Article XVIII, sections 1 to 5 of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post we look at Article XVIII, sections 1 through 5 of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XVIII is entitled "Schedule" and has some administrative items relating to the original proposal of the Constitution of the State of Oregon.  It has 11 sections and in this post we look at the first 5.

Section 1

This section calls for an election to be held in November of 1857 to adopt this constitution by the people.

Section 2

This section defines the questions to be asked in the very first referendum for the establishment of the State.  It is historically important to note that there were 2 questions, one on the Constitution and one on the question of Slavery.

Section 3

This section defines that only a simple majority of votes cast are required in order to approve the constitution.

Section 4

This section defines the outcomes of the vote on slavery.  As it was, there were 2 sections that had been written into the constitution, those being Article I, section 34 and 35.  By the vote on the question of slavery, the framers of the Oregon Constitution were to have one of two clauses included in the constitution.  But as it appeared there was too much disagreement on whether to allow slavery, it was put to a popular vote and rejected.  But that's not to say that African Americans were welcomed with open arms in Oregon.  It appears that Oregon does have one of the lower ratios of African Americans to Caucasians in the population in the US.

Section 5

This section defines what counties have senators and how many representatives each will have.  Since this time, the number of senators and representatives have risen to their maximums.

Article XVII of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XVII of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XVII is entitled "Amendments and Revisions" and this section defines how the Constitution of the State of Oregon can be amended and revised.  The difference between the amendment and revision is that an amendment adds something new and does not delete anything in existence whereas a revision changes something that is in existence (but also may add something new on top of that change).
One of the things that make a revision and an amendment, for practical purposes, the same is that if you have an amendment that starts with "Notwithstanding Article (some number), section (some number)...", this is technically an amendment per how Article XVII looks at it, but in fact is essentially a revision since it may be effectively nullifying a different section of the Constitution.  One of the things that is played with a lot by political operatives is whether something will be presented at the general election or at a primary election, or perhaps a special election.  Clearly, the general election when there is a presidential choice to be made are the elections with the greatest participation vs. a primary vote during the off-presidential year.  And based on the polling, sometimes you need that and sometimes you don't want it.  It depends on the demographics, the partisan base and relative opinions of the different groups and their likelihood to go and vote in any specific election.
In any case, changes have to be proposed by the Legislature or by petition of the people and then put to a vote at an election and if it gets a majority of the votes cast, the constitution is changed.

Article XVI of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XVI of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XVI is entitled "boundaries".  The border of Oregon is defined by the Act of Congress that made Oregon a state.  The constitution allows that the boundaries can be changed through appropriate agreements approved by the US Congress with other states.  Also, it is defined that the territory of Oregon extends out to sea by a distance defined by statute.  Typically, it is 12 miles to international waters.  The original boundaries of the state are:

Beginning one marine league at sea, due west from the point where the forty-second parallel of north latitude intersects the same, thence northerly, at the same distance from the line of the coast lying west and opposite the state, including all islands within the jurisdiction of the United States, to a point due west and opposite the middle of the north ship channel of the Columbia River; thence easterly, to and up the middle channel of said river, and, where it is divided by islands, up the middle and widest channel thereof, to a point near Fort Walla Walla, where the forty-sixth parallel of north latitude crosses said river, thence east, on said parallel, to the middle of the main channel of the Shoshone or Snake River; thence up the middle of the main channel of said river, to the mouth of the Owyhee River; thence due south, to the parallel of latitude forty-two degrees north; thence west, along said parallel, to the place of beginning

The original "Oregon Territory" is, of course bigger than the current state, but this is what was decided at the time and it seems to have worked out pretty well.

Article XV, Section 11 of the Oregon State Constitution

This post looks at Article XV, Section 11 of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Miscellaneous".  The section is entitled "Home Care Commission".  The section has 3 subsections.

Subsection (1)

This subsection creates the Home Care Commission.  It defines the duties of the Commission as the duty to ensure that when someone is hired as a home care worker out of money that is provided by the State or a local government agency, that the quality of care provided is high.  However, this commission looks like they will have duties normally done by the executive branch wherein they have to establish qualification requirements for home care workers and then certify people as meeting those qualification requirements.

Subsection (2)

This subsection defines the membership of the commission, the terms of office and that the members need to be confirmed by the Senate.

Subsection (3)

This subsection defines a number of provisions.  including that the commission's employees are not employees of the state.  So here we have a quasi-governmental certification agency and it is not obvious where they get their funds.

