motorcycles.
• Charitable or fraternal organiza-
tions authorized to operate bingo or
A9
The city also initiated plans
to create a Housing Develop-
ment District with the goal of
seeing 100 new homes in John
Day. The idea is to encourage
homebuilders by providing a
7 percent rebate on the cost
of building a new home and
fronting the cost of water and
sewer hook-ups. The addition-
al property tax revenue col-
lected from each new home is
expected to cover these subsi-
dies in about seven years.
The city applied for a
$37,800 grant from the Oregon
Department of Land Conser-
vation and Development to
conduct a feasibility study for
the proposal. If the grant is
awarded, the city will hire two
consulting teams in February
to develop the plan, Green said.
A state law limiting renew-
al districts to only 25 percent
of a city’s total area must be
addressed. Green hopes the
legislature will consider an ex-
emption, waiver or flexibility
in its definition. The city will
also solicit public feedback
and hold formal public hear-
ings on the plan. The target
date for creating the district is
July, Green said.
Fire station
Completing construction
of the city fire hall on South
Canyon Boulevard stands out
among the city’s long-term in-
vestments.
“It’s the only capital proj-
ect without a capital plan,”
Green said.
The city has sold the old
fire station, but about 1,473
square feet of space remains
unfinished in the new station.
The John Day Rural Fire Pro-
tection District lacks funding
to complete the project, Green
said, and a bid from a con-
tractor in Bend to complete
the project came to $291,700.
One city councilor noted that
a new house could be built for
that much money.
Pinnacle
Architecture,
which designed the new fire
hall, contacted CSDI Con-
struction of Boise, which
is currently remodeling the
Meadowbrook II apartment
complex in John Day, about
completing the fire hall, but
they declined. The city coun-
cil discussed taking on the
project as a general contractor
and hiring subcontractors, but
no decision has been made.
“We have an obligation to
the public,” Councilor Paul
Smith said. “It was a hard sell
to get the new fire hall.”
lotto games can now pay out prizes up
to $5,000 for a single game, up from
the previous maximum of $2,500.
• Children under the age of 18
can no longer purchase nitrous ox-
ide canisters often known as “whip-
its,” which are intended to be used
for baking purposes but can also be
abused as an inhalant drug.
• Laws that previously required
drivers to stop for trains have been
expanded to include all on-track
equipment.
THE FAMILY
A PROCLAMATION
TO THE WORLD
THE FIRST PRESIDENCY AND COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES
OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
We, The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the
Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
All Human Beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of
heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual
premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.
In The Premortal Realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His
plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and
ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family
relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it
possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
The First Commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and
wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We
further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man
and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We Declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its
importance in God’s eternal plan.
Husband And Wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an
heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to
provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the
commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and
fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are
entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with
complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer,
repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design,
fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life
and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred
responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other
circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.
We Warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill
family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the
family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We Call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to
maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
Paid for by Gregg Starr
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