Thursday the House Rules Committee endorsed SB 960A and sent it the House floor with a "do pass recommendation." The bill, which is optional for counties to employ, is seen as a tool for counties to permit agri-tourism and other activities which are incidental and support commercial farm use. Sen. Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River), sponsor of the bill, spoke in favor of the bill providing his perspective as a former Hood River County Commissioner. Yamhill County Commissioner and AOC 2nd Vice President Mary Stern, who Chaired the AOC Farmland Activities Task Force, commented on the Task Force process and report.  

AOC Policy Manager Art Schlack provided an overview of the elements of the bill which includes three separate pathways to obtain a permit to conduct an event or activity based on frequency and criteria.   

• Authorization for a single event within a calendar year based on specified conditions. The single event path includes an option for an expedited single event permit which allows for administrative issuance of a permit as a non land use action. (That is, the permit can be issued over the counter if the proposed event complies with specified standards.) 
• Authorization of a permit for up to 6 events within a calendar year based upon standards and conditions. 
• A permit authorizing up to a maximum of 18 agri-tourism or commercial events or activities within a year based on standard and conditions.

 In all cases, agri-tourism or other commercial events or activities must be:

• Incidental and subordinate to the existing farm use on the tract;
• Comply with the provisions of ORS 215.296 (Related to impact on agricultural operations in the area);
• Comply with applicable public safety and health requirements. 

Also testifying in support of Senate Bill 960A were Shawn Cleave, of the Oregon Farm Bureau; Patrick Capper, Oregon Association of Nurseries; Alex Cuyler, Lane County and Phil Donavan, representing King Estates Winery.

SB 960A is expected to reach the House floor early next week. 

Art Schlack and Alex Cuyler get a briefing on SB 960 from Mary Stern and Chuck Thomsen

HB 2855 creating a new version of the State and Local Government Efficiency Task Force has cleared both the House and the Senate and is on its way to the Governor for his signature. 

The GETF will have 18 members, including two county commissioners. It has been charged with reviewing opportunities to provide government services, coming up with specific recommendations and considering the role of intergovernmental agreements, service districts and technology in achieving cost savings. 

At a minimum, the GETF will look into elections, human services, natural resources, education and criminal justice. Under the legislation, the GETF can analyze other services as well. Rep. Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene) sponsored the legislation after have served as chair of the previous GETF. AOC has been working with Rep. Nathanson and plans to work with the new GETF.  

The Joint Tax Credits Committee unveiled their recommendations on Thursday for a number of tax credits that are set to expire. HB 3671 will be the vehicle for extending sunsets and revising the tax credits. With the Legislature approaching sine die, the Joint Tax Credit Committee is on a fast track to consider revisions and report the bill out early next week. The Committee proposed the following:

• Sunsets would be extended to 2018 for the Electronic Commerce Enterprise Zone Tax Credit, Long-term Rural Enterprise Tax Credit, Fire Insurance Credit, and Biomass Production and Collection Tax Credit.
• The Research and Development Tax Credit would be reduced in half from a maximum annual tax credit per taxpayer of $2 million to $1 million; sunset extended to 2018.
•  The Film and Video Tax Credit annual cap would be reduced to $6 million from the current $7.5 million.  The Green Light Rebate would be extended.   Sunset of 2018.
•  The existing BETC will be eliminated with no pre-certifications accepted after July 1, 2011. 
• A new energy tax program will be created in place of BETC and will include four component.
•  Renewable Energy Generation Credit ("Gennie") where the annual cap for pre-sold credits will be $1.5 million, the credit will be reduced to 35 percent of pre-certified costs, large projects will be excluded, criteria added for allocation based on a tiered system, and there is a sunset of 2018.
• Energy Conservation ("Connie") will exclude lighting modification, recycling, co-generation and waste heat recovery but will include weatherization, industrial modification and LEED certification.  The overall cap is $20 million with a sunset of 2018.
• Transportation Conservation ("Trannie") will retain transit providers but step down the credit percentage over four years from 25 percent to 10 percent. There will be an annual cap of $10 million with a sunset of 2018.  The alternative vehicles infrastructure credit will be extended to 2018.
• Residential Energy will exclude household appliances purchased and installed after December 31, 2011. It includes provisions for solar projects with a cap of $10 million for third party solar projects. It requires that ODOE reduce the value of subsidies from the Energy Trust of Oregon or other utility based or federal subsidies from certified costs of the project eligible for these other subsidies. Sunset of 2018.

Prevailing Wage in Enterprise Zones

The effort to pull HB 2624 to the floor from the Revenue Committee through a discharge petition has failed. Proponents had five calendar days (5:00 pm, Tuesday, June 7 was the deadline) to collect 31 signatures of House members (all 60 members were eligible to sign) and force a vote. Only 17 signatures were gathered by the deadline. AOC was opposed to this bill. 

