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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2008)
The INDEPENDENT, October 16, 2008 Page 13 Wondering how to vote on all those November Ballot Measures? From page 4 Measure 62 – Would amend Oregon Constitution regarding allocation of Lottery funds to dedicate 15% of proceeds for law enforcement and related programs. The 15% would be allocated as follows: • 50 percent to Oregon State Police for criminal investigation and forensics, including crime labs. • 20 percent for grants to counties to fund early child- hood programs for children at risk. The measure does not de- fine “early childhood programs” or “at risk.” • 15 percent for grants to counties to supplement existing county appropriations for the operations of district attorneys. • 15 percent for grants to counties to supplement existing county appropriations for inves- tigations and field operations of county sheriffs. The Constitution now speci- fies that 18% of net proceeds from the lottery must go into an education stability fund, and 15% into a parks and natural resources fund. The remaining 67% can be used for job cre- ation, education and economic development. Currently more than 10% of lottery proceeds goes to debt service on previ- ous bond issues for the allowed purposes. Because the educa- tion stability fund and parks/natural resources fund are specified percentages, the public safety fund would have to come from job creation, edu- cation and economic develop- ment. Measure 63 – Would allow many changes to existing resi- dential or farm structures, and for new farm structures that will not be lived in by people, with- out building, plumbing, electri- cal and mechanical permits, in- spections or other approval re- quirements. Would not exempt property taxes on the changes. Would not apply if the total val- ue of changes in one calendar year exceeds $35,000, an amount that would be indexed annually for inflation. One $35,000 limit would apply to all changes on a single parcel, or adjacent properties with the same owner. Measure would not apply to a story added to an existing residential structure; would not allow violation of uniform re- quirement for property line set- backs, or uniform regulations on height limitations. Electrical wiring in an existing structure or new farm building would be ex- empt only if a licensed electri- cal contractor performed the work, or inspected and ap- proved the work. The electrical contractor would be responsi- ble for work he inspected and approved. Property owner would be re- quired to give a potential pur- chaser a detailed description of changes made without building, plumbing, electrical and me- chanical permits, though no penalties are specified for fail- ure to do so. Measure 64 – Would prohib- it a public entity from using pub- lic resources to help collect money for some, but not all po- litical purposes. Public re- sources are defined as public money, public employee time on the job, a public building, and public equipment or sup- plies. The measure does not de- fine “public entity”. It would in- clude all government agencies (state, county, city, fire district, school district, etc.) but doesn’t address organizations such as Friends of the Library, Friends of the Scout Cabin, Pioneer Museum Association, local units of the Ford Family Foun- dation, or PTA, all of which use public resources (buildings, util- ities, etc.) and sometimes work on fund drives for specific pur- poses. Vague definitions could keep this tied up in court. Measure 65 – Would change state law for how all candidates (federal, state, county, city or district) for partisan electoral positions are nominated. Does not affect nonpartisan posi- tions. Currently, major political par- ties choose nominees in the primary elections, which may or may not be open to voters not affiliated with those parties; mi- nor political parties choose nominees according to party rules approved by the Secre- tary of State. Candidates not affiliated with any party qualify by gathering signatures or holding a convention. All of these candidates then appear on the general election ballot. Under this measure, the pri- mary election would be open to all eligible candidates, and all would run on the same ballot (No separate ballots, ie., Re- publican or Democratic.). All voters would get the same bal- lot and may vote for any one candidate per office. Only the top two vote getters would then appear on the general election ballot. The ballot would identify the political party each candidate has selected on their voter reg- istration, including non-affiliat- ed, and would also include all major and minor political party endorsements.
