Oregon lawmakers to consider forcing colleges to ask students about their sexual orientation

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

An Oregon Senate committee will consider legislation Thursday that would require colleges and universities to ask students about their sexual orientation.

The goal of the bill, sponsored by state Rep. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, and supported by Basic Rights Oregon, an advocacy organization for gay and transgender communities, is to collect data that would help address the issues lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual students may face during college. The question would be added to basic demographic forms and would be optional for students to fill out. It would also be kept confidential.

“Without standardized data collection, Oregon colleges and universities won’t be able to accurately asses and appropriately address the experiences of LGBT students, faculty and staff,” Dave Coburn, Associated Students of Portland State University Legislative Affairs Director, said in his testimony to the Senate Committee on Education and Workforce Development during a public hearing earlier this month. The committee will hold a work session on the legislation, House Bill 2995, Thursday at 1 p.m.

The bill has already passed the House on a vote of  40 to 19. Some Republican lawmakers said during a House floor debate last month that although the question on the form would be optional they feared some students might not realize that and fill it out anyway, leading to a concern for students’ privacy rights. Others were just uncomfortable with it, according to the Statesman Journal.

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Portland rejects adding fluoride to the drinking water

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

Portlanders largely rejected adding fluoride to the drinking water in Tuesday’s Special Election, according to unofficial results from Multnomah County Elections.

The proposal, prompted by city officials and dental health advocates to fluoridate the drinking water, failed with 60 percent of voters saying no and 40 percent yes. In likely one of the most contentious ballot measures for the city in recent history, opponents came out in droves on all sides of the aisle.

From far-left liberals worried about health impacts of adding fluoride to free-market conservatives uneasy with government adding anything to the public’s drinking water, fluoridating Portland’s water was a contentious issue, to say the least. Opponents gathered signatures and got the fluoride issue on the ballot after the Portland City Council voted to move forward with the project that would have cost rate payers $5 million.

Since Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first community more than 60 years ago to add fluoride to the public’s drinking water, the trend has spread nationwide. Nearly 74 percent of Americans, who get their water from municipal systems, now drink fluoridated water, according to the American Dental Association.

Portland now becomes one of the only large U.S. cities not fluoridating its water.

Though voter turnout was high in Portland for a special election, at 40 percent, according to Multnomah County Elections, one third of the impacted water customers didn’t get a say. Several media outlets reported earlier this month that cities outside Portland who buy their water from the Bull Run Reservoir wouldn’t get to vote because they are outside city limits.

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U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is turning the tables of the IRS scandal from the government taxing authority to the organizations it unfairly targeted.

“If political organizations don’t want to be scrutinized by government they shouldn’t seek privileges like tax free status and donor anonymity,” he said during the Senate Finance Committee’s more than three hour hearing on the IRS scandal.

The IRS is embroiled in a national scandal after revealing that it has targeted tea party and conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for nonprofit, 501(c)4 status.

He also tweeted it, brewing up a firestorm of responses on the social media site.

Wyden is calling for Congress to” close loophole giving incentive for people to choose tax status based on whether they want to hide donors,” according to the official Twitter account of his press office, @WydenPress.

But regardless, the IRS has admitted to targeting conservative groups and a recent poll says the majority of Americans believe the IRS deliberately harassed conservatives.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee grilled IRS officials over the agency’s targeting of conservative nonprofit groups. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden defended the scrutiny.

Tuesday morning, the Senate Finance Committee grilled IRS officials over the agency’s targeting of conservative nonprofit groups. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden defended the scrutiny.

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STRUGGLES: Mount St. Helens is located in Skamania County where the unemployment rate is 12.2 percent and the balance between a vibrant economy and forest is hard to strike.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

In Skamania County, Wash., growing an economy is nearly impossible.

The federal government owns 80 percent of the land.

The state of Washington owns 8 percent.

Timber companies – who only pay sales taxes when they harvest – own 10 percent.

That leaves a measly 2 percent for your average Joe: not much by way of commercial and residential in this town of little more than 11,000 residents.

The numbers may be shocking to East Coasters or Midwesterners but here in the Pacific Northwest where lush forests dominate the landscape, it’s the norm. And rural counties are faltering. In Skamania that means a 12.2 percent unemployment rate.

County Commissioner Chris Brong said it’s a problem with few solutions.

