Oregon Trails

An Occasional Newsletter

from

The Association of Oregon Counties

Done - Gone   

Sine Die (for now)   

July 9, 2013

One of the biggest fiscal issues currently facing counties (PERS) was also a principal focus of the Legislature in 2013. Early in the session, Senate Bill 822 passed on party-line votes in both chambers and provided modest COLA reform plus the elimination of a seemingly indefensible out-of-state tax remedy. However, it also deferred $350 million in current obligations out to a future biennium. This "kick the can down the road" approach did not sit well with schools and local governments, as well as many legislators. Discussions continued throughout the rest of the session, in context with additional tax increases and a possible tax cut for small businesses but ultimately did not prove fruitful. Expect further negotiations throughout the fall with an eye toward a special session or the February 2014 session.

Labor and employment bills also received considerable attention this session. However, some of the main priorities of the labor community ran into trouble in the Senate. Bills that would have forced mid-term bargaining issues into binding arbitration (HB 2448), moved more public safety supervisors into bargaining units (HB 2418), and greatly reduced flexibility in contracting out services (SB 805) ultimately met their demise in the Senate.  Some of the most visible public contracting bills dealing with "Buy America" mandates (HB 3473) and Prevailing Wage in Enterprise Zones (HB 2675/2677) never made it out of the House. 

Other areas of county governance also saw action. Beneficial election bills that will eliminate mandates, statutory conflicts, or modestly reduce costs passed (SB 150, HB 2199, HB 2739), while a high-profile but costly priority of the Secretary of State (HB 3521) did not make it to the finish line. All four Government Efficiency Task Force bills coming out of the General Government subcommittee passed, including one that will allow counties to participate in a previously state-only fund that earns a better return on investment than some current options.   

A few public safety bills pushed their way through in the last few hours of the session.  Some of these bills have huge impacts on county governments.

House Bill 3317 passed both chambers easily and will extend the current 911 tax through 2022. The tax was set to sunset next year. A key provision that was missing from the bill was a tax on prepaid cellular devices. The B-engrossed version of House Bill 3317 included a tax on the wireless carriers for prepaid devices. This version was opposed by the carriers, who proposed a point of sale tax. Both proposals failed to get enough support.

House Bill 2562 incorporated some of AOC Public Safety's top priorities this session to help justice courts around the state. Some courts were on the brink of closing after provisions in House Bill 2712 in the 2011 session created a state priority payment system for traffic tickets, taking the first $60 of each ticket. The amended House Bill 2562 included changes to the priority payment and how counties receive funding for adult and juvenile corrections and alcohol and drug programs. These programs will now return to a county payment system, which was in place prior to the 2011 session. Jackson County Administrator Danny Jordan and Linn County Justice of the Peace Jad Lemhouse were instrumental in getting this bill through the Legislature.

The Early Learning Bill, HB 2013, which updates HB 4165 (2011) passed the Senate on Saturday with a vote of 19-10. It was the last hurdle for the bill before reaching the governor's desk. This bill, along with HB 3234 and SB 5518 complete the transition from the commissions on children and families to the Early Learning Council within the Department of Education. However, for the next year the funding for programs formerly overseen by the local commissions will be passed through to the counties until hubs are established around the state. 

Senate Bill 5543 - the Tobacco Master Settlement Account (TMSA) budget moved from the Capitol Construction subcommittee on to the Full Ways and Means and then passed both the House and the Senate in the waning days of the session. The bill included the following allocations:

• $28,905,905 for the DAS, Oregon Appropriation Bond Fund
• $31,273,716 for the DAS, Oregon Health and Science Bond Fund
• $116,100,000 to the Oregon Health Authority for the Oregon Health Plan
• $4,000,000 to the Oregon Health Authority for tobacco prevention and cessation programs
• $4,000,000 to the Oregon Department of Education for physical education related grants

The $4 million for tobacco prevention and cessation was the first allocation of TMSA funds towards tobacco prevention.

AOC Policy Manager Mark Nystrom handled human services legislation this session. 

The main focus in the land use arena in 2013 was the attempt to address the cumbersome Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion issue. Two bills resulted from a intensive interim work group, one dealing with population forecasting (HB 2253) and another creating an alternative pathway for UGB expansions (HB 2254). Other important issues addressed in some fashion this session included winery activities on farmland (SB 841), aggregate mining on high-value farmland (HB 2202), siting of composting facilities (SB 462), and industrial land site preparation (SB 246 and SB 253).

Speaker Kotek's priority housing bill, HB 2639, was approved by the Senate after initially being defeated on a tie vote. House Bill 2639 redefines the definition of "source of income" to include federal rent subsidy payments and any other local, state, or federal housing assistance as it applies to certain statutes dealing with landlord/tenant law. It extends the right for a landlord not to rent on the basis of past rental conduct and the inability of the applicant to pay rent even after including all public assistance available to the potential renter. 

The measure establishes the Housing Choice Landlord Guarantee Program to mitigate the losses due to damages of dwelling units caused by tenants receiving tenant-based assistance under the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. The program operates as a revolving loan fund, paying the damages awarded to a landlord in a court action on behalf of a tenant due to damage occurring as a result of occupancy of a unit funded in part by the federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. The defaulting tenant is required to repay or enter in to an agreement to repay the Housing and Community Services Department the amounts forwarded to the landlord. The measure provides that damages must be over $500, but limit reimbursement to no more than $5,000 under the program.