6A • January 5, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com Boundary challenge dropped due to insufficient funds By R.J. Marx Seaside Signal R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL John Dunzer’s challenge to the state Land Use Board of Appeals was dropped due to failure to pay a filing fee. A possible legal challenge to Seaside’s urban growth boundary expansion reached a dead-end when Seaside’s John Dunzer failed to pay a filing fee to take his case to the land use board of appeals. This fall, Seaside School District brought a request to bring 40 acres of city resi- dential land and 49 acres of county forestland into the city’s urban growth bound- ary to be zoned as industrial commercial. The expansion is Dunzer said in his appeal that county approval of the school district’s plan violates state planning rules requiring local government to look at all options within the existing boundaries before expansion of those boundaries. considered essential to build- ing of the new school campus, which will relocate the high school, middle school and Gearhart Elementary School in new facilities outside of the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The Seaside Planning Commission endorsed the plan and sent it to the city, which updated its zone code and comprehensive plan to re- flect the expansion. The coun- ty followed suit on Nov. 8, Voter primer on Ballot Measure 101 By Claire Withycombe Capital Bureau CAPITAL BUREAU An issue on the January ballot could impact how Oregon finances its share of the Medicaid bill. ordinated care organizations — regional networks of OHP providers. • What does a “no” vote mean? A “no” vote means you wish to repeal the non- refundable .7 percent assess- ment, and the assessments on insurers, the Public Employ- ees Benefits Board and coor- dinated 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 assessed a 1.5 percent of gross premi- ums 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 powered by music fi rst requiring local government to look at all options within the existing boundaries before ex- pansion of those boundaries. Dunzer claimed that the existing Seaside Heights El- ementary School site could be used as the site of a new middle school, resulting in a “more tolerable impact on the entire east side of Seaside.” His case never made it for consideration by the state, which requires a filing fee. Dunzer asked for a waiv- er of the fee, which was not granted, the state board said Wednesday. Four laws that made an impact in 2017 By Paris Achen Capital Bureau Many of the hundreds of laws Oregon legislators pass each year may go largely un- noticed by the public. Several laws, however, left a palpable mark on the lives of Oregonians in 2017. The Pamplin/EO Capital Bu- reau has highlighted four re- cent laws that made an impact in the past year. Distracted-driving Oregon’s new distract- ed-driving law closed loop- holes in a preexisting ban on holding a cellphone while driving and enhanced penal- ties for violations. House Bill 2597 expanded the ban to in- clude holding any mobile elec- tronic device while driving, even while waiting at a stop- light. Drivers face a fine of up to $1,000 for their first offense. Nearly 3,500 people were killed and about 391,000 in- jured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in the United States In 2015, according to the most recent statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration. “We all share the roads, and we have an obligation to keep each other safe,” Parrish said. Pumping gas Oregon is one of only two states in the nation where residents are prohibited from pumping their own gas. While this may seem to be a luxury for some urban dwellers, it has been a source of conster- nation for motorists and gas station owners in rural parts of Eastern Oregon. In Heppner, for instance, there is only one gas station in town, and it isn’t open 24 hours a day. Earlier this year, lawmak- ers expanded the timeframe for self-fueling to 24 hours in 15 Eastern Oregon counties, EO MEDIA GROUP FILE Stricter distracted driving laws was among hundreds of new laws passed in 2017. with populations of less than 40,000. The expansion of the law was primarily designed to keep solo gas stations such as Heppner’s in operation. Some stations were in jeopardy of going out of business because owners couldn’t afford to hire enough pumping attendants, said Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-On- tario, the bill’s sponsor. Minimum wage The state’s landmark law to increase in the minimum wage for seven consecutive years was enacted in 2016, but the greatest jump in wag- es happened in 2017. Minimum hourly pay in the Portland metro area climbed from $9.75 to $11.25 in July of this year, after a 50-cent increase last year. The minimums were lower in other parts of the state, an acknowledgement from law- makers of the variety econom- ic realities and cost of living in different parts of