“What are we going to change our economy to here?”

It’s a similar story in Oregon, where the federal government owns 53 percent of the land and where unemployment skyrockets and timber mills continue to close. Three Oregon counties today are asking voters to consider tax increases to make up for expiring federal payments, according to the Associated Press.  Western states have also taken a hit from the sequester as the U.S. Forest Service is asking for millions of timber payments to be given back.

The problem: The federal government pushed the mills toward extinction, with strict 1990s-era regulations, including a cap on harvests that was designed to protect the Northern Spotted Owl.

Effectiveness fail: the owl’s population continues to dwindle. Mill production is grinding to a halt. And the forests are overgrown, creating a fire danger that some observers describe in apocalyptic terms.

Counties in Oregon, Washington and California have received timber proceeds from the federal government as part of the Oregon California Revested Grantlands for decades. Some counties are facing serious budget issues as the money has dried up with the limited harvesting.

But don’t blame it all on the spotted owl. Some accuse the counties of becoming too dependent on federal dollars and fear more logging is a slippery slope toward clear cutting. In Josephine County, Ore., where the county’s last mill just closed, taxes are the lowest in the state. It is one of three counties that will consider a tax hike.

Some officials say they’ve cut to the bone and have little options.

“We literally pick it apart to make sure that we’re where we can save and not spent on some of the small stuff,” Brong said. “The big fear here is that we’ve cut back to the point where we just can’t cut back anymore.”

Officials and advocates for more logging in the forests blame mountains of federal regulations that allow environmental groups to sue the U.S. Forest Service, forcing lengthy and expensive environmental studies before trees can be harvested.

“The situation that Washington D.C. has hoisted on rural communities is something that needs to be addressed,” said Nick Smith, former staffer for Oregon House Republicans who started a non-profit, non-partisan group called Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities, which pushes Congress to find a solution for counties ailing from the lack of timber harvesting.

Smith said the organization’s goal is to raise the issue’s profile and give a voice to those who want to be part of the process. U.S. Reps. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., Greg Walden, R- Ore. and Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. have introduced legislation that would put some of the federal lands into a state trust for harvesting. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.  chairs the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

So eyes are on the lawmakers to see what can be done.

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Political lines are drawn over Oregon’s budget.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

Is it getting hot in here?

Budget talks are getting heated in Salem as the fight between Democrats who want more taxes and Republicans who are pushing for pension reform rages on. The political lines have been drawn and now the elected officials are taking their frustrations out through press releases.

Gov. John Kitzhaber, after calling a budget ultimatum last week that asked lawmakers to compromise on a budget deal that would include new taxes and pension reform, blamed Republicans for not coming to a compromise.

“I appreciate the willingness of the Senate President and House Speaker to step to the middle for the good of the state,” he said in the press release. “I regret that Republican leadership has not indicated a willingness to develop a balanced compromise proposal involving both PERS and new revenue. I believe we have no choice other than moving forward on agency budgets with the assumption of no new PERS savings or revenue.”

Republicans are calling foul.

In a press release issued Monday by the Senate GOP, state Sen. Larry George, R-Sherwood, argued Kitzhaber’s public message is different from his private budget talks. George said Republicans were under the impression the call for compromise was not an ultimatum but rather a starting point to break the log jam. He said Senate Republicans have worked on a revenue package that raises taxes on the wealthy and provides breaks for small businesses while also making real PERS reform.

“We reject the Governor’s assumption that declining his first offer of a small PERS package is an end to the conversation,” George said in a press release. “In a true negotiation, you make offers, not ultimatums. We believe that though the challenge is great, there is a historic opportunity to truly reform PERS, raise new revenue, give small businesses tax relief, and position Oregon for success and prosperity. We are at the table, awaiting the arrival of the Governor and legislative Democrats.”

And the gloves are off.

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TOO NICE? Could Oregon be susceptible to voter fraud?

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

PORTLAND – Two dead people tried to vote in Oregon.

The researcher and a voter integrity advocate who found the problem told election officials, who told them this kind of thing is rare, and the chances of it happening again are slim, given the state’s good track record, kindly nature and all that.

“This is a very Oregon moment,” researcher Robert McCullough of the energy consulting firm McCullough Research said. “The Pacific Northwest is a very honest area, and so we have little in the way of checks and balances. But, luckily, we also have very few villains.”

