Measure No. 77

Explanatory Statement

Measure 77 is a Constitutional Amendment designed to fix an unanticipated result when voters approved Ballot Measure 50 in 1997. The measure will impact both the permanent and local option limits of only three taxing districts statewide: Deschutes County, Linn County and the City of Sweet Home.

Services provided by cities, counties and special districts are mainly funded through property taxes. Measure 50 restricts the amount of property taxes these districts can impose within their permanent rate limits. Local voters can also approve temporary tax levies called local option levies. A local option tax is only temporary. It can be renewed by local voters. Currently, both Linn County and City of Sweet Home have local option levies for law enforcement and other services that expire beginning tax year 2003-04. The Deschutes County local option sheriff levy expires beginning tax year 2001-02.

In May 1997 Measure 50 was approved by Oregon voters and at the same election, Deschutes County, Linn County and City of Sweet Home all received voter approval for renewal of their expiring local option levies for law enforcement and other services. The new levies increased the amount of tax imposed instead of merely replacing the expiring levies. Because of the way Measure 50 was written, the newly approved levies were treated as local option taxes instead of being incorporated into the permanent tax rate of each of the three districts. As a result, Deschutes County, Linn County and City of Sweet Home, all have a low permanent tax rate limit but a high local option tax limit.

Measure 77 would change the permanent rate limits and reduce the total taxes of these three taxing districts beginning in tax year 2000-01. This measure transfers temporary local option authority into permanent tax authority. It will reduce each taxing district's local option authority by the amount of the levy that expired June 30, 1997, and incorporate a portion of that levy authority into each district's permanent tax rate limit.

This measure would adjust both the local option and permanent tax rate limits of only Deschutes County, Linn County and the City of Sweet Home.

Committee Members:	Appointed By:
Senator Mae Yih	President of the Senate
Representative Ken Strobeck	Speaker of the House
Mayor Chuck McLaran*	Secretary of State
Vern Bartley	Secretary of State
Senator Neil Bryant	Members of the Committee

*Member dissents (does not concur with explanatory statement)

(This committee was appointed to provide an impartial explanation of the ballot measure pursuant to ORS 251.215.)

NO ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO THIS BALLOT
MEASURE WERE FILED WITH THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

Arguments in Favor

Legislative Argument in Support

Statewide Measures

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