Fulfill Measure 76 promise

Legislators should put the fixes on a statewide ballot

Eugene Register Guard

Published: Friday, Feb 25, 2011 05:01AM

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When Oregon voters last fall approved a measure requiring that 15 percent of state lottery proceeds be set aside for parks and wildlife, it was with the clear understanding that state lawmakers would fix flaws in the measure, which failed to take into account the urgency and scope of the state’s budget crisis.

Reassured by legislative leaders and Measure 76 supporters that they would support these fixes, Oregonians approved the proposal, extending the existing 15 percent lottery funding for parks, watersheds and salmon habitat beyond 2014, when it had been scheduled to expire.

Now, lawmakers should approve those critical fixes without delay. They should do so despite a disappointing decision by the Nature Conservancy, one of three environmental groups that agreed last year to support a referral from the 2011 Legislature, to back away from its commitment.

House Democratic Leader Dave Hunt of Gladstone, Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, and Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, have introduced a bill that keeps faith with the commitment that legislative leaders and Measure 76 supporters made to voters. It refers a constitutional amendment to a future statewide ballot that would establish a 25-year sunset provision, set a funding cap and allow the Legislature to override the dedication requirement during economic crises.

The resolution also increases the share of dedicated revenues that state government conservation agencies would get to 42 percent from 35 percent. That shift would free up $8.5 million for the state’s depleted general fund — not a huge amount of money, but significant in a session in which lawmakers are scrounging for spare change to pay for schools, public safety and other state services.

It’s this last change that prompted the Nature Conservancy to cry foul and withdraw its support for the legislative referral. In a legislative hearing this week, the group’s government affairs director, Nan Evans, told lawmakers that the proposed fix strayed from the original agreement; it would give too much money to state agencies and not enough to grant-funded projects carried out by nonprofit groups.

It’s hard to say if Evans is right that the proposed referral strays from the original agreement, since last year’s deal between Measure 76 supporters and legislative leaders was forged in private and with few participants. Evans now says legislators should have included a broader representation of groups — a complaint that would have more credibility if she and her organization had dug in their heels at the time.

It’s significant that the other two conservation groups that signed last summer’s agreement do not share the Nature Conservancy’s objections. Both the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and the Trust for Public Lands are supporting the proposed legislative referral.

The Nature Conservancy should get back on board the referral train. Lawmakers propose increasing the percentage of dedicated lottery revenues that state conservation agencies would receive because Measure 76 reduced those agencies’ share of those revenues by 10 percent. That reduction, if unchanged, would require lawmakers to spend $8.5 million from the state’s general fund to continue existing programs. That’s money the Legislature would be unable to spend on schools and other services at a time the state is facing a $3.5 billion shortfall in the next biennium.

Last November, Oregonians voted to protect the state’s proud parks system — and its watersheds and wildlife — for future generations by voting yes on Measure 76. Now, lawmakers and conservation groups should make good on their promise to fix the measure’s flaws.