McCullough, whose resume includes work as an expert witness in the Enron scandal, earlier this year did a study comparing Oregon’s active voter rolls with the Social Security Administration’s Master Death list. Of Oregon’s nearly 2.2 million active voters, he found 92 were probably dead.

“This is hardly an endemic problem,” McCullough acknowledged. “Is it a situation where someone could in fact swing a close election by dishonest activities, certainly they could.”

Others are more worried, afraid the perception of friendly and honest Oregonians can obscure potential trouble.

One of those people, Janice Dysinger, commissioned the study as a private citizen but now works as Oregon’s team leader for True the Vote, a voter integrity advocacy group.

“I’m quite concerned that there are people on the voter rolls that shouldn’t be there,” she said.

Dysinger and McCullough were able to track down death certificates for two of the “dead” voters. One was caught by a bad signature and the vote didn’t count, the other sent to the Secretary of State’s Office for further investigation, Dysinger said.

Tony Green, Oregon Secretary of State spokesman, said he could confirm one case out of the 92 has been sent to the Oregon Department of Justice for further investigation. He said the state was provided with five names from the list of possible dead voters and that four were found to still be alive. Since 2000, the state has had 13 cases of voter fraud out of 24 million ballots mailed. A Clackamas County elections worker was convicted earlier this year for altering ballots.

Green sees integrity in the system, but the state is not satisfied.

“We’re constantly looking for ways to improve the integrity of the centralized voter registry,” he said.

Kate Titus, executive director of Common Cause for Oregon, a nonprofit advocacy agency focused on giving people a voice in the political system, said any potential case of voter fraud should be taken seriously and investigated.

But she questions whether it’s really a problem.

“These claims repeatedly turn out to be unfounded,” she said. “Voter fraud is extraordinarily rare.” She accused True the Vote of exaggerating voter fraud to push a political agenda that suppresses voters.

McCullough also did a study in 2010 on the security of Multnomah County’s election system and found the potential for problems. He said a computer in the office could be hacked and an outcome of an election changed.

Green said the state has spent $3 million over the past four years in federal Help America Vote Act money to upgrade computer systems across the state.

But Dysinger is not persuaded, and she has concerns about the system overall. She and other voter integrity advocates are watching pending legislation in the Oregon Legislature, hoping it fails.

“I’m very concerned about our election process here in Oregon,” she said.

Specifically, she opposes legislation that would use Oregon DMV data to automatically register voters. Dysinger and Republican lawmakers say the proposed legislation lacks safeguards to keep noncitizens or out-of-state residents from voting.

Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of Oregon support the legislation. Norman Turrill, specialist on elections and campaign finance for the League of Women Voters, said he, too, doubts there is much of a risk of voter fraud in Oregon.

“In the League’s view, the state elections system and the election division in particular is well run,” he said. “The county clerks seem to be doing their job diligently.’

The Legislature is also considering a bill that removes a statute requiring elections officials to destroy unused ballots the night of the election. Dysinger and McCullough say failure to destroy ballots opens the system to more security problems.

“As one elections official said during our review: ‘These things don’t happen in Oregon.’ I honestly believe this is true,” McCullough said in his email to state Senators last year. “However, making sure that they continue to not happen here does involve taking prudent measures to avoid security breaches.”

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Gov. John Kitzhaber holds a press conference Wednesday calling on lawmakers to come together on a budget deal.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

PORTLAND – Gov. John Kitzhaber on Wednesday called for lawmakers to make a budget deal: Democrats trade additional pension reforms for Republican support on increased taxes.

A day before the state’s office of economic analysis is expected to release its quarterly report, laying out the budget picture for the next two years, Kithaber called a press conference to bring the two sides together.

“A partisan impasse is not what Oregonians expect,” he said. He is calling for more PERS reforms and about $200 million in revenue from new taxes.

But even the governor admits the budget can be balanced without either move. But, he added that would mean more teacher layoffs and deeper cuts to services. Though the Democrats hold the majority in both chambers, they need Republican votes on any tax increases and have proposed a plan that brings in $275 million from taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Republicans have said they won’t talk about revenue increases without further discussion of reforming the state’s Public Employees Pension System.

