Oregon Politics 101

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OregonPolitics101
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Overview

• DECISIONMAKERS
• Statewide Decisionmaking Bodies
• Balance of Power
• Local Decisionmaking Bodies
• TAXES SCHOOL FUNDING
• Overall System
• State Taxes Budget
• Local Taxes
• School Funding
• STAND FOR CHILDRENS ROLE

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• DECISIONMAKERS

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Statewide Decisionmakers

• Executive Branch Governor
• 4 year terms, 2-term limits
• Legislative Branch Legislature
• Part-time, Jan-June of odd-numbered years
• Citizen legislature low pay, other jobs
• Senate 30 members, 4-year terms
• Senate President determines committees, assigns
  bills
• House 60 members, 2-year terms
• Speaker of the House determines committees,
  assigns bills

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Balance of Power

• Governor Ted Kulingoski (D)
• Term-limited out in Nov. 2010
• Senate
• Democrats have a 3/5ths supermajority (18 Ds/12
  Rs)
• Senate President Peter Courtney, Salem
• House
• Democrats have a majority (31 Ds/29 Rs)
• Speaker of the House Dave Hunt, Clackamas County

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Local Decisionmakers

• Counties
• 2-5 county commissioners
• Set policy, carry out operations
• Cities
• Mayor up to 10 city councilors who set policy
• Most cities hire a city manager to carry out the
  daily operations of the city
• Portland is a major exception the city
  commissioners carry out operations

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School Districts

• Elected School Board
• Include 5, 7, or 9 volunteer school board members
• 4-year terms, elected in May of odd-numbered
  years
• Sets policy, hires superintendent
• Superintendent
• Carries out day-to-day operations of the school
  district
• Hired fired by the school board

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LOCAL CONTROL

• Oregon has a long, entrenched history of
  supporting local control.
• The Oregon School Boards Association, League of
  Oregon Cities, and others actively lobby the
  legislature for local control.
• Oregon does not have a statewide salary scale,
  teaching standards, or other tools that many
  states have in place.

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TAXES SCHOOL FUNDING
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Oregon has two principal taxes
The income tax for state general fund. Pays for
Education, Public Safety, and Health Care.
The property tax for local government
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Oregons Taxes are Fair, but
Everybody pays 9
Oregon does not have a broad sales tax, but does
have targeted sales taxes on gasoline, liquor,
and other products
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Oregons overall taxes are among the lowest
States Ranked by Total Taxes and Per Capita Per
capita amounts are in dollars. Revised March 2006
37 Montana..1,753.7138 38 Utah..1,733.15 39
Louisiana..1,717.61 40 Oregon..1,699.55
http//www.census.gov/govs/statetax/04staxrank.htm
l
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State Income Tax

• The Individual Income Tax
• Individuals pay 5, 7, or 9 rate depending on
  income
• Individuals contribute 95 of the state general
  fund
• The Corporate Income Tax
• Corporations pay 6.6 of their profit on
  good/services provided in Oregon
• Many corporations pay only the 10 filing fee
• Corporations contribute 5 of the general fund

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The Income Tax is Volatile

• Income Taxes are the most volatile tax
  collections vary greatly depending on the
  economy.
• Oregons Kicker law requires unanticipated
  money to go back to taxpayers making us unable
  to save money for a rainy day.
• OREGON IS THE MOST RELIANT ON 1 SOURCE OF TAX
  MONEY THAN ANY OTHER STATE

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The Oregon Lottery

• The Lottery is the other main source of state
  general fund money
• Lottery funds go to
• 65 Education Economic Dev.
• 17 Parks Salmon
• 18 Education Stability Fund (savings account for
  schools
• Lottery collections were 650 million in 2006-07
  (less than 10 of the general fund)
• Source www.leg.state.or.us/comm/commsrvs/backgrou
  nd_briefs2008/briefs/BudgetRevenue/LotteryRevenue.
  pdf

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State Budget ProcessBiennial (2-year) budget
process
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Local Property Tax

• Property Taxes limited by 2 initiatives
• Measure 5 (1990)
• Limited property taxes to 15 for every 1000
  value of your home
• (e.g. home owner would pay maximum of 1500/year
  for 100,000 home)
• Taxes based on market value of home
• Set base-rates for property taxes that are
  lower than the 15/1000 limit
• Measure 50 (1997)
• Created assessed value market value of home
  in 1995, limited to 3 growth per year
• Made taxes based on this lower assessed value

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What Property Taxes pay for

• Counties--19  
• Health
• Roads
• Sheriffs
• Corrections

• Cities--25  
• Police
• Fire
• Sewers
• Parks

• Special Districts --10  
• Fire
• Parks
• Hospitals
• Roads
• Water
• Libraries

• Education--46  
• K-12
• Education Service Districts
• Community Colleges

Source www.oregon.gov/DOR/PTD/property-dollars.sh
tml
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Where else can local government get money?

