HB 2569A deals with the issue of large value property tax appeal awards, including 12 percent interest, granted property taxpayer/appellants that must be paid out of the current unsegregated tax account. These awards can be surprises, typically resulting from properties centrally assessed by the Department of Revenue, and can blow holes in local budgets.

The bill is the product of an AOC work group last interim that included stakeholders in property tax collections. The work group arrived at the best of several bad solutions: have the assessor issue "deferred billing credits" instead of taking disputed tax payments in appeals where the value at issue exceeds $1 million. HB 2569A avoids accumulation of interest to the taxpayer, and also forgives delinquent interest by the taxpayer if the resolution is adverse to the taxpayer.

The bill passed the House 57-3, then on Tuesday it passed the Senate 30-0. It now heads to the Governor. HB 2569A is a must-pass bill. AOC thanks Senators for agreeing.

HB 2425, one of AOC's top-tier priorities for the 2011 session, received an enthusiastic response in the Senate General Government Committee on Wednesday afternoon. The bill brings the local budget law statutes into the 21st century, as there has not been a thorough update of the law in almost half a century. 

A workgroup convened after the 2009 session and the passage of SB 916 provided some outstanding additional tools specifically for counties, but did not address the overall budget law langauge applying to all public bodies. HB 2425 attempts to start the incremental move toward utilization of the internet for publication and also streamlines the current budget summary forms that most counties publish annually. 

Gone is the need to publish summaries of each individual fund, replaced by a summary of major programs. The result for most counties should be a reduction in the cost of publication while also providing a more transparent and useful summary to the general public. The bill is expected to receive a work session in the next two weeks. It has already passed the House.  

Wednesday, the Senate Finance & Revenue Committee gave quick "do pass" approval to two bills recommended by the Government Efficiency Task Force of last interim. 

HB 2476 removes the costly and unnecessary requirement that the county assessor submit to a county board of review information on income-approach factors used to arrive at values for farm use of farmland. Some counties have had difficulty finding members to serve on this board. The bill makes the process optional. There was no opposition.

The second bill, HB 3368, replaces expensive means of notice required of the Department of Revenue with less expensive, more effective and up-to-date means.

In keeping with the tradition of moving smaller budgets first, the Ways and Means Committee passed out the budgets of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (OCJC) and District Attorneys (DAs) and their Deputies. 

Of particular interest to counties, the OCJC budget (SB 5507) provides an increase of $400,000 in the drug court program. This brings the level of funding for these county grants in 2011-13 to just above the level in the current biennium (after the allotment reductions the Governor made). 

The DAs budget (HB 5019) provides for the continuation of district attorneys salaries - and that's about all. This will be the second biennium when no funding is provided for deputy district attorneys. One member of the Public Safety Subcommittee even asked why the budget includes the reference to deputy DAs when it doesn't provide any funding for them. 

From our standpoint, the reference should continue so that in more stable times, the hole can be filled again. It's an obligation the state has historically recognized, even if it hasn't always been funded.

HB 2210, brought at the request of Sherman County and sponsored by Rep. John Huffman (R-The Dalles), unanimously moved out of the Transportation and Economic Development Ways and Means Subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill would allow counties who become a provider of driver education courses to be eligible for a per student reimbursement from the Oregon Department of Transportation. 

Sherman County brought this issue to AOC due to the inability of the school district to provide programs and a lack of commercial schools. There has been an absence of driver education in the county for over a decade. Gilliam County and several other counties have also expressed an interest in exploring the opportunity afforded by the bill to be a "preferred provider." 

This is another example of counties stepping up to partner with the state to provide needed services to the citizens of Oregon. Our thanks to Rep. Huffman for championing the bill. 

The dash 4 amendments for HB 3650 were released 25 minutes prior to the hearing on Wednesday night.The amendments included the language that several counties negotiated to be included in Section 24 (Partnering with County Governments). 

This section was the result of lengthy meetings and negotiations by Claudia Black, Co-director Government Relations for Multnomah County, and with the help of AOCMHP and AOC staff. Just last week the dash 3 amendments had almost no language pertaining to the relationship of the CCOs (cooridnated care organizations) and the Local Public Health and Mental Health Authorities. Now, Section 24 clearly points out the counties' role as the local mental health authority by "requiring a written agreement between each coordinated care organization and the local mental health authority in the area served by the coordinated care organization." 