Republican leaders said in a press release after the conference that they’re open to working with the governor and like some parts of the bipartisan plan. State Sen. Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day and Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte issued the following statement via a press release:

“Giving tax relief to low income Oregonians and small businesses are important steps in getting Oregon’s economy back on track.  However, while the Governor has offered additional PERS reform measures, they still do not solve the problem for schools, fire departments and local governments.  As advocated by the Oregon School Board Association, Stand for Children and many others, we must fix PERS to protect the services on which we all depend.  If we are going to invest the time and effort to tackle the PERS issue, we cannot settle for partial solutions.  We must solve the problem.”

Kitzhaber said if legislative leaders choose not to work on a collaborative solution then he will call for them to balance a budget with the funding as is and get it done in time to wrap up the session by the end of next month.

He said he is hoping for lawmakers to come together.

“We have a history of bipartisan collaboration in this state and I don’t think we should walk away from it,” he said.  “At the end of the day what we’re trying to do is recover from this session. What we’re trying to do is stop laying off teachers.”

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Lawmakers in Salem expect to get an updated budget forecast this week.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

PORTLAND – Tis the season for budget wrangling.

Oregon and Washington state legislatures are struggling to pass multi-billion dollar budgets that pit the typical showdown of conservatives looking to cut spending and progressive lawmakers hoping to increase taxes.

In Oregon, Democrats are proposing tax increases on the wealthy and corporations that would net $275 million for schools and other government services. But the Democrats need Republican support because any tax increase requires a super majority vote. And Republicans are arguing deeper cuts to the Oregon Public Employee Pension System is a better budget solution.

The legislature has already passed and the governor has signed into law cuts to the PERS cost of living increases. But Republicans are adamant that further discussion on PERS reform is needed. And some question if there really is a need for additional revenue.

A new quarterly forecast that will set the stage for what’s needed in the upcoming budget is expected to come out of the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis this week.

State Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, said Monday during the House session that the state is expecting an additional $2 billion in revenue for the next 2013-15 biennium.

“Maybe $2 billion of additional revenue is enough,” he said.

The Democrats failed to get GOP support in the House last month for their tax increase proposal and instead the chamber unanimously passed a plan to stop offshore tax havens.

In Washington, lawmakers returned to Olympia on Monday for a special session after failing to finish the job by the end of the regular session. Gov. Jay Inslee is calling on lawmakers to focus on transportation funding and a new operating budget during the special session, according to the Associated Press.

For more information on the respective state budgets, see below:

Oregon:

• Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s 2013-15 budget .
• Co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee budget presentation 
• Kitzhaber has called on lawmakers to come together to work out a budget deal, according to the Oregonian. The paper also reports legislative leaders on both sides of the aisle are meeting behind closed doors, trying to work out a budget and PERS solution.

Washington:

• Inslee narrows the special session focus, according to KPLU.org
• Inslee’s budget priorities press conference
• Republican response to Inslee’s budget priorities

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LIBERTY: YAL member Bryant Moy talks to a student at Arkansas State University.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

PORTLAND — Meet the new pro-liberty, limited-government generation, frustrated with the establishment and, maybe, a burgeoning trend.

As more young people buck the traditional college political groups in favor of liberty-minded organizations, an older generation of libertarian and conservative politicos is taking notice.

Recruit these people, they’re thinking. Keep them engaged.

Ashley Greenacre is a sophomore at Oregon State University who  started Libertas, a freedom focused group named after the Roman Goddess of liberty. The national campaign for liberty, which focuses on holding government accountable to the U.S. Constitution, helped to entice Greenacre.

“I fell in love with Ron Paul and his campaign,” Greenacre said, referring to the former presidential candidate who ran on libertarian ideals. “It mainly comes down to our personal liberties and that I think people should be able to choose on their own and not be forced to do or be told what to do. As long as they’re not hurting someone else or hurting themselves, they should be able to choose what they want to do with their life.”

The fast-growing national group Young Americans for Liberty began in 2008 as Students for Ron Paul and has grown to nearly 400 chapters nationwide and about 125,000 activists, YAL communications director Bonnie Kristian said.

The group is an advocate of limited government and personal freedom, and it welcomes “limited government conservatives, classic liberals and libertarians.”  The group, at least in part, formed out of frustration with the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, seeing similarities despite the disparate political parties.

“It’ not very hard for us to conclude that both the establishment of the left and the right do not have our best interests in mind,” Kristian said. “The two main options that are presented aren’t really helpful to us.”