Discussion

Home care is an important social topic.  Certainly because of the demographic imbalances and the onset of the retirement of the so-called "baby boomer" cohort, home care will be an extremely high demand service.  It will also be expensive and it is not entirely clear who all will be pitching in to pay for these services.  My neighbor is an elderly couple.  She's got her health and mobility, but he's disabled due toaa chronic degenerative disease and possibly issues from prior military service.  They have in-home care for him and it is medically necessary.  Having him in an institutional setting would be the wrong solution and this is not palliative care as he certainly could live for 5 or 10 more years.  Whether this is being paid for through a veteran's benefit, old age benefit, pension, medicare/Medicaid or through private insurance, I do not know, I am not going to ask them.  But it has to be having some out of pocket expenses.  That the money is well spent is what the above mentioned Home Care Commission is designed to ensure. Certainly not a simple task and while it might have been designed in the way it was in order to be able to sell it, it makes much more sense to me to have been a full part of the government, both to assure and control funding as well as accountability.

Article XV, Section 10 (part 2) of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we continue to look at Section 10 of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous".  Section 10 is entitled "The Oregon Property Protection Act of 2000".  As far as I have read about this, I don't understand how it protects any property since so far it has been entirely about under what conditions property can be seized or forfeited.  Last post we covered subsections (1) through (8) and in this post we will cover (9) through (16).

Subsection (9)

This subsection considers that in all cases, contraband, that is items illegal to be in someone's possession can be seized without a conviction.

Subsection (10)

This subsection creates an exception for animals such that animals can be seized per other laws and as such do not require a conviction.

Subsection (11)

This subsection clarifies that in no way is the intent of the law to nullify any existing police or law enforcement power to seize property for evidentiary or other purposes.  This clause is the clear smoking gun that the title of this section is essentially apocryphal.

Subsection (12)

This subsection defines to whom the proceeds of sale for any seized property is to go.  In this case, this is clearly at odds with Article, section 43 which discusses restitution to victims.  The  money raised through the sale has to pay back any liens firstly, but then the state or agency pockets the rest of the money to reimburse expenses and for drug treatment programs.

Subsection (13)

This subsection defines the circumstances under which forfeiture proceedings can be transferred to Federal law enforcement or other agencies.  Essentially if Federal officials have an interest, they must take the State to court.

Subsection (14)

This subsection has a lot of words that seem to say very little.  It imposes a penalty on anyone who tries to obstruct the seizure.

Subsection (15)

This subsection requires that an annual report is generated regarding forfeitures and the disposition of property seized.

Subsection (16)

This subsection is a catchall statement that should something be found unconstitutional, it only invalidates that parts and not the entire section.

Article XV, Section 10 of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we start to look at Article XV, Section 10 of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous", but that does not mean unimportant.  Section 10 is a long section and when originally passed by the Legislature had been called "The Oregon Property Protection Act of 2000".  The section has 16 subsections and we will consider all in the course of 2 posts to find out what property is being protected and how.

Section 10, Subsection (1)

This subsection contains the title.

Section 10, Subsection (2)

This subsection indicates that this contains a statement of principles regarding the subject matter.  These are a series of statements that are designed to build on one another.  This provides the context that while law enforcement has a right to seize property, there are limits as to forfeiture of the property due to criminal proceedings.  There is mention of restitution in Article I, Section 42 however that section does not define the detailed terms.

Section 10, Subsection (3)

This states at the beginning that forfeiture is contingent entirely on conviction.  In the case of a civil suit where an aggrieved party (victim of the crime) sues for restitution by way of seized property.

Section 10, Subsection (4)

Similar crimes can be used as the basis for making a claim for forfeiture.  This subsection mentions specific requirements for that.

Section 10, Subsection (5)

This subsection allows for seizure of property with out conviction of a crime.  Partly, this is included such that in some way the spouse cannot attempt to shield the property through ownership whilst being cognizant of the of the crime and doing nothing to stop it.

Section 10, Subsection (6)

In this subsection, it defines what is the standard of evidence that has to be met.  For personal property, it is the preponderance of the evidence.  For real property it is "clear and convincing" evidence.  The (b) is aimed to allow for easier suits against drug crimes.

Section 10, Subsection (7)

This subsection provides for proportionality of the property seized vs. the impact of the crime committed.