• Levies Bonds are temporary, voter-approved
  property tax increases to help pay for local
  services
• Levies pay for operating (day-to-day) expenses,
  like salaries
• Bonds pay for capital costs, like buildings
  equipment
• Levies Bonds are capped by Measure 5 and can be
  difficult to pass

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School Funding The Ideal

• The Quality Education Model (QEM)
• Defines a quality school
• Reports each biennium how much the state should
  allocate to fully fund a quality education for
  Oregons children
• Measure 1 (2000)
• The Legislative Assembly shall appropriate in
  each biennium a sum of money sufficient to ensure
  that the states system of public education meets
  quality goals established by law, and publish a
  report that either demonstrates the appropriation
  is sufficient, or identifies the reasons for the
  insufficiency, its extent, and its impact on the
  ability of the states system of public education
  to meet those goals.

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School Funding The Reality

• Currently funding 80 of the QEM
• Oregons Elementary class sizes are the LARGEST
  in the nation
• Oregons education spending has dropped faster
  than any other state but Florida falling from
  15th in 1990 to 30th in 2003
• Oregon school districts LOST a lawsuit to get the
  state to fully-fund the QEM

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How did we get here?
Ballot Measure 5 shifted school funding
FROM Local property taxes TO State
Income Tax
Before
After
State Funding
25.5
HIGHLY VARIABLE
61.6
66.8
Local Property Taxes
28.8
REASONABLY STABLE
1990
2003
Oregon Dept. of Education
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Income tax receipts up in the 90s, down in the
00s
Incomes in Oregon went up in the 90s as Measure
5 was phasing in. Higher income taxes made up
for lower property taxes. Measure 50 further
decreased prop. taxes Incomes dropped in
2001 Resulting in a delayed reaction to Measure
5 50. We now spend 548 less per student than
we did in 1992.
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To make it even worse

• ? Explanation of Education cost drivers, like
• Salaries
• Health Care
• PERS

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• STAND FOR CHILDRENS ROLE

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2005 School Funding Success

• Problem 15 years of cuts to public schools
  resulted in large class sizes and lost programs.
• Stands Role
• - Joined Coalition for No More Cuts
• - Held 3,000 person rally lobby day
• - On-going lobby efforts (phone calls, e-mails,
  and meetings)
• Outcome Stand for Childrens efforts helped stop
  100 million in cuts to public schools.

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Oregonians agree that school funding is the
states biggest issue.

• Still, they are divided whether the issue is that
  schools
• a) dont have enough money.
• b) are not using money efficiently.
• Many voters think BOTH are problems.
• WE HAVE TO TALK TO VOTERS TO PASS BONDS LEVIES,
  ELECT CANDIDATES, AND STOP BAD BALLOT MEASURES

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2007 School Funding Tactics

• The LEGISLATURE allocates 2/3 of school funding,
  so
• Members decided to work on Legislative races in
  the 2006 election cycle
• Members got actively involved in 4 critical
  legislative races. Their work included
• Recruiting pro-school candidates
• Endorsing pro-school candidates
• Canvassing phone-banking to talk to voters
• Raising for a Political Action Committee (PAC)
  to pay for direct mail to voters

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2007 School Funding

• All 4 candidates won, and we helped change the
  leadership in the Oregon House.
• During the Legislative session, members held the
  new leadership accountable with continued
  lobbying.
• Outcome 500 million reinvestment in public
  schools the first reinvestment in over 15 years.

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Other 2007 Successes

• Due to effective lobbying, coalition building,
  and grassroots action, Stand for Children also
• Won 5 million to provide Mentors for new
  teachers and principals
• Passed legislation to allow school districts to
  institute a tax on new construction to pay for
  school facilities
• Helped pass a law to remove the worst junk food
  from public schools

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What Next?

• Oregon law requires a 3/5 majority of legislators
  to vote to raise revenue
• Stand can help elect pro-schools legislators in
  5 additional seats so we have 36-member
  super-majority in the Oregon House
• Needed education reforms are sometimes unpopular
  with existing lobby groups
• Stand can help pass important education reforms
  that arent happening without us