Established libertarians and conservatives see promise.

The Western Liberty Network, a nonprofit education organization focused on training at the grassroots level, is holding a “passing the torch” youth conference May 24-25 at the Valley River Inn in Eugene. The event is $50, including breakfast and lunch but financial assistance and registration scholarships are available. Students selected for the registration scholarships are also eligible for travel and lodging assistance.

A goal is training young people on political activism and connecting organizations interested in working with the new generation.

Ultimately, a hope is advancing the movement for limited government.

“It’s critical,” said Richard Burke, WLN executive director.

Typically, Burke said, the progressive left has been better at attracting young people than has the right. The conference will try to appeal to the younger generation with a party and live music, in addition to the training.

College students don’t have to wait to run for office, such as for a school board seat, Burke said.

“A lot of time nobody runs for these positions, why not a young person?” he asked.

Greenacre, who is 19, has already participated in a congressional district meeting and voted to send Oregon delegates to the Republican National Convention in Florida last year. That piqued her interest and led her to form Libertas at OSU, where she majors in electrical and computer engineering.

“I guess I just wanted to continue it further,” she said.

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LEGALIZE POT: Demonstrators demand the legalization of cannabis as they walk in downtown Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2009. The rally took place in front of the White House.

By Shelby Sebens | Northwest Watchdog

PORTLAND — A proposed law that would force the federal government to respect state marijuana laws is gaining bipartisan support, but U.S. representatives from Washington state aren’t so stoked.

It would be a lot cooler if they were, advocates say.

Just one out of 10 Washington reps have signed on as a co-sponsor to the Respect Marijuana Laws Act of 2013, despite 56 percent of Washingtonians voting in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The law would allow states to set medical and recreational marijuana policy without interference from the federal government, which still considers pot an illegal substance.

“I am deeply concerned about the conflicts between federal and state law,” U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-District 9, said in an email. Smith is the only congressman from Washington state to sign onto the bill, introduced April 12.

“While it is legal to possess and use a limited quantity of marijuana under state law, marijuana remains an illegal substance under federal statutes. This lack of clarity is unacceptable.”

It appears Smith is the only Washington lawmaker willing to back the legislation, at least now. A spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, R-District 7, said McDermott has supported similar initiatives, but his office couldn’t yet comment as to where he stands on the Respect State Marijuana Laws Act. McDermott’s district includes Seattle, where 76 percent of residents voted in favor of legalizing marijuana.

Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-District 2, said Thomas doesn’t, for the time being, plan to sign on as a co-sponsor. He wouldn’t say whether Larson would vote for it or not if it comes to a vote. The bill has 15 co-sponsors — 12 Democrats and three Republicans — and sits in the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.

It might as well get comfortable, some say. Colorado voters also have approved legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

So …

The “it’s not likely to pass” attitude is a frustrating for those who believe it’s an important initiative, and Washingtonians looking to get into the pot business would prefer to stop looking over their shoulders.

Bailey Hirschburg is a National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws representative from Thurston County. Hirschburg said he recently approached  a member of Congress — he would not name the lawmaker — about the issue. The lawmaker, however, has yet to dedicate a staff to review and study the issue.

Advocates fear political anxiety and a wait-and-see attitude from Washington lawmakers could ultimately kill the bill.

Kevin Oliver, executive director of the Washington chapter of NORML, said he’s not surprised by lawmakers’ reticence.

“We’re walking around here with the actual state that is the experiment. I think they’re looking at this very politically and they’re just not willing to throw the dice when it’s happening in this state, regardless of whether this bill happens or not.”

NORML and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State are calling on Washingtonians to contact their federal representatives and urge them to sign onto the Respect Marijuana Laws Act.

Oliver said it shouldn’t take new legislation to protect the will of the people, given that the U.S. Constitution already provides for states’ rights via the 10^th Amendment..

“In one way it’s just a reiteration of the American way,” he said.

One fear, Oliver said, is that the legal marijuana shops could open for a couple of years before the feds swoop in and wipe  it all out.

Russ Belville, former outreach coordinator for NORML in Oregon and current executive director of 420radio.org, said passing the bill would show a respect for the will of the people. As it stands, should an area of the state disagree with the marijuana laws, people can use an “it’s not legal federally” excuse to shut them down.

“A minority can obstruct the will of the majority,” he said.

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