Measure 76 and the state budget: Think twice before unraveling what voters made clear

Published: Friday, March 04, 2011, 8:00 AM

 By Guest Columnist 

By Janelle Sorenson 

I noted with interest the recent headline in The Oregonian about new developments in the Legislature surrounding Measure 76 ("State deal on parks, schools unravels," Feb. 26). 

It was my privilege to serve as the statewide organizer for the "Water, Parks and Wildlife" campaign that eventually became Measure 76 on the November ballot. In this capacity, I worked directly with volunteers from all over the state who were dedicated to ensuring continued funding to protect Oregon's clean water, provide thousands of jobs and to preserve our parks and precious natural resources. 

More than 2,500 volunteers gave tirelessly of their time and energy to achieve those goals, and they were a constant source of inspiration to me. Together they gathered more than 55,000 signatures in order to get the initiative on the ballot -- a remarkable feat by any standard. 

What was it that got people so fired up about this particular election campaign? There isn't just one answer to that question. The volunteers defied typecasting. They were middle-school students and great-grandparents, cattle ranchers and vegans, teachers and nurses. They were hikers, bikers, bird-watchers, fishermen, parents, political candidates and community leaders. They were Democrats and Republicans. Many of them had never been involved with a political campaign before, but this issue spurred them to action. 

It's clear that Oregonians care about keeping our water pure and about people keeping their jobs. We care about parks remaining open. We care about preserving the beauty that makes Oregon special for all of us who live here now, as well as for future generations. 

Once the initiative made the ballot, the coalition of supporters for Measure 76 grew to include hundreds of endorsers, including elected leaders, businesses, nonprofits, faith-based groups, neighborhood associations and many more. 

This was clearly a measure that resonated deeply with the majority of Oregonians. Indeed, the bipartisan support for Measure 76 was evidenced by the fact that it received nearly 70 percent of the votes in November. As pointed out in The Oregonian, this included a majority in every county throughout the state. This was a rare measure, a rare issue that transcended politics as usual, and it obviously struck a chord with Oregonians of every persuasion. The people have spoken, and they have done so unequivocally. 

So it would be ill-advised for legislators to return the matter to the voters again, asking them to reduce the protections that they just overwhelmingly voted into place. Doing so would be contrary to the wishes expressed by Oregonians in the November election and would add an unnecessary financial burden to our already strapped state government. 

I'm not writing here on behalf of The Nature Conservancy or any of the other organizations that did so much to support Measure 76. But, based on the November election results, it would seem that I'm expressing the views of a majority of Oregonians. 

Those contemplating unraveling Measure 76 would do well to take note. 

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.

Measure 76: There was a deal

Published: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 2:53 PM

By The Oregonian Editorial Board

If conservation groups renege on an agreement, they may start a fight they can't win

Some conservation groups are making us regret our strong support last year of Measure 76, which renewed a 15 percent dedication of Oregon Lottery proceeds to parks, water and wildlife programs.

The Oregonian and many others backed Measure 76 in no small part because conservation advocates had signed an agreement promising to support legislation that would ask voters to amend the measure, notably by adding a safety valve to allow lawmakers to override the dedicated funding in times of economic crisis.

But now that voters have approved Measure 76, some conversation groups seem bent on derailing the bill containing the promised fixes for the measure. At a hearing last week, spokespeople for The Nature Conservancy and other groups threw cold water on House Joint Resolution 29, which lawmakers hope to put on the ballot in May, in time, if voters approve, to allow some shifting of funds in the next state budget.

Late last week, the Oregon director of The Nature Conservancy backtracked and said his organization remains fully committed to the prior agreement. Too, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and the Trust for Public Lands are standing by the deal to refer changes to Measure 76 to the ballot. In an email last week, Jon Isaacs, OLCV executive director, properly warned of the risks of getting crosswise with lawmakers, school advocates and others who lived up to their side of the deal by not opposing the conservation measure last fall.

There were then -- and still are now -- good reasons to worry that Measure 76's dedicated funding for lottery proceeds will keep money flowing into non-essential parks and wildlife programs even during brutal budget shortfalls that require cuts into core services such as the length of the school year and aid to needy families.