the state. Full-day kindergarten Full-day kindergarten be- gan in Oregon in 2015, thanks to funding approved by the Legislature, but the law con- tinues have to ripple effects, both for children’s long-term education and families’ short- term financial outcomes. For instance, students in full-day kindergarten are more likely to read proficient- ly in the third grade, a critical benchmark for reaching on- time graduation. LETTERS Letters from Page 4A When I first took him out for a walk, we stopped in the play area where we take the leashes off the dogs and let them chase tennis balls and run free. There is a nearly 6-foot tall fence around it to keep the dogs from getting out. I took Bodie’s leash off and went to grab a blue ten- nis ball chucker. I turned around and saw Bodie sitting at the foot of the fence facing up at the top corner. Before I could take another step, he jumped to the top of that fence with his front feet hooking over it, kicked and pulled his hind legs over it, landed on the Expires 1/19/18 On Jan. 23 Oregon voters will have a chance to weigh in on Measure 101, helping de- cide how the state pays for its Medicaid program. President Trump noted earlier this year that “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated” and this measure, which deals with in- surance premiums, managed care organizations and feder- ally regulated hospital taxes, is not an easy read. Here are the basics: • When do I need to un- derstand this? Ballots will be mailed to voters between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Ballots must be received by elections officials by 8 p.m. Jan. 23. • Why is this on the bal- lot? This summer, Democrats in the Oregon Legislature pushed through a bill provid- ing temporary funding for the state’s Medicaid system. Three Republican lawmakers — State Reps. Julie Parrish, of West Linn; Cedric Hayden, of Roseburg; and Sal Es- quivel, of Medford, decided they wanted to refer parts of the law to voters. They led a petition campaign to gather signatures and are now urg- ing voters to vote “No” on the measure, which would repeal those parts of the state’s Med- icaid law. • Remind me. What’s Medicaid? Medicaid is a government healthcare cov- erage program for the poor and other qualifying groups. Oregonians earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level ($16,100 for an individ- ual; $32,900 for a family of four) are eligible for the pro- gram. In Oregon, the Medic- aid program is known as the Oregon Health Plan and cov- ers about 1 million people, including 400,000 kids. • How is the Oregon Health Plan financed? Both the state and the federal gov- ernment pay for it with public funds, but the federal gov- ernment picks up most of the tab. Plus, hospitals, insurers and coordinated care organi- zations all pay taxes — de- scribed in the measure as “assessments” — to the state. Oregon uses that money to get matching funding from the federal government. • How much do hospitals pay? Hospitals pay a 5.3 per- cent assessment on net reve- nues, which, once matched by the feds, is returned to them as a group and redistributed. Under the state law passed earlier this year, they also pay a .7 percent assessment on net revenues that is not returned to them, but put into a state fund for healthcare. • What does a “yes” vote mean? A “yes” vote means you want the state to impose and keep the nonrefundable .7 percent assessment on hospi- tals, as well as assessments on insurers, the Public Employ- ees Benefits Board and co- 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, 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 af- fect people on Medicare? Measure 101 will not have an effect on Medicare cover- age. Medicare, the healthcare coverage program for people age 65 and older, is funded solely by the federal govern- ment and would not be affect- ed 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. adopting an ordinance amend- ing the county’s comprehen- sive plan expanding Seaside’s urban growth boundary to ac- commodate the new campus. Money saved from an al- ternate plan could be used to provide upgrades to the city’s bridges, Dunzer said in an appeal he mailed to the state earlier this month. A longtime critic of the plan to relocate Seaside’s endangered schools out of the tsunami inunda- tion zone, Dunzer said in his appeal that county approval of the school district’s plan violates state planning rules ground and started sprinting towards the street. He ran to the first car he could find, and stopped to get attention from the people inside while we came to round him up. That dog wanted to be free. There are a lot of great dogs at the Clatsop County Animal Shelter who would love a good home, attention, kids to play with, and a yard or sidewalk to become their new exercise location. What a good Christmas it would be for one of these dogs to have a family. Come to the Clatsop County Ani- mal Shelter and adopt a pet today. Chad Johnson Gearhart