Section 10, Subsection (8)

This subsection protects banks so that if a house has a mortgage or there is an outstanding lien on a car, seizure of the property also effects movement of the mortgage or lien.

Article XV, sections 5 to 9 of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post we look at Section 5 through 9 of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous" and we shall see a variety of topics being dealt with in this post.

Section 5

This section is kind of a bit of women's rights in that if the wife owns property in her own name only, creditors of her husband cannot try to recover it in payment of debts.  I wonder if it works in the opposite way as well.

Section 5a

This section defines marriage as between one man and one woman.  However, I believe this has been struck down as unconstitutional.

Section 6

This section puts a limit on the smallest size that a county can be.

Section 7

This section is a conflict of interest provision in that no one who is suing the State cannot be an officer of the State or a member of the Legislative Assembly.

Section 8

This section provides a couple of exemptions with regards to prohibitions on holding multiple offices.  It's unclear why they did not simply modify the clauses referenced in the other Articles rather than create this hidden appendage to the rules, but I am sure there were reasons.

Section 9

This section is a clarification to the elections rules.  Again, why they did not include this in Article II, I don't know.  But essentially, this says that if an office is actually vacant, then the newly elected replacement can be considered in office as of the day of the election took place.

Article XV, Sections 4c anf 4f of the Oregon State Constitution.

In this post we take a look at sections 4c and 4f of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous".  Sections 4c and 4f have to do with the Oregon state lottery and spending the proceeds of the lottery.

Section 4c

This section directs the Secretary of State to conduct audits of the monies granted to various state agencies from the parks and natural resources fund.  The report prepared after the audit is to demonstrate that the funds were used for appropriate purposes and also show how much improvement has taken place over the longer term.

Section 4f

This section was passed in the recent election in November 2016.  This section creates a veteran's services fund. and declares that 1.5% of the proceeds of the lottery shall be allocated to the fund.  Additionally, the Legislature can add funds from elsewhere into this fund.  The section defines veterans differently from other parts of the constitution.  It also, in subsection (2) enumerates what the money can be spent on.  There seems to me to be a bit of overlap between this section and what is stated in Article XI-A and from that, I wonder if something has gone wrong in the management of the fund set up by Article XI-A and that this is a bandaid to prevent total collapse.

Article XV Section 4a and 4b of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post we look at Sections 4a and 4b of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous".  Sections 4a and 4b have to do with the proceeds from the State Lottery Commission and how these are supposed to be spent on parks, wildlife and habitats.

Section 4a, Subsection (1)

This subsection states the purposes for which the money in the park subaccount can be used.  Also, it directs that all the money should be used in this way each biennium.

Section 4a, Subsection (2)

This subsection states the specific actions that can be funded from the park subaccount.

Section 4a, Subsection (3)

This subsection directs that a state agency is given the task to issue grants to local and regional governments to undertake some activities to create and maintain parks.  This sets the level to be allocated to local and regional grants at 12% of the money in the park subaccount, but this is intended to rise to 25% at some point in the future.

Section 4b, subsection (1)

This subsection states the purposes for which the money in the natural resources subaccount can be used for.  Also it directs that all the money should be used each biennium so that it is not "saved".

Section 4b, subsection (2)

This subsection directs that a state agency is given the task to issue grants to various entities (they can be private, it appears).  This sets the level to be granted at 65% and eventually it rises to 70%.  There are specific purposes for which this money is intended to be spent that are enumerated in this subsection.

Section 4c, subsection (3)

This subsection directs the legislature on what the remainder of the money can be spent on and provides an enumeration of various activities.

Article XV, Section 4 of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we take a look at Section 4 of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous".  Section 4 has a pre-amble and deals with the proceeds from the State Lottery.  Personally, the State lottery to me seems to be a stupidity tax.  When you look at the odds, the expectation values are always below (often well below) $1.00.  Certain lotteries are really about donation rather than gambling, but the vast majority sell this dream that you will beat the 300 million to one odds and be rich, famous and never again have to work a day in your life much less clear the dinner table.  But I digress...

Preamble

The ballot initiative included a preamble which basically said a lot of feel-good things about parks and the outdoors and how it is an integral part of the Oregon psyche and further provides health and economic benefits.

Subsection (1)

This subsection states that other than the approved instances in this section, lotteries are otherwise prohibited.

Subsection (2)

This subsection authorizes church bingo nights and similar kinds of social pursuits.  The Legislature has to enact rules specifying the kinds of organizations and lotteries which are to be regulated.

