PORTLAND, Ore. - And you thought all the fighting was over when the Oregon Legislature adjourned? Think again: it'll continue at least until mid-January. On Friday, more than 120,000 signatures were turned in to try to kill the revenue-boosting measures enacted by Oregon lawmakers, before they go into effect.
Conservative groups have led the charge to keep the state's minimum corporate income tax at $10 a year, instead of raising it to $150 yearly, and it looks like they'll have no problems getting it onto the Oregon ballot. Republican leaders say raising corporate taxes will kill jobs. But Rick Bennett, director of government relations with AARP Oregon disagrees. He believes raising the rates, for the first time since the 1930s, is a matter of fairness.
"The share of corporations' contribution to the state's general fund has continued to shrink; and at the same time, corporations benefit from the services provided by state funding, as the rest of us do."
If the taxes are increased, says Bennett, Oregon would still be among the states with the lowest corporate taxes, and individuals will still shoulder more than 90 percent of the state's tax burden.
Not all business owners mind paying a little more tax. Christine Chin-Ryan heads the group Oregon Businesses for Responsible Leadership, which supports the increase and predicts it will have a minimal effect on most businesses.
"For small businesses, it's not as drastic as what they're making it out to be. In fact, when you go through what type of corporation they are or what their gross is, they realize they're paying $150. And then, they say, 'What's the big deal?'"
The Legislature also voted to increase taxes on people who make annual incomes of more than $125,000; or $250,000 a year for couples. In the view of Otto Schell, legislative director for the , it's matter of those who can afford it, digging a little deeper to help the state get back on its feet.
"Spread out over big companies and folks who are doing okay in this economy, we can actually raise enough money to make a difference for the Oregonians who are all struggling, and to kind of keep the lights on in our schools, not lay off everybody from state troopers to teachers to the bus drivers."
Opponents of raising more money for social services and education say the answer lies in cutting the state budget, not increasing taxes. They raised about $1 million for the petition drive efforts, and collected more than twice as many signatures as were necessary to get the issues on the ballot on January 26, 2010.
AARP Oregon, the Oregon PTA and Oregon Business for Responsible Leadership all are members of the Defend Oregon Coalition, which supports the Legislature's decision to raise more revenue.
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The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in Congress.
Some lawmakers want this bill to expand funding for such programs as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, which gives financial and technical help to farmers and ranchers to make conservation a priority. About $250 million was allocated for the program, but more than 9,000 applications were submitted, bringing it to $475 million.
Gabrielle Walton, federal campaign associate with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said these programs' popularity proves their necessity.
"This money allows them not only to practice more efficiently - and to preserve the environment that they love so much and they're so attached to - but it also saves them money that they can devote to other concerns," she said, "and provides them stability for their pocketbooks going forward."
One issue with the new Farm Bill is a proposed increase in so-called "reference pricing," which critics have said only benefits large farming operations and would come at the expense of more widely used social and climate-smart programs.
Walton said she thinks political divisiveness and competing priorities have held up the new Farm Bill.
The previous Farm Bill was extended to this September, but lawmakers have said they aim to have a bill ready by Memorial Day. Along with climate-smart investments, the Farm Bill also funds social safety-net programs.
Geoff Horsfield, a policy director at the Environmental Working Group, said people don't always know how helpful nutrition programs are to families.
"There's a misconception that things like SNAP only benefit urban communities," he said, "and we just know that that's not true - that folks in all counties rely on nutrition assistance programs, some of these social programs, to be able to make ends meet."
SNAP and other nutrition programs received 75% of funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. More than 876,000 Virginians use SNAP and EBT benefits, since food insecurity has been a longstanding issue in the state.
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Today, groups working with lower-income families in Connecticut are raising awareness about the state's "benefits cliff" with a day of action.
The benefits cliff is when a person might get a raise, have a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. The changes can have severe impacts on communities and disproportionately affect families with children.
Stephen Monroe Tomczak, professor of social work at Southern Connecticut State University, said it is part of a larger workforce problem.
"People, particularly people of low income, are in a sense disincentivized to participate in the labor force and denied adequate jobs and income when they try to do that," Tomczak explained.
Several General Assembly budget bills could have dealt with the issue but most failed, which inspired today's action, a mock funeral procession to the governor's office to eulogize the bills, including the refundable Child Tax Credit, a housing voucher funding boost bill, and a bill eliminating the asset limit on the HUSKY C medical insurance program.
Social service advocates know the bills will resurface in next year's budget process.
Rose Ferraro, program lead of health justice policy advocacy for the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said people are taking alternate steps like going to food banks or avoiding medical care to cover lost benefits.
"Folks will lose their rental assistance and then, they will sort of have to make some tough decisions," Ferraro noted. "'Do I put food on my table or do I make sure to pay rent?' And, so it becomes a sort of untenable position."
Ferraro added interwoven state and federal funding makes it hard to reach the core of the issues leading to benefits cliffs. One eulogized bill would have established a benefits cliff pilot program. For two years, it would have provided subsistence for people who've reached the benefits cliff.
Disclosure: The Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut contributes to our fund for reporting on Health Issues, Housing/Homelessness, Human Rights/Racial Justice, and Poverty Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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New York towns are reaping many benefits since the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
Along with funds for larger clean energy projects, the state was awarded $158 million for the IRA's Home Energy Rebates program.
Smaller towns and villages use these grants to implement their climate action plans.
Brighton Town Councilmember Robin Wilt said an IRA grant they applied for will help upgrade the town's HVAC system.
"We will be implementing geothermal and then use a solar array to make the system close to net zero, not quite," said Wilt. "I think we'll get 55% of our energy back with the solar panels."
The bureaucratic process to access the funding was challenging, but some groups are working with the Department of Energy to improve it.
Wilt said feedback on the clean energy projects has been positive. Future projects using IRA funding include increasing walkability and sustainable redevelopment.
Critics have said the IRA includes multiple provisions to increase fossil fuel production.
Towns nationwide are using IRA grants to bolster clean energy projects.
Joel Hicks is a council member for the Borough of Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
They've just applied for a grant to work on energy efficiency and solar projects with Harrisburg. He said this will have positive impacts beyond establishing clean energy.
"We were really excited at this potential," said Hicks, "because we saw that the cost savings we would have for putting in substantial solar projects on our public property would actually fund many of our other public municipal goals."
These include purchasing an electric vehicle fleet and having more efficient solid waste programs.
One thing Hicks said he wants to see in future is state and local governments helping small towns and municipalities with putting together their IRA grant proposals.
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