The committee is planning on meeting on Monday, May 16^th and it is anticipated that the bill, if passed, will be moved on to Ways and Means. The Lund Report has a well reported story on this effort. 

The Association of Oregon Counties would once again like to acknowledge the hard work and efforts of Claudia Black. Without her help this process would have been much more difficult.

The co-speaker's statement on the May Revenue Forecast included this comment,  "An additional $128 million for the next biennium will help in mitigating some of the significant cuts to seniors, health care, help for the vulnerable and struggling families."  This is consistent with the messages AOC has been receiving that indicated that programs for seniors and seniors & people with disabilities and developmental disabilities will be receiving any additional funding available after the May forecast.

Contact your legislators to endorse returned investment in the county human services that have already received deep cuts: public health, mental health, county veterans' service officers, seniors and people with disabilities and developmental disabilities.

HB 3086-1 will be heard by the Rules committee Monday, May 16^th at 3 pm. This bill was
written by Rep. Tina Kotek (D-Portland) and has the following goals:

1. Establish the Early Learning Council (ELC) on July 1, 2011 (Sections 1 thru 4);
2. Eliminate the State Commission on Children and Families and transfer SCCF funds/programs to the ELC (see conforming amendments, Sections 9 thru 58);
3. Direct repurposing of the Local Commissions on Children and Families (LCCFs) to align with the ELC (see Section 59) and sunset the current LCCF statutes on July 1, 2012, assuming changes forthcoming in the 2012 Session; and
4. Create a Task Force on Improving Educational Success for At-Risk Youth to study and recommend next steps on youth programs/funding (see Section 5).

Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem) has dash 2 amendments that may be introduced on Monday as well. AOC will discuss a position on the bill and amendments during Monday's Human Service Steering Committee (Local Government Center, Salem, Room 118, 10:00 am)

Please contact AOC Policy Manager Mark Nystrom with any questions.

Legislature Moves SRS Memorial

The Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee moved HJM 25 out of committee and to the Senate floor on Thursday with a "do pass" recomendation. HJM 25 urges the United States Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.

Lane County Commissioner Sid Leiken Prepares to Testify

Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope and Lane County Commissioner Sid Leiken testified on the importance of the reauthorization to their counties and to the state of Oregon. 

AOC Policy Coordinator Gil Riddell presented the committee with a host of facts and figures to bolster the case. 

The vote was unanimous. The House has already passed HJM 25. It could be on the Governor's desk before the end of the month. 

SCR 14 (Senate Concurrent Resolution) honoring the life of the late Polk County Commissioner Mike Propes was passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on Thursday.  The vote was unanimous and a 'do pass' recommendation was attached. 

Current Polk County Commissioners Jennifer Wheeler and Craig Pope testified in favor of SCR 14 as did veteran lobbyist Dave Barrows who had worked with Commissioner Propes  on O & C issues for many years.

Commissioner Propes' widow, Pam, was in the audience for the testimony. Committee Chair, Sen. Diane Rosenbaum (D-Portland) was gracious in her acknowledgement of Mrs. Propes and asked that she return to the Capitol when the full Senate acts on SCR 14. 

Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope, Pam Propes and Polk County Commissioner Jennifer Wheeler

Ready to showcase Oregon to the nation? The National Association of Counties Annual Conference will be held in Multnomah County starting July 15th. Volunteers are needed to help guide the estimated 3000 county visitors around Portland and Oregon. Please consider using some of your spare time to help make their visit to our state and region a memorable one.  

Becoming a volunteer is easy. Just register. Volunteers will get training and a t-shirt among other things for their time. If you have questions, please contact Theresa Sullivan at Multnomah County. Her phone number is 503-988-3655. 

This Week's Contributors 

It is the fervent wish of the Oregon Trails' staff to one day say a generous contribution was made to our vacation fund by an anyomous benefactor, but since we cannot say that this week, we must instead thank those individuals who found time in their busy day to contribute items of interest to this week's edition.   

They are, Gil "Stretch" Riddell, Mike "Par Four" Eliason, Mark "The Rookie" Nystrom, Ann "AWOW" Hanus, Paul "Legal Eagle" Snider, Fred and Wilma Flinstone and Barney and Betty Rubble. 

Have a Great Weekend!

The AOC Legislative Committee meets Monday, May 16th at noon at the Local Government Center in Salem. Several, but not all, Steering Committees are meeting at 8:00 am and 10:00 am as well. The Board of Directors will meeting following the Legislative Committee. Check the AOC website for additional information.