Subsection (3)

This subsection creates the State Lottery Commission.  The money (really net profit) from the State Lottery shall be used for prescribed purposes.

Subsection (4)

The first part of this subsection defines the board of the State Lottery Commission.  Then the position of Director is defined.  The Director runs the State Lottery. Finally, in this section, some payouts of funds are defined to support those purposes mentioned in the Preamble.

Subsection (5)

This subsection limits the size of the Education Stability fund and also directs some of the proceeds to be used for the matching school capital fund defined in Article XI-P.

Subsection (6)

This subsection defines some circumstances where a limited portion of the fund can simply be made available for operating expenses of the education system.  These circumstances involve downturns in economic activity and cooperation between the legislative and executive branches.

Subsection (7)

This just says that the Legislature can write laws to determine who can determine that the conditions required in subsection (6) have been fulfilled.

Subsection (8)

This subsection specifies that 15% of the fund is to be expended on parks and environmental improvements.

Subsection (9)

This subsection defines that only one State Lottery can operate in the State of Oregon.

Subsection (10)

This subsection prohibits casinos to be authorized by the state.

Article XV, Sections 1 to 3 of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we will look at Sections 1 to 3 of Article XV of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XV is entitled "Miscellaneous" and covers a wide variety of topics.  Believe me, if you think miscellaneous means unimportant, that is wrong.  The first three sections are relatively pedestrian, yet clearly underscore a certain preventative thinking regarding power's corrupting influence.

Section 1

This section specifies how succession is handled.  It considers the cases where the incumbent does not run vs. when the incumbent runs and is defeated.

Section 2

This section sets a maximum tenure time for any office not specified in the Constitution is 4 years, whether that is an appointed or elected office.

Section 3

This section defines that everyone elected or appointed to an office listed in the Constitution has to take an oath.

Articles XII and XIV of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post we look at a few different Articles of the Oregon State Constitution since these are short ones.  So let's get started.

Article XII

This Article provides for an elected State Printer.  It also provides that the Legislature can enact laws by which to get books printed and bound by other means than an elected State Printer.  This position has clearly been absorbed into the state administrative bureaucracy and further, actual printed books are, by some, considered antiquated.  This Article would be a candidate for repeal, but then, the repeal would only serve to satisfy editorial cravings such as some of the numbering issues that have been noted.

Article XIII

This Article was repealed out of triskaidekaphobia.  Just kidding, but that would be funny if it were true. But seriously, the Article text was repealed by a vote in 1956.

Article XIV

In this Article which is entitled "Seat of Government" and has 2 sections, the first section defines the seat of government as Marion County.  The second section prohibits spending money on the construction of a State House prior to 1865.  I suppose this is relevant in some way but unfortunately, I don't know Oregon history well enough.

Recap of Article XI and it's children

After having read through Article XI and all of it's children (XI-A, XI-B, etc.), there are a couple of things that strike me as worth commenting on.  If you add everything up, the State can surely now take on a large amount of debt.  I've compiled a list of the child articles and the limits to the debt that can be incurred below.  Percentages are of the total market value of all property in the state.

• XI, Section 7, 1 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-A, Section 1, 8 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-B, Section 2, 1 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.
• XI-E, Section 1, 3/16 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-F(1), section 1, 3/4 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-F(2), section 1, 5 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.
• XI-G, section 1, 3/4 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-H, section 1, 1 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-I(1), section 1, 1 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-I(2), section 1, 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.
• XI-J, section 1, 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes allowed.
• XI-K, section 2, 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.
• XI-L, section 1, 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes not allowed.
• XI-M, section 1, 1/5 percent, ad valorem property taxes not allowed.
• XI-N, section 1, 1/5 percent, ad valorem property taxes not allowed.
• XI-O, section 1, 1 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.
• XI-P, section 1, 1/2 percent, ad valorem property taxes not allowed.
• XI-Q, section 2, 1 percent, ad valorem property taxes not mentioned.

