Sean C. Morgan
House District 17 Rep. Sherrie Sprenger told local residents last week that she’s hopeful gun control bills won’t pass during the legislative session.
“I just want to talk about a couple of things in the legislature right now,” Sprenger told the Kiwanis Club during a visit to the club’s regular meeting on March 6 at the Skyline Inn that was opened to the public. She also addressed bills to change land use appeals, the growing cougar populations and supporting efforts to improve the job outlook in Oregon, which she said would solve several problems.
Land use appeals
Sprenger is sponsoring a bill that would require appeals to the Land Use Board of Appeals to have standing, Sprenger said. The appellant must be adversely affected by the decision that is appealed.
Often, people don’t want to move forward with projects because they will be appealed, Sprenger said. ‘This is going to the Portland attorneys who get these and say, ‘Let’s go appeal. What’s going on down there in Scio? What’s going on down there in Sweet Home?’”
If this bill passes, to appeal, “you’ve got to have standing,” Sprenger said. “You’ve got to have some skin in the game.”
Cougars
Sprenger is moving on her cougar bill again this session, she said. The bill would allow counties to open up hunting with dogs to help reduce the growing populations encroaching on local communities and livestock.
Last session, the bill wasn’t heard in the Senate, Sprenger said. This time, she has a Senate committee she believes will hear it. She has approached the governor regarding the problem, asking why, “if we don’t think dogs should be used,” the state spends $300,000 in a two-year period on trappers hunting cougars with dogs.
Taxes and revenue
“We need to talk about the cost drivers and spending,” Sprenger said, adding she hasn’t voted for a tax yet during her legislative career.
On local property taxes, the legislature is looking at a League of Oregon Cities proposals that would place law enforcement outside of property tax compression created by property tax limitations and reset the value of homes at the time of sale.
Right now, when a jurisdiction proposes a tax levy, it can say that it probably won’t increase taxes, she said. That’s because of the compression and the property tax limitations.
Various jurisdictions passing new taxes reduces the amount collected by others, she said. While her family enjoyed the Linn Library League Bookmobile, which was part of an effort to establish a countywide library district, she heard from the sheriff about how the district would affect law enforcement revenues.
“This is probably going to be one of the toughest issues for me,” Sprenger said. “I see both sides.”
She likes how Measure 5, passed by voters in 1990, which created property tax limitations, slows the growth of government and spending.
“It’s not the best way to do it,” she said, but she wonders what the level of spending by government agencies would be without it.
If the proposal passes, “will there be the same level of success in passing these levies when you can no longer say this won’t raise your taxes?” she asked.
She pointed out that Measure 5 passed overwhelmingly in her district, while the ban on using dogs to hunt cougars failed.
“I don’t know if that’s going to get traction or not,” Sprenger said of the proposals. “That is one of those issues that will take a lot of give and take. There’s a lot of push and pull there.”
She cautions that she does not want to repeal Measure 5, but “I inherently think there’s something wrong when you have your cops and your library battling for the same money.”
Gun Control
Sprenger said she has received more than 1,000 e-mails about House Bill 3200, one of several gun control bills this session. The bill would ban certain semi-automatic guns and high-capacity magazines, limiting current owners to just one. It also would allow state troopers to investigate gun owners who possess one of the weapons to ensure the gun is stored safely.
Sprenger doesn’t send form emails back, but she had to on this issue, she said. Of those emails, just three supported gun control, and those didn’t come from constituents. In five years, she has not seen so much email as she has with this bill.
“That bill is unconstitutional,” Sprenger said. “Even if you could justify it with the U.S. Constitution, you could not justify it with the Oregon Constitution.”
She believes some misinformed people thought it would be a conversation starter, she said.
Sprenger said she in no way supports restrictions, even if anyone could figure out how to actually define “assault rifle.”
“I have not seen a session that has more ridiculous legislation,” Sprenger said.
Another bill, SB 737, would require proof of an attempt to retreat prior to using physical self-defense.
Another bill, making fun of these bills, would require a background check when purchasing knives with blades 3 inches and longer.
It’s the wrong conversation, she said. Unemployment has not gotten better.
“(Jobs and unemployment) are the issues we need to be focused on, not this stuff (gun restrictions),” Sprenger said. “I hope they don’t go anywhere. These are easy for Republicans. These are really hard votes for Democrats.”
But she doesn’t think the bill will hold up, she said. “I think we just need to walk away from it. These are knee-jerk reactions.”
Education
District 55 School Board member Chanz Keeney asked if the legislature could do anything about more fair distribution of state school funding. Sweet Home has the highest homeless rate among districts its size and larger. Funding that is weighted for homelessness is lower than that for English as a second language. He asked whether it could be made more fair.
Sprenger noted that every district will say it is underfunded, except maybe Riverdale in Portland.
She said there is a fix in the legislature this session, which will require more current data for counting poverty, and that is in part thanks to District 55 Business Manager Kevin Strong. In 2009, the state used 2000 Census poverty data.
“I think that bill will pass,” Sprenger said. “There will be an adjustment, but it’s not going to be a silver bullet.”
The real problem is declining enrollment, and the solution is jobs, jobs and more jobs.