Moreover, the way Measure 76 is structured also sends a large percentage of lottery funds to nonprofits and others who work on conservation projects even as the state's core land, water and wildlife management programs are slashed in hard budget times.

This is not an argument that investments in parks and nonprofit entities that do great work to repair damaged rivers and other conservation projects are not important. And in all but the most difficult financial years, as we argued before the November election, it makes good sense to devote a stream of lottery money, now about $80 million annually, to parks, water and wildlife.

However, it seemed to us -- and to a lot of other people -- that the conservation community understood there were flaws in Measure 76 and agreed to support legislation that would allow voters to make some changes, including adding a sunset to the program in 2035. Instead, what we saw last week were conservation groups putting up roadblocks to the necessary legislation.

We suggest they think long and hard about their stance. Because if the worst comes to pass, and Oregon winds up slashing the school year and gutting its core natural resource agencies at the same time other water and wildlife programs skip off with a growing lottery fund, there will be a backlash.

We hope never to see it, but if Oregon voters are forced to choose -- education or parks and wildlife -- we have a good guess how that would turn out.

Agreement on parks, lottery money falters amid politics in evenly split Oregon House

Published: Friday, February 25, 2011, 8:31 PM    

By Kimberly Melton, The Oregonian

Fearing 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

Dispute over Lottery Funds

House Democrats want the Legislature to be able to dip into funds dedicated for conservation

By Saul Hubbard

The Register-Guard

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SALEM — A simmering disagreement over how much state-run and nonprofit environmental conservation agencies are entitled to from the 15 percent of the lottery fund money granted to them by Measure 76 — which almost 70 percent of Oregon voters approved last November — is threatening to have much wider consequences.

The argument has derailed an effort by House Democratic representatives to draft significant changes to Measure 76, changes that they had hoped to get on the ballot for public approval this May.

House Democratic Leader Dave Hunt of Gladstone, Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, and Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, introduced House Joint Resolution 29 amending Measure 76 to ease their concerns that the measure might allow funding to parks, streams and other natural areas to stay steady and even swell in times of economic crisis when other state spending was being slashed. They want state government to be able to dip into the parks-and-recreation set-aside if state government is plunged into the throes of economic hardship.

For their part, some conservation groups see the House move as a bid to pull some conservation money away from the control of nonprofit groups.

The pot of revenue at stake is big: about $87 million a year.

Some of the changes the resolution proposes are:

Increasing the share that state government conservation agencies would get to 42 percent from 35 percent of lottery fund revenue that Measure 76 dedicated to conservation, thereby freeing up around $8.5 million in the hard-pressed general fund, the main pool of money that pays for most state programs.

Setting up a safety valve that would allow the Legislature to tap into the lottery-funded conservation money in times of economic hardship.

Establishing a cap on how much the total funding nature conservation agencies received under Measure 76.

Creating a 2035 sunset for Measure 76.

The resolution’s sponsors had hoped to fast-track it based on a written agreement they signed last summer with three major private not-for-profit nature conservancy groups that financially supported the campaign for Measure 76: the Nature Conservancy, the Trust for Public Land and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

The agreement grants Hunt’s, Bailey’s and Cannon’s support for Measure 76 in exchange for the private conservation groups’ backing on the specific changes to the measure proposed by House Joint Resolution 29 before it was referred to voters.

Yet, in the resolution’s first public hearing Tuesday, the Nature Conservancy’s director of government relations Nan Evans raised objections about the content of the resolution, saying it had strayed from the agreement that her organization had signed up to.

“We did not intend to agree to a change in the percentages between the grants to the state agencies,” she testified. “In retrospect, the discussions and language of the agreement were not clear enough.”

Evans also testified that the legislators should have included a broader representation of the affected parties — conservation groups — in last summer’s negotiations, something other conservancy groups testifying agreed with.

“We ask the committee to daylight this process and broaden the opportunity for many more conservation organizations to participate,” said Tom O’Brien of the Network for Watershed Councils.

However, the two other conservancy groups that signed last summer’s agreement did not share Evans’ fresh objections.

