Measures 41, 48 both fail by large margins
The two Oregon ballot measures that would cut state spending, Measures 41 and 48, failed in the Nov. 7 midterm election. Measure 41 was defeated with 64 percent of Oregonians voting against it while Measure 48 failed 71 percent to 29 percent, with 44 percent of the vote tallied.
Voters approved Measure 44, which will extend the Oregon prescription drug program, by 77 percent and rejected Measure 45, which would have restricted House and Senate term limits, by 58 percent.
Hundreds of opponents of the state spending bills expressed jubilance at the Defend Oregon election party at the Treasury Ballroom as it became clear that neither 41 nor 48 would pass.
”The margin of victory reflects how fed up Oregonians are with out-of-state interests using our state as a playground to try out their bad ideas,” said Leslie Frane, executive director of SEIU Local 503.
Measure 41 would have altered Oregon’s income tax collection system and allowed middle-class taxpayers to exchange their tax credit for a tax deduction equal to that offered by the federal government.
Middle-income households would have received a reduction of approximately $140 per person, meaning a household of four would receive a $560 reduction.
Many feared that both measures would have adversely affected funding for higher education, causing further problems for a university system already suffering from budget constraints.
University President Daniel Bernstine joined with the other six presidents of the Oregon University System in condemning the measure. The presidents held multiple press conferences and took out an ad in the Voter’s Pamphlet asking Oregonians to vote no on Measure 41.
Measure 48 proposed to limit state spending by amending the Oregon Constitution to provide that, unless approved by a two-thirds vote of both the Oregon House and Senate and subsequently approved by a majority of voters, spending for state services in a two-year period could not exceed the amount spent in the previous two-year period plus the combined rate of the increase of the state’s population and inflation in that same period of time.
The Oregon Legislative Fiscal Office estimated that the measure’s effect in the upcoming biennium would have restricted spending of approximately $2.2 billion out of approximately $35.6 billion in revenues estimated to be subject to the limit.
”It is unacceptable that Oregon has the highest second-grade class sizes in nation,” said Larry Wolf, president of the Oregon Education Association. “After this victory it was time to invest in education and other services.”
In other key ballot items, Measure 44, which extends the Oregon prescription drug program, passed by a 56 percent margin, 77 percent to 23 percent. The measure removes eligibility requirements for the prescription drug program, meaning all Oregonians without coverage regardless of age or income may participate.
Previously the program was limited to Oregon residents 54 years of age or older who earned less than 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or $18,130 per individual.
Laura Etherton, field director for Oregon State Public Research Interest Group, said that it is possible for Measure 44 to extend to students.
Measure 45, which would have placed term limits on state representatives and senators, failed in the election with 58 percent voting against it.
Measure 45 would have prohibited any person from serving more than six years as a state representative or more than eight years as a state senator. The measure also would have prohibited any person from serving a total of more than 14 years in the Legislative Assembly.
Barbra Smith Warner, the Defend Oregon official working against Measure 45, said that this was a positive step in preventing out-of-state groups from coming in and “meddling with our politics.”
