Published: Friday, February 25, 2011, 8:31 PM
By Kimberly Melton, The OregonianFearing two key political allies were headed for war, Oregon House Speaker Dave Hunt brokered an agreement last summer that helped pass Measure 76, which dedicates a portion of state lottery proceeds to parks and natural resources.
Conservationists wanted the measure and the state teachers union dropped their opposition after Democratic lawmakers agreed to put a second measure on the May ballot that would protect schools and other state programs.
It was a win-win solution, said Hunt, D-Gladstone. That was then.
Democrats lost their supermajority and Hunt lost his speaker's gavel. And this week what was assumed to be an easy legislative fix instead became a prime example of the new political realities in Salem, where the House is evenly split between 30 Democrats and 30 Republicans. At stake are issues most Oregonians care about: the protection of our natural landscape and strong schools.
The agreement that Hunt brokered unraveled Tuesday when the Nature Conservancy, the primary backer of Measure 76, objected to proposed May ballot language. And Republicans made it clear that they were not in a rush to keep promises they didn't make or even know about until this month.
Speaker Bruce Hanna, the Roseburg Republican who now shares the title with Democrat Arnie Roblan from Coos Bay says it's problematic to make a commitment like that on behalf of future leaders.
"It's like writing a check you can't cash," he said.
Lawmakers and conservationists insist they're committed to finding a solution though it's uncertain whether the fix will be done in time to make the May ballot and avoid negative financial impacts in next year's budget.
For more than a decade, 15 percent of revenue generated by the Oregon Lottery has been diverted to Oregon parks and natural resources, in total more than $800 million. That money has financed new parks, recreation areas and park repairs. And it has supported efforts to keep rivers cleaner and safer for native salmon and wildlife.
Measure 76 continued this set-aside indefinitely. But as new parks open while state services diminish and school days are cut short, some, including then-Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Oregon Education Association, questioned whether Oregon should make the allocation permanent. The measure also shifted more of the money to regional and local grants, a move that lawmakers said would create an $8 million gap for state-run natural resources programs in the 2011-13 biennium.
"The lottery was only down slightly or up slightly, whereas the general fund was off the cliff," Hunt said. "So schools and health care and public safety were getting whacked and even natural resource programs funded by the general fund were getting whacked, but parks and salmon were getting increased... That's where we sat down with them and said, 'We've got policy challenges.'"
The powerful state teachers lobby planned to oppose the measure and Hunt as well as conservationists wanted to avoid a public and expensive battle between conservationists and schools supporters.
"The most important thing for the campaign was to get that agreement done in order to be successful," said Jon Isaacs, executive director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, which ran much of the Measure 76 campaign. "This agreement makes Measure 76 better and adds fiscal accountability. It's good public policy and avoided funded opposition from the OEA."
In August, Hunt, Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, and Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, signed the agreement with three conservation groups pledging to support Measure 76 and also stating that House leaders would draft legislation in 2011 to put more limits on the law, establishing a funding cap, a sunset provision and the ability for the Legislature to override the funding formula during an economic crisis.
No Republican legislators signed the agreement or were involved in the discussion. Hunt said he didn't feel he needed to include anyone from the other party.
"The key was getting the environmental groups to agree," he said.
A majority of Oregonians in every county supported Measure 76 in November, totaling more than 69 percent statewide.
But as the specifics of the second proposed measure, House Joint Resolution 29, emerged earlier this month, Nature Conservancy officials say the proposal didn't reflect the earlier agreement. On Tuesday, Nan Evans, government relations director for the Nature Conservancy, told the House Energy, Environment and Water committee that her organization was surprised to see language that reduced natural resources grants, which ensure individual projects in local Oregon communities.
In a statement later, Russell Hoeflich,</cq> Oregon director of the Nature Conservancy, said his group is "committed to keeping our agreements and to keeping faith with Oregon voters, who rightly expect the measure they voted for to be implemented fully and fairly."
Hunt accuses the Nature Conservancy of reneging on their deal.
Meanwhile, Republicans are playing catch-up on the agreement and the intricacies involved.
"I came to the party after it was over," said Rep. Cliff Bentz, a Republican from Ontario, who is part of a group working to resolve some of the issues raised by Measure 76 and its aftermath.
Rep. Vic Gilliam, a Silverton Republican and co-chair of the House Environment committee closed Tuesday's hearing with a clear message that he's not going to be rushed into a measure for the May ballot that might also need to be fixed.
"I didn't know for the first time in 152 years we would be even-steven," he said. "This is a different climate, one that we didn't create individually but one we are in."
-- Michelle Cole
-- Kim Melton
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