As we reported earlier, the Oregon Senate Friday morning voted to support the bi-partisan Redistricting committee's proposal 27 to 3. It's likely to be on the House floor Monday, where it is also expected to be approved. Despite the wide margin, the Senate engaged in a robust debate over the proposal, with several Senators bemoaning the division of their districts as currently composed. For example, Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) spoke of the division of Tillamook County south of the City of Tillamook. 

Most speakers, however, considered the plan to be the best solution to an impossible situation and preferable to relying on the Secretary of State and, inevitably, the Oregon Supreme Court to make the final determination. Many Republicans, while supporting the bill, renewed calls to establish an independent redistricting commission by 2021.

There is a map of the plan that passed the Senate available on the Legislature's website.

Health Insurance Exchange

SB 99A establishes Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Corporation as a public corporation to be governed by a nine member board of directors and supervised by an executive director. The legislation requires the corporation to deliver a formal business plan or draft business plan before the convening of the 2012 Legislative Assembly regular session (February 2012). By passing this bill, Oregon can make use of approximately $48 million of Affordable Care Act planning funds. There's quite a bit of news coverage of this issue -- just enter Oregon Health Insurance Exchange Coroporation in your search engine. 

The Early Learning Team met this week to discuss two items:

1. screening tools
2. the strawperson draft of the service delivery and organization of the Early Learning Council. 

A work group reported their findings on the appropriate screening tools that they propose to be used to determine the needs of children in Oregon. Copies of their report will be posted on the Governor's Education Website later next week. The Strawperson draft for service delivery and organization is an interesting read.

It will be the goal of the local Commissions on Children and Families to repurpose themselves meeting the appropriate objectives spelled out in this report. 

Speaking of Commission(s) on Children and Familes - a number of bills concerning the CCF were heard late this week at the Capitol Construction Subcommittee of Ways and Means. The Keep Kids Safe license plate bill, along with HB 3260A, which transfers all duties, functions and powers of the State Commission on Children and Families relating to coordination and delivery of services to runaway and homeless youth and their families to the Department of Human Services, were among those bills heard.

SB 909 and HB 3086 would both be instrumental in forming the Early Learning Council and have deep impacts on local Commissions on Children and Families. Neither bill has been scheduled yet. Both are expected to move forward, but with time running out, a waiting game can make for some raw nerves.

Community Mental Health

HB 3100, which deals with the "front door" of the Oregon State Hospital, will get a hearing in the Capitol Construction Subcommittee of Ways and Means. AOC and the AOC State Hospital Task Force supported this bill which requires that psychiatric or psychological evaluation of defendants be conducted by a certified evaluator when the court orders certain evaluations of defendants to determine whether defendants are fit to proceed.  

With its approval 18 to 11 of HB 2572A, the Senate put closure of a loophole in property tax appeals a step closer to reality.

Under current law, a large industrial appellant, for example, can appeal just one component of the assessed value of its property (machinery and equipment, land, improvements), and the magistrate or court is unable to review the total value of the property for accuracy. The appraiser may have appraised the total property value accurately, but allocated that value to the components incorrectly. If the appellant gains reduction of a component value, the total assessed value is thereby reduced, whether that figure is correct or not. The reduced value is then locked in by Measure 50, setting in concrete an unfair windfall to one taxpayer to the detriment of other taxpayers.

HB 2572A simply permits the assessor to appeal the total assessed value so that the magistrate or court can ensure that the correct total value of the property is carried forward. 

In 1977, the Legislature enacted a property tax exemption for homes for the elderly built by private nonprofit corporations that receive subsidies under certain federal and state housing programs. And the Legislature provided funding, so that the exemption would not be paid for by the local unsegregated property tax accounts.

This session, however, neither the Governor's Recommended 2011-13 Budget nor the Co-Chairs Budget included funding, thus shifting the cost to local governments. That was until the General Government Subcommittee of Ways and Means discovered this and raised an alarm. On Wednesday, The subcommittee reported that the funds had been found and approved (within the Department of Revenue budget) $3 million of general funds to support both the Elderly Rental Assistance and Nonprofit Homes for the Elderly Programs in the first half of the biennium, and recommended another $2.9 million of general funds in a special purpose appropriation for the two programs in the second year.

Our grateful appreciation to the subcommittee: Co-Chairs Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), Rep. Nancy Nathanson (D-Eugene) and Rep. Bill Garrard (R-Klamath Falls), Co-Vice Chairs Rep. Katie Eyre Brewer (R-Hillsboro) and Rep. Jefferson Smith (D-Portland), and Senators Diane Rosenbaum (D-Portland) and Doug Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls).

The food processor machinery and equipment property tax exemption will continue for two years. Facing a July 2011 sunset of the five-year property tax exemption for their newly acquired qualifying machinery and equipment, food processors offered a late extension of the sunset to 2015.

The program began in 2005, and was supported by AOC to address severe economic circumstances facing the industry. The extension, however, was a surprise and offered without conferring with AOC or the managing state agencies (Departments of Agriculture and Revenue). AOC responded by agreeing to only a two-year extension, with the insistence that there be discussions during the interim about whether the program should continue, and if so, in what form.

