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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2011 Where to Find Them U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (Dem) 1220 SW 3rd Avenue, Suite 585 Portland OR 97232 Phone: 503-326-7525 223 Dirksen Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20510-0001 Phone: 202-224-5244 E-Mail: http://wyden.senate.gov/ contact Website: http://wyden.senate. gov U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (Dem.) One World Trade Center 121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503-326-3386 313 Hart Senate Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3753 E-Mail: http://merkley.senate. gov/contact WebSite: http://merkley.senate. gov U.S. Representative David Wu (Dem) OR District 1 620 SW Main, Suite 606 Portland, OR 97205 Phone: 503-326-2901 2338 Rayburn House Ofc. Bldg. Washington, DC 20515 Phone: 202-225-0855 Website: http://house.gov/wu Senator Betsy Johnson (Dem) Senate District 16 PO Box R, Scappoose, OR 97056 Phone: 503-543-4046 900 Court St. NE, S-314 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1716 E-mail: sen.betsyjohnson@ state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or. us/johnson Representative Brad Witt (Dem) House District. 31 21740 Lindberg Road, Clatskanie, OR 97016 Phone: 503-728-4664 900 Court St. NE, H-373 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1431 E-mail: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or. us/witt Representative Deborah Boone (Dem) House District 32 PO Box 926 Cannon Beach, OR 97110 Phone: 503-717-9182 900 Court St. NE, H-375 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-986-1432 E-mail: rep.deborahboone@ state.or.us Website: http//www.leg.state.or. us/boone Salem Scene By Representative Brad Witt Oregon District 31 Over the last couple of weeks, I have been get- ting a lot of letters on several “hot button” is- sues, so I thought I would give you an update on those bills. The first one is HB 3543, the back-to- the-future “kicker” refund proposal that changes the way taxpayers will re- ceive their refund, should they be entitled to one. When income tax receipts exceed the state economist’s projection by 2%, the entire amount gets kicked back to the taxpayer. In 2007 (the last time the kicker kicked), the refund amounted to $1.1 billion, and although my mail is evenly split as to whether or not we should be “kicking” this money, that is not the reason for the bill. HB 3543 helps the state save significant taxpayer money by returning to the original kicker refund method. Prior to 1995, taxpayers received their kicker refunds in the form of credits on their following year’s taxes. In 1995, the Legislature changed that process to the issuance of kicker checks, usually in December. Although well received, this change did not come without a cost. In 2007, the price tag was about $1 million to process the checks, and $2.1 million to borrow the money in advance of receiving the tax receipts in April. Even with the best of intentions, this doesn’t make any fiscal sense, hence the need for HB 3543. The bill has passed both the House and the Senate and moves on to the Governor for his signature. Another bill that has generated a lot of interest is SB 695, which would ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) from children’s drinking containers and reusable water bottles. BPA, an endocrine disrupting chemical, has been shown to leach into our bod- ies and, thereby, interfere with both male and fe- male hormones causing, among other things, early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, low sperm count, diabetes, obesity and heart dis- ease. In a poll conducted just this month, 75% of Oregonians were found to support this legisla- tion. The bill passed the Senate 20-9, in a bipar- tisan passage of the bill. It is now in the House Energy, Environment and Water Committee and it is running into trouble. Since the House is split 30/30, every committee has two chairpersons and both must agree on the progress of a bill as- signed to it. Right now, there isn’t agreement and some members are talking about introducing an- other bill and having it assigned to another com- mittee. I will keep you posted… Page 3 Letters Finally, many of you have written about HB 3145, the expansion of Oregon’s iconic bottle bill. That bill passed the House 47-12 on May 4th, and on May 25th, it passed the Senate 19-11. The bill sets up a pilot redemption center and es- tablishes convenience zones that would further facilitate the return of containers. Some of you have written to object to the in- creased bottle deposit, from five cents to ten cents per bottle. I want to emphasize that an in- crease would occur only if the redemption rate falls below 80%, which has never happened. The new law does not take effect until January 1, 2018, so there is lots of time to fine-tune the re- demption process. Literally scores of stakehold- ers worked on this bill, including beverage dis- tributors, grocers, recyclers and consumer or- ganizations. It now goes to the Governor for his signature. Items of Interest… The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs has announced that they are lowering the inter- est rate on their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to 4.125%. This program is separate from the fed- eral VA program, so a veteran may still be eligi- ble for an ORVET home loan. Currently, the max- imum loan amount is $417,000 for a single fami- ly dwelling. For more information you may con- tact the Department at 1-888-673-8387, or http://www.oregon.gov/ODVA/HOMELOANS/. Clatsop Community Action has been conduct- ing legal clinics for the public over the last couple of months. There is one more scheduled for June 23rd at their conference room, 364 9th Street in Astoria. There is a walk-in advice clinic from 10:00 – 12:00; landlord and tenant law from 1:00 – 2:00; and appointments from 2:00 – 3:30. The Oregon Law Center is conducting the clinics, and you may call 503-325-1400 for more information. Bills of Interest… HB 2274 Permits certified peace officers from states adjoining Oregon to provide or attempt to provide law enforcement services within Oregon under certain conditions. HB 2678 Increases dishonored check fee from $25 to $35. HB 3126 Authorizes prosecution for failure to report as sex offender in county where defendant is apprehended or last registered, if county where offense was committed cannot be deter- mined. HB 2892 Allows landowners with common boundary that is uncertain or subject to dispute, to locate and fix boundary by agreement. HB 3127 Authorizes parking of up to seven dump trucks and up to seven trailers on a lot or parcel of land zoned for forest use or mixed farm and forest use. “It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear.” — General Douglas MacArthur, Speech, May 15, 1951 “If we fail to learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.”…………Unknown First Friday kick-off was a great event To the Editor: The First Friday of the Sea- son, May 6th, was a success, thanks to the many vendors, volunteers and visitors that par- ticipated. A variety of crafts, plants and local products were for sale, kids and adults made Mother’s Day cards and the Scout Cabin was lively despite the rain out- side. Because of the generosity of all, First Friday was able to cover costs and make a dona- tion to Hands on Art in support of our community. Thank you to the volunteers who set up, kept things running smoothly and cleaned up after- wards, especially Don Webb, who put up the Maypole just in case the sun decided to join in the fun. Kathy Larsen Vernonia First Friday Coordinator We need change, give new council a chance To the Editor: Dear Independent and peo- ple of Vernonia: I ran for the of- fice of Mayor of Vernonia, a non-paying job, because I be- lieved Vernonia needed changes. Our water bill is the highest in the state and our city workers are some of the best paid. The people of Vernonia earn less than people in the Portland metro area so cannot afford to pay almost double what people in Beaverton pay for basic services. I was glad to have new people on the City Council. I really can’t see how they could run the city worse than the ones we voted out. Please give the new coun- cilors a chance. With respect, Emil E. Rode Vernonia Policy on Letters The INDEPENDENT will not publish letters with per- sonal attacks on private citi- zens. Preference will be giv- en to brief letters, 300 words or less. All letters must be signed and include a verifiable ad- dress or phone number.