Were you keeping track? It adds up to just under 24 1/2 percent of the real market value of all property in the state of Oregon.  That's a lot of debt.
Another issue is that one of the assumptions that are made is that the price of real estate always goes up.  The banks make it when they give people and companies mortgages.  As we saw in the financial disaster that happened in 2006-2008, when real estate prices decline with some significance, it causes chaos and so all of the debt that the state has incurred is susceptible to causing bankruptcy should we experience another financial collapse and the government has been borrowing up to the limits.
Another thing that reading through this portion of the constitution is that since the mid-1990's, the residents of Oregon have been concerned about taxation levels, especially property taxes.  Later amendment proposals needed to include the prohibition against property taxes being the basis for the raising the money to pay back the debt incurred because the proposals would not pass during an election otherwise.
In my mind, this is a striking example of the conflict between compassion and fairness.  People are not uniform users of government services and public "goods" such as roads and sewer systems.  People's contributions to the expense of government services and public goods are also not uniform.  The people at the ends of either extreme often are the subject of debate.  There is a sense of fairness that you should get about the same as you contribute, but this is certainly not true for everyone and for those who get a lot without much contribution, this can either be viewed through the lens of compassion or the lens of suspicion by those who contribute a lot, but get not so much.  And due to the opacity of the governmental conduit that does the transfer, it is sadly the lens of suspicion which seems to prevail.

Article XI-Q of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-Q of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XI-Q is entitled "Real or personal property to be owned or operated by State".  The title certainly seems to be broad and all encompassing.  It's also kind of a contradiction to call something personal property owned by the State, but let's see if the detailed wording gives us a better definition.  The Article has 4 sections.

Section 1

This section authorizes taking on debt for specific purposes which include acquiring, constructing, remodeling, repairing, equipping, or furnishing real or personal property that is or will be owned or operated by the state.  This is still really quite broad and I have concerns about the abuse of such loose language.  In many ways, operating costs could conceivably be shoehorned into the definition.  It ends up in many ways subverting Article XI, Section 7 which starts off with a prohibition against creating a debt of greater than $50,000.  In subsection (2)(b) of XI-Q, it allows that previous borrowing can be reclassified under this Article which is less restrictive that other child articles of Article XI.

Section 2

This section authorizes the taking on debt and does not use the word bond.  As such, any kind of debt instruments could be used.  I am concerned that such things could end up being opaque and murky and whether adequately considered as to the cost of borrowing.

Section 3

This section directs the Legislature to enact laws to implement this Article.

Section 4

This section has a catchall so that conflicts with other parts of the constitution would not allow this article or a part thereof to be struck down.

Article XI-P of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at the Oregon State Constitution, Article XI-P which is entitled "School District Capital Costs".  This article authorizes that bonds can be issued to raise funds which can be given or loaned to school districts for capital costs.  This Article has 7 sections.

Section 1

This section has 4 subsections.  The first 2 authorize that the State can issue and guarantee bonds.  Also, the repayment of the bonds cannot come from ad valorem property taxes.  This section also states that the State will provide matching funds to monies raised by the local districts which have been voter approved.  The money can only be used for capital costs and for the costs associated with the raising of the money and cannot be used for school district operating costs.

Section 2

This section specifies the possible sources of funds that will repay the issued bonds.  It specifically prohibits ad valorem property taxes.

Section 3

This section authorizes rolling over of the bonds.

Section 4

This section creates a school capital matching fund.  It is a holding place for the money so that it can be doled out to school districts when needed in a short response time.  The idea hear would be to raise a large amount of money from the bonds and then the fund would issue the money to the school districts in small lumps.

Section 5

This section defines capital costs.  The definition includes any asset that has a working life longer than 1 year.  This is really quite a short period of time and although I can see that it comes from the accounting asset definition, I do think it invites school district administrators to try and play games with the definition.

Section 6

This section directs the Legislature to enact laws to implement this section.

Section 7

This section is a catchall to prevent conflicts with other parts of the constitution from invalidating parts of the whole of the Article.

Article XI-O of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we will look at Article XI-O of the Oregon State Constitution.  This article is entitled "Pension Liabilities".  The article authorizes that the state can incur indebtedness in order to finance pension liabilities of the State.  The monies raised can also pay for the costs of issuing bonds which is a provision that seems to be a change to the standard text that has been used in previous amendments.  The demographics of Oregon are very similar to the demographics of the USA in general and the baby boom has created pension related issues for all organizations in the USA.  As a large cohort of State employees get to retirement and start taking benefits, the funds do not have enough income to pay out everything.  So rather than pay it out of the general funds, this allows the State to use debt.  The Article has 4 sections.

Section 1

This section first states the purpose of the Article and any indebtedness incurred.  Then it authorizes that the State can guarantee the bonds but also states that the repayment of such cannot be sourced from ad valorem property taxes.

