Oregon State Grange

2008 Legislative Special Session Highlights

By Jim Welsh, Lobbyist March and April 2008

2008 Legislative Special Session Highlights

There are several perspectives concerning the 2008 Special Legislative Session here in Oregon during February 2008. The first two perspectives certainly contain partisan views or opinions because the Democrats have one perspective and the Republicans have another, and there were agreements from both parties on some issues and some legislation that received attention. Then there are many other perspectives, depending on who you ask, including the perspective of those who lobbied and that is presented at the end of these Session highlights.

There were 109 bills introduced, for the Special Session, and 73 were passed. Of the 36 that did not pass there were two that the natural resource coalition worked together to defeat. The first was HB 3627, legislation for the Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Resource Center (OSARC), which never made it out of Ways & Means Committee. This legislation will be back in 2009 but maybe, in the mean time, the proponents of the legislation will invite more of the agriculture community to the table. The second was HB 3610 establishing Green House Gas Emission (GHGE) reporting from our electric utilities and government sectors. This legislation was not needed as the Global Warming Commission had not met yet and the bill duplicated the climate change legislation goals of 2007, and further more the consumer owned utilities requirement to report GHGE is extraneous as the information is available from Bonneville Power Administration. Fortunately this legislation also died in the Ways & Means Committee.

The two notable pieces of legislation having a fair amount of natural resource support and receiving the Governor’s signature was HB 3618, the fix for the natural resource inheritance tax relief legislation passed in the 2007 Session, and SB 1069, providing grants for water studies related to conservation, reuse and storage. The inheritance tax fix is significantly different but should relieve the recipients of an inherited farm, ranch, timberland or fishing business, with a value of up to $7.5 million, with a dollar for dollar tax credit. If the value of your farm or ranch is $7.5 million, and you are accessed a $600 K inheritance tax, you should be able to reduce that tax dollar for dollar, with the tax credit, to zero. There is more to this legislation and tax credit approach which will be addressed in a later article.

The legislation providing grants for water studies related to conservation, reuse and storage, SB 1069, was not viewed universally by all within the natural resource coalition as acceptable due to a question of whether or not the legislation would truly accomplish what the bill intended to do. This can be said about many pieces of legislation but the bill can certainly be viewed as a step in the right direction.

The Governor has also signed several other bills of interest to the agriculture community and rural Oregon. He signed HB 3601 requiring the Dept. of Education to establish Oregon Farm-to-School and School Garden Program; HJM 100, expressing support for all rural Oregonians and support for re-authorization of Secure Rural Schools Funding; SCR 23, special recognition for Oregon farmers and ranchers owning and operating same farm or ranch for 150 years or more; SB 1060, establishes a number of certificates for income tax credits the Office of Rural Health may issue for participation in TRICARE medical system.

The other notable legislation passed and signed by the Governor included a consumer protection bill (SB 1064) aimed at protecting consumers from predatory lending practices and HB 3630, intended to help those faced with mortgage foreclosures. The Governor has also signed into law HB 3629, authorizing a county to approve certain property line adjustments, which hopefully clears up the legal problems of the past. Early in the special session the legislature passed and the Governor signed SB 1080, which was initiated by his executive order, requiring proof of legal presence in the U.S. and a Social Security number, before Department of Transportation may issue, renew or replace drivers license, permit or ID card.

The omnibus budget bill, SB 5556, included funding for the “Big Look Committee” (Statewide land use evaluation task force), additional troopers for Oregon State Police, tougher penalties for property crime offenders, two community health care grants, increases in the business energy tax credits program for bio-fuels and alternative energy, and the cost of numerous other expenditures.

At the end of the 2008 Special Session the question can be asked whether, or not, it accomplished what was intended? Some say it was a great success and should be continued annually and will provide an example for moving business more effectively and efficiently in the regular sessions. Others say the Special Session was too short to provide the necessary attention needed to important legislation with adequate research, discussion, and citizen input. To those who attended it was apparent that many citizens were not engaging, and it did not help that normal business was interrupted by the re-construction of House and Senate offices. It must be considered that those who support annual sessions will probably conclude that legislators should be paid more also. It will be interesting to see whether, or not, the citizens of Oregon approve annual sessions in the future.

The Governor’s Water Initiative

January 10, 2008 Governor Kulongoski introduced his DRAFT statewide water initiative, Headwaters 2 Ocean (Ensuring Sustainable Water Resources for Oregon’s Future). The agriculture community, along with many others, have for a long time established that water is the most important commodity relating to agriculture and everything else non-agriculture. Water issues are commonly called the battle grounds of existence.

It is interesting to note that the Governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, recognizes the importance of water to the future of Oregon, also, and has introduced his plan for addressing Oregon’s water future in his Headwaters 2 Ocean plan. The Governor’s preamble to his plan includes the necessary considerations that you would expect. He mentions the demand for water will involve the “beneficial uses” of irrigation, municipal, industrial, fisheries, aquatic health, recreation and aesthetics. Our Oregon statute lists “beneficial uses” as in ORS 536.310…”(1) Existing rights, established duties of water, and relative priorities concerning the use of the waters of this state and the laws governing the same are to be protected and preserved subject to the principle that all of the waters within this state belong to the public for use by the people for beneficial purposes without waste; (2) It is in the public interest that integration and coordination of uses of water and augmentation of existing supplies for all beneficial purposes be achieved for the maximum economic development thereof for the benefit of the state as a whole; (3) That adequate and safe supplies be preserved and protected for human consumption, while conserving maximum supplies for other beneficial uses.” It is important to remember how these are prioritized in state water law and not to forget the reference to economic development.

The Governor continues with challenges to water resource management in Oregon identifying the nearly fully allocated surface water during the summer and ground water declines. Also, mentioning the 1861 water bodies that are impaired and not meeting water quality standards, and on top of all this are the 24 fish species identified as Threatened or Endangered and another 31 listed as sensitive species. You would think these challenges where enough but there is more, the Governor slaps two more on top of all this. He states the two “relatively new and increasing pressures” are climate change and rapid population growth. These two new challenges he states are what create the “sense of urgency to water resource management in Oregon.”

Those on the east side of the state can relate to climate change as it has affected us recently and those on the west side can relate to the increasing population. For those depending on agriculture to make their living, while providing many of the population the necessary products for subsistence, the climate is an every changing factor whether one does business on the east or west side of the state. The Governor references the influence climate change may have on how “we collect, store, and use water in Oregon.” It is obvious to many that if previous Governors had formulated a sincere vision for collected and stored water in Oregon those on the east side would have suffered less, recently. This also stands to reason for many locations on the west side as well.

We are also certainly aware of our inviting environment around the state and how it is attracting many from all regions of our nation. Most of the residents of this beautiful state would probably agree that population growth will continue, and if planned well, it can be very positive economically. Not to mention, under our land use planning laws, we plan long and hard with mixed results. Planning and implementing water collection and storage, done properly, can augment water for all beneficial uses in most regions of the state. Not to mention that new innovation and technology can augment water conservation efforts and in return can alleviate the need for some collection and storage needs of the future.

The Governor references the historic models of innovation and partnership relating to challenges of the past, here in Oregon, and how his Headwaters 2 Oceans plan will fit in quite nicely. As we come to grips with his plan, and more fully understand his intentions, it is probably a good idea to remember that our state constitutional provisions for waters of the state, and the state law and administrative rule pertaining to waters of the state, have protected the public interest and private water rights holders, of this wonderful state, quite well.

By Jim Welsh, Lobbyist March and April 2008