The cost to counties and other local taxing districts of this program is $2 million for the 2011-13 biennium. The extension was gut-and-stuffed into HB 2563A.

Congress spent much of the last week out of Washington, DC. We are told that the House is in the process of crafting legislation that will include public land management along with a reauthorization of federal forest payments. A hearing on the reauthorization and public land management is expected to be held sometime in July. 

On the Senate side, discussions continue at the staff level over the funding year levels that will be acceptable to the state's most heavily impacted and over what legislative vehicle the Senate will use to get a reauthorization out. At this point, we don't have a lot of details, other than to say, the issue is not dead, far from it. 

As always, if you encounter a member of the Oregon Congressional Delegation, please thank them for their hard work on our behalf. The multi-state, grass roots campaign being spearheaded by the Partnership for Rural America continues to gain momentum. NACo is fully engaged and other partners are pitching in. 

If you have any information about the impact of a long-term reauthorization at the 2011 levels (the last check) on your county services and the people who will suffer, please let Laura or Eric at AOC know you have a story to tell. We have talked to a number of commissioners and road officials, but could always use more.  

The Department of the Interior (USDOI) Secretary Ken Salazar issued a memorandum announcing his decision to not implement DOI's Wild Lands order 3310. The order would have allowed DOI to establish de facto Wilderness areas without Congressional approval. The House Natural Resources Committee, chaired by U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) held an oversight hearing on the Wild Lands order on March 1, 2011. The 2011 Continuing Resolution contained language prohibiting the implementation of the Wild Lands order and Secretary Salazar has informed Rep. Hastings that he has decided to follow this directive from Congress.

OTC Appointments

Deschutes County Commissioner and AOC 1st Vice President Tammy Baney has been appointed to the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) by Governor Kitzhaber.  Her rich and deep background in health and human services and her understanding of how transportation choices impact public health is seen as huge asset to the OTC. 

The Senate also approved the nomination of Mark Frohnmayer to the OTC. He is the president of a Eugene-based electric vehicle company. His father, Dave Frohnmayer, is well known in Oregon political and education circles. 

Heritage Vitality Task Force

HB 3210, which creates a Task Force on Oregon Heritage Vitality, has been voted out of the full Ways and Means Committee. AOC is included on that task force. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mike McArthur or Ann Hanus at the AOC office.  

An Announcement!!!! 

The Emerging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) invites you to join us at the Wilsonville City Hall on June 22 at 12:00 p.m. to welcome Michael Jordan, State of Oregon Chief Operating Officer and Director of the State Department of Administrative Services. Mr. Jordan will discuss his experience in state and local government and outline the duties of his new position. Please RSVP to Ben Bryant, by June 15th. 

Also, ELGL is proud to host Attorney General John Kroger on July 6 at 12:00 p.m. at Café Allegro in Tigard. AG Kroger will speak on his experience working with local government. Please RSVP to Kent Wyatt, by June 27.  

Additional details are available on http://elgl.org or on the ELGL Facebook page.

Have you registered for the NACo Annual Conference? If not, then you need to make sure you register by Friday, June 3 to save your county $75 on the registration fee.

Register today, for your association's Annual Conference in Multnomah County, (Portland), Oregon, July 15 -19. More than 1,300 members and your colleagues are already registered!

The conference offers great opportunities to:

• Network with your peers
• Bring solutions home to your county
• Hear from expert speakers that will inspire and educate
• Learn from more than 30 educational workshops, and
• Meet with suppliers that can provide you cost saving opportunities on services and products
• Become familiar with Social Media

Questions? Please contact the NACo Meetings Department at nacomeetings@naco.org.

We hope to see you in Multnomah County (Portland) Oregon!   

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. 

OACES Spring Conference 

Over 100 county surveyors and road officials attended the OACES Spring Conference earlier this week. The week started with a "Don't Shoot the Messenger" presentation by Sari de la Motte, Nonverbal Solutions.

This was followed by two days of sessions on a wide range of topics including: Paving Safety Edges, Real Property Law Overview, the Fish Passage Task Force, Cooperative Relationships with Oregon Irrigation districts, the I-5 Willamette River Bridge in Eugene, Storm Responses with Reduced Road Crew Size, Road Legalization, Way-of-Necessity, Public Land Corners, Full-Depth Pavement Reclamation, legislative updates, IRIS Software Improvements and a presentation on "Talking to the Media" by our very own Eric Schmidt.

This Week's Contributors 

What a week. Stress junkies love it, reasonable people try to cope as best they can, and part of that coping mechanism is contributing to the newsletter. This week we can name names: Art Schlack, Gil Riddell, Mike Eliason, Ann Hanus, Laura Cleland, Jon Oshel, Mark Nystrom, Eric Schmidt and Rupert Murdoch. 

Have a Great Weekend!