Section 2

This section authorizes rolling over of the bonds issued under this Article.

Section 3

This section directs the Legislature to enact laws to implement this Article.

Section 4

This section is a catchall to prevent the striking down of this article in view of any other parts of the Constitution with which it might conflict.

Article XI-N of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we take a look at Article XI-N of the Oregon State Constitution.  The Article is entitled "Seismic Rehabilitation of Emergency Services Buildings".  As explained in the previous post, earthquakes are a hazard to Oregon.  The previous post dealt with school buildings ("Think of the children!") and this section deals with hospitals, fire stations and police stations.  This article is nearly word for word the same as the previous one.  There are 5 sections.

Section 1, subsection (1)

This subsection authorizes the issue of bonds up to the limit of one-fifth of one percent of the real market value of all property in the state.

Section 1, subsection (2)

This subsection guarantees any bonds that are issued under this Article.

Section 1, subsection (3)

This subsection provides definitions for "acute inpatient care facility" and "emergency services building."

Section 2

This section allows the legislature to repay the bond principal and interest from any funds other that ad valorem property taxes.

Section 3

This section authorizes rolling over of the bonds.

Section 4

This section directs the Legislature to enact laws to implement this Article.

Section 5

This section provides a catchall to state that if there are conflicts with other sections of the Constitution, these conflicts do not invalidate this Article.

Article XI-M of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-M of the Oregon State Constitution.  This article is entitled "Seismic Rehabilitation of Public Education Buildings".  The western side of Oregon is in an earthquake zone.  The major tectonic plate intersection currently runs out in the ocean a little bit for a large portion of where it intersection Oregon.  However, earthquakes rattle the Willamette river valley where a significant portion of the population lives.  As science has progressed, better materials, construction techniques and earthquake resistant building designs have progressed and as a result minimum building standards have been raised over time.  The useable life of a public education building can easily be 70 years.  Retrofitting existing buildings to bring them up to minimum standards is expensive.  Hence there needed to be a fund established to do this work.  This article has 5 sections.

Section 1

This section has 3 subsections.  It defines what a public education building is.  It also authorizes the issue of bonds for the work required to upgrade buildings.  The work required to survey and conduct engineering evaluations is also included.

Section 2

This section provides for sources of repayment.  As stated in subsection (3), the legislature can pull money from just about anywhere, except as prohibited in subsection (1), ad valorem property taxes.

Section 3

This section authorizes rolling over the bonds.

Section 4

This section directs the legislature to issue laws to enact this Article of the constitution.

Section 5

This section has a catchall statement that indicates this Article overrules any conflicting sections of the constitution

Article XI-L of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post we look at Article XI-L of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Oregon Health and Science University" and defines that bonds may be issued in order to provide capital costs for OHSU.  The amendment was made in 2001 based on a resolution of the Legislature which was subsequently passed by the people.  This Article has 5 sections.

Section 1

This section has 5 subsections.  It authorizes the issue of bonds backed by the guarantee of the state.  The amount is limited to $200 million or one half of one percent of the real market value of all property in the state, whichever is less.  The monies have to be used for capital costs and not for operating costs of OHSU.

Section 2

This section specifies sources of revenue that can be used to pay back the principal and interest of the bonds.  Although it leaves it open to what the Legislature wants to do, it does specifically prohibit the use of ad valorem property taxes.

Section 3

This section authorizes rolling over of the bonds.

Section 4

This section directs the Legislature to enact legislation to execute this Article of the constitution.

Section 5

This section provides a catchall that any conflicting sections of the Constitution are overruled.

Article XI-K of the Oregon State Constitution

This post looks at Article XI-K of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Guarantee of Bonded Indebtedness of Educational Districts".  This Article is intended that the State can  guarantee the debts of Education districts so as to allow the districts to obtain better interest rates.  This article has 6 sections.

Section 1

This section defines the purpose of this Article.

Section 2

This section authorizes that state can guarantee loans by educational districts and that bonds can be issued for that purpose.

Section 3

This section authorizes that the Legislature can demand repayment from the beneficiaries through possibly deducting from the allocations given to them by the state.

Section 4

This section authorizes the issuance of bonds.  Repayment is to be through clawbacks under section 3 or by appropriations from the Common School Fund.

Section 5

This section describes the nature of the bonds that can be issued under this Article.

Section 6

This section directs the Legislature to write laws to implement the provisions of this Article.