“We support the resolution,” said Stephen Kafoury, lobbyist for Trust for Public Lands. “At the end of the day, we are pragmatic about helping to make something happen.”

After hearing Tuesday’s testimony, Rep. Vic Gilliam, R-Molalla, co-chairman of the House Committee on Energy, Environment and Water, tabled further discussions of the resolution saying that with the issues at stake being so complicated, he wished to take a longer look at the bill.

Jon Isaacs, executive director of the Oregon League of Conservative Voters, said his organization is supporting the resolution as is.

“From our point of view, it is consistent with the agreement we all signed,” he said.

Bailey defended the agreement he helped work out last summer with the three groups, stating that the legislators were operating under the impression that the Nature Conservancy was also representing smaller groups, something Evans testified Tuesday had never been the case.

“We must have a difference in memory,” Bailey said.

Bailey and Cannon said the agreement was the primary reason there was no funded opposition to Measure 76 from education and health organizations and that its November passage went so smoothly.

Isaacs, of the Oregon League of Conservative Voters, agreed.

“There’s no question part of the reason we came up with this agreement was so there would be no well-funded opposition to Measure 76.”

Last fall, some education and health organizations privately expressed misgivings about Measure 76, fearing that it would reserve for conservation purposes a significant slice of lottery fund revenue regardless of how dire the state government’s finances became.

Bailey and Cannon also pointed to a number of newspaper opinion pieces published in the weeks leading up to the November vote that all endorsed the measure, but only with the caveat that an agreement to tweak it at the next opportunity had been made with nature conservation agencies.

Cannon said he wants to change the split of the lottery fund conservation allocation so that state government agencies get a bit more than under Measure 76, because without that change, there may be cuts in nature programs run by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Agriculture.

“I hope we can work in good faith and that the signatories of the agreement will step up and do their part,” he said. “But the more time goes by, the more it will be difficult to get the parties involved to stick to it.”

Friends Have a Falling Out

Measure 76 would preserve a percentage of Oregon Lottery revenue for environmental protection.Oregon’s Measure 76 reminds me of Israel’s foreign policy principle: “My Enemy’s Enemy is my Friend.” The November initiative would make permanent 1998’s Constitutional Amendment that allocates 15 percent of lottery revenues for conservation of State Parks and salmon.

Measure 76 is brought to us by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and is supported by most Oregon environmental organizations. Environmentalists’ opinions are very important to Democrat leaders in Oregon. However, Oregon’s other liberal power brokers, public-employee and teacher unions, oppose Measure 76 because it will dedicate some lottery funds that could help with Oregon’s $3 billion budget deficit.

It is unusual for environmentalists and public-employee unions to disagree on a public policy issue. In an effort to resolve the matter, House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, stepped in to convince the TNC to pull the measure. When environmentalists said no, Hunt crafted a complicated compromise to temporarily resolve the issue.


The deal goes something like this: Rep. Hunt and public-employee unions will not oppose Measure 76. Should Measure 76 pass in November, legislators will send a new version back to voters in 2011. The legislative referral will allow the salmon and parks money to be used to help mitigate revenue shortfalls, like we are currently experiencing.

The timber industry frequently battles Oregon’s environmental groups and, as part of the larger business community, runs up against public-employee unions on tax and budget matters.

But in this case, the timber industry probably would side with the environmentalists over the public-employee unions regarding Measure 76. Lottery dollars spent on watershed and fish restoration helps forest landowners manage their forests for wood products while still protecting the environment.

Public-employee unions wanted the TNC to withdraw the initiative before it made the ballot. After investing more than $1 million to gather sufficient signatures for the Constitutional amendment, the TNC was not willing to give up on a very successful program. The lottery dollars have provided millions for fish habitat and watershed improvement projects, and have helped create new state parks.

Legislators spent the past 10 years trying to get their hands on the dedicated lottery dollars. They have used lottery funds for natural resource agency budgets and have gone so far as to designate the State Capitol as a State Park so they could use the lottery dollars for some much-needed Capitol grounds maintenance and improvement.


Article originally appeared on CFM Strategic Communications http://www.cfm-online.com/state-lobbying-blog/2010/10/28/friends-have-a-falling-out.html