Article XI-J of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-J of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Small Scale Local Energy Loans".  The purpose here is to create local energy supplies.  The date of this is the late 1970's where the oil shocks were very much in people's minds and also, there were concerns about jobs and so perhaps this was also seen as a way to bolster job creation, especially in rural, small town areas.  The Article has 5 sections.

Section 1

This section authorizes that the state can take on debt to fund Small Scale Local Energy Loans.

Section 2

This section authorizes the issuance of bonds to take on the debt.

Section 3

This section authorizes rolling over of the bonds.

Section 4

This section authorizes that the state can levy ad valorem property taxes in order raise money to pay for the bonds.

Section 5

This section directs the legislature to issue laws and regulations in order to implement the Article.  Further, it states that this article supersedes any existing county or municipal charters with regards to funding small scale local energy projects.

Article XI-I(2) of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we take a look at Article XI-I(2) of the Oregon State Constitution which is entitled "Multifamily housing for elderly and disabled".  In this Article, it provides for borrowing in order to have a fund to assist with construction of housing for elderly and disabled persons.  The Article has 4 sections.

Section 1

This section describes the purpose of assisting with financing of multifamily housing for the elderly and for disabled persons.  It leaves it to the legislature whether to provide this money to a person or corporation as a loan or in some form of grant and to define a lot of other parameters.

Section 2

This section provides for ad valorem property taxes to be levied in order to pay back the borrowings if necessary.

Section 3

This section directs that the borrowings are made as bonds and these bonds can be rolled over.

Section 4

This section has a catchall such that for any conflict between this Article and other sections of the constitution, this section prevails.

Article XI-I(1) of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we take a look at Article XI-I(1) of the Oregon State Constitution which is entitled "Water Development Projects".  These projects are not water power projects as those are handled in a different Article and has 5 sections.  This Article creates a "Water Development Fund"

Section 1

This section provides the definitions of what is intended to be funded from moneys raised through bonds as described in the other sections in this Article.  The purpose is for irrigation, drainage, fish protection, and watershed restoration.  There is some wiggle room to include other projects that might come up and are authorized by law.  This Article is intended to support farmers although corporations are considered valid recipients of the money.  Also, it is prohibited to use this money for municipalities with a population larger than 30,000.

Section 2

This section is standard text for issue of bonds.

Section 3

This section provides for rolling over a bond issue.

Section 4

This section provides for ad valorem property tax to be levied in order to pay back the bonds.

Section 5

This section directs the legislature to write a law to implement the section as well as to provide authority to override county and/or municipal charters or acts of incorporation that might prevent implementation.

Article XI-H of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-H of the Oregon State Constitution which is entitled "Pollution Control."  The point of this Article is to allow the legislature to undertake pollution control projects financed by bonds or other debt instruments.  The Article has 6 sections.

Section 1

This section defines that bonds can be issued to fund construction of, but not operation of, facilities that deal with waste in some form.  Notably, the State can decide to take over obligations which were originated by municipalities or counties using this Article.

Section 2

This section defines that for most facilities, the facility has to have a revenue stream which can consist of federal money or user fees, that accounts for 70% of the operating expenses.  However, this does not apply to facilities designed for disposal and treatment of hazardous substances.

Section 3

This section takes exception to a rule in Article XI, Section 10 which prohibits counties from taking on debt greater than $5000.00 provided the debt is for the purposes discussed in this Article.

Section 4

This section authorizes ad valorem taxes to be levied on property to pay for borrowing undertaken per section 1.

Section 5

This discusses the bonds issued and allows for them to be rolled over.

Section 6

This clause is a catchall to proscribe that in the event of conflicts between this article and any provisions pre-existing in the constitution, this article takes precedence.

Article XI-G of the Oregon State Consitution

In this post, we will look at Article XI-G of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Higher Education Institutions and Activities; Community Colleges".  This Article has 3 sections.  The Article complements Article XI-F(1) and provides a second means of financing higher education institutions in the state.  The scope of XI-F(1) is much more narrow than XI-G.

Section 1

There are 4 subsections, these empower borrowing against the credit of the state, direct the proceeds to be used for higher education, states that borrowed funds must be matched by other funds, and although it is not stated, these could be private funds, however obtained.  The funds can come out of the General fund if so authorized by the Legislature in an appropriates bill.  The final subsection indicates that money can also be used in combination with XI-F(1) funds, but these are not to be counted as matching funds.

Section 2

This provides for the issuance of bonds to raise funds for the expenditures in section 1.

Section 3

This provides for property taxes to be levied to pay back the funds borrowed through the issuance of bonds.

Article XI-F(2) of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-F(2) of the Oregon State Constitution.  This Article is entitled "Veterans' Bonus" and talks about the WWII Veterans' Compensation fund.  This Article has 10 sections.  The purpose of this is to create a fund that provides a certain bonus to veterans who served in World War II.  It should be noted that this was written as if it was an act of law.  However, given the prohibitions on lending the credit of the state, this had to be a constitutional amendment or else, the government would have had to fund it out of the general funds generated by income taxes, etc.

Section 1

This section provides for the issuance of bonds by the State to fund a bonus to veterans of World War II.  The amount of bonds to be issued is limited to 5% of the value of all property in the state.

Section 2

This section provides definitions for "domestic service", "foreign service", "husband", "wife", "child", "parent" and "veteran".

Section 3

This section defines how to calculate the bonus, a one-time payment based on time served, which is capped at $600.00 per veteran.

Section 4

This section defines that if the veteran has died due to their service, the survivors of the veteran are eligible to be awarded or split the $600.00 award.

Section 5

This section disqualifies certain types of service such as medical or chaplain, or if they had to serve time in military prisons.  Essentially, they want this bonus to go to front-line soldiers.

Section 6

This section defines who gets priority for the bonus awarded to deceased soldiers.

Section 7

This section defines that the bonus cannot be assigned or paid to someone else.  Further, it cannot be seized due to some civil claim nor is it to be taxed.

Section 8

This section assigns the responsibility for executing the payout of the bonus to the Director of Veteran's affairs.

Section 9

This section sets a time limit for people to make application to two years.  Further it specifies what kind of information has to be in the application and what papers have to be provided.

Section 10

This section directs the director of veterans' affairs to provide forms for free and upon request to those who want to fill them out.

Article XI-E and XI-F(1) of the Oregon State Constitution

In this post, we look at Article XI-E of the Oregon State Constitution.  This article is entitled "State Reforestation".  Logging and forestry have long been an important part of the Oregon economy and culture.  As people realized that old growth forest, after being cut down, took a long time to grow back, reforestation became vogue.  Further, in the past there have been significant forest fires in the Cascades range and as a result acceleration of reforestation and rehabilitation of the land was in the interests of Logging companies.  This Article, which has no sections, allows for the State to take on debt to perform rehabilitation and reforestation as well as acquire, manage and develop forests.  The type of debt is not specified.  These debts are to be paid via the proceeds from the lands such as harvesting licenses and other such user fees, but also through statewide property taxes.
The next Article is XI-F(1) which is entitled "Higher Education Building Projects". This Article allows bonds to be issued in order to finance projects for construction of higher level educational institutions.  This Article has five sections, but the provisions are much similar to earlier Articles such as XI-D and XI-A.  The intent is to provide the capital for schools and universities which over time will be paid back to the state although, it can also be paid back through property taxes.  There is a restriction in section 2 which requires that the Legislative Assembly has to determine that the beneficiary institution has the appropriate revenue stream to run the buildings and pay back the debt.

Article XI-D of the Oregon State Constitution

This post discusses Article XI-D of the Oregon State Constitution.  Article XI-D is entitled "State Power Development".  This is a dam clause as it relates to water power and electrical generation via hydroelectric generation.

Section 1

This section states that the interest and/or ownership of the water and water power will be held by the state in perpetuity and hence cannot be sold to private interests.

Section 2

Note that the conventional numbering of subsections was ignored by the writers of this amendment.  This section defines the authority of the State with regards to the development of dams on rivers for water power or electrical generation.  In the case where the river is on the border or relating to federally owned lands, the State can negotiate and cooperate with the federal or other state governments.  Similarly, the State can work with local governments.  One of the key items in this section is that it allows the State to take on debt for development and construction of dams and electrical power systems.

Section 3

This section defines that a board of 3 members shall be empowered to administer the laws regarding water power.  The intent is that these board members are elected but non-partisan.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to determine if such a board or commission was ever created.  Also, it is not clear whether the previous sections on Public Utility Districts and other similar corporations have superseded this Article's intent.

Section 4

This section is included to grandfather in irrigation and industrial uses of water and to clarify that the intent is not to stop other beneficial uses of water, but to allow for where practical, generation of water power.