2008 Oregon Ballot Measure 59
Oregon Ballot Measure 59 was an initiated state statute ballot measure sponsored by Bill Sizemore that appeared on the November 4, 2008 general election ballot in Oregon, United States. If it had passed, Oregon would have join Alabama, Iowa, and Louisiana as the only states to allow federal income taxes to be fully deducted on state income tax returns. Background. Official Ballot Title. The official ballot title is: "Creates an unlimited deduction for federal income taxes on individual taxpayers' Oregon income-tax returns." History. This is the third time Sizemore has put a similar measure  on the ballot. In 2000, he qualified Measure 91, which would have made federal income taxes fully deductible on state taxes. It lost 55–45, but a legislative referral that increased limited state deductions of federal taxes passed. In 2007, the limit on federal deductions was $5,600 — it increases each year indexed to inflation. In 2006, Sizemore associate Russ Walker introduced Measure 41, which would have allowed "income tax deduction equal to federal exemptions deduction to substitute for state exemption credit." It failed 63–37. Along with Measures 60 and 64, Measure 59 is one of the three initiatives on the  2008 ballot that Sizemore has brought to the ballot in the past. Newspaper Endorsements. Here is how Oregon's major newspapers have endorsed on Measure 59: No Oregon newspapers have endorsed a yes vote on Measure 59. Specific provisions of the initiative. The ballot title is "An Act to Prohibit Double Taxation". Specific provisions include: Estimated fiscal impact. The state's Financial Estimate Committee prepares estimated fiscal impact statements for any ballot measures that will appear on the ballot. The estimate prepared by this committee for Measure 58 says: Other fiscal estimates. The Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) issued  a separate financial impact study. Features of their report: Proponents. Bill Sizemore, Timothy R. Trickey and R. Russell Walker are the measure's chief petitioners. The committee that put Measure 59 on the ballot was called "Stop the Double Tax". There is no committee currently supporting the ballot measure. Donors supporting Measure 59. "The Oregonian" reported in September 2007 that Nevada millionaire Loren Parks was the leading contributor to the effort to put Measure 59 and other measures on the ballot. According to the newspaper, Parks gave money directly to the signature gathering firm, rather than to Sizemore directly. A  court injunction stemming from a 2000 fraud case prevents Sizemore from spending money directly on politics, although he told Oregon Public Broadcasting in May 2008 that he "found a way to put the measures on the ballot and give voters those choices without me actually handling the money. And so I'm still able to put measures on the ballot, I just have to do it in a sort of round-about way." Opponents. Measure 59 is opposed by the Defend Oregon, which includes the American Heart Association, 1000 Friends of Oregon, AARP Oregon, Children First for Oregon, and others . Arguments against Measure 59. Notable arguments that have been made against Measure 59 include: Donors opposing Measure 59. Defend Oregon, as a committee, is fighting seven different ballot measures, and supporting two others. As a result, it is not possible to discern how much of its campaign spending is going specifically to defeat Measure 58. Altogether, the group has raised $9 million in 2008. Major donations to the Defend Oregon group as of October 23 include: Petition drive history. The office of the Oregon Secretary of State announced on June 16, 2008 that its unofficial signature verification process showed  that the initiative's supporters had turned in 83,136 valid signatures, versus a requirement of 82,769 signatures. This represented a validity rate of 64.76% calculated over the 128,380 signatures turned in. The measure formally qualified for the ballot on August 2., A union-funded watchdog group asked the Oregon Secretary of State to conduct an investigation into how some of the signatures on the measure were collected. Bill Bradbury, the Secretary of State has said, ""...most all of the initiatives Oregon voters will decide this fall got there through practices that are now illegal. But those practices were legal at  the time most of the signatures were submitted." The state's Election Division is investigating the charges. External links. Note:: "This article was taken from Ballotpedia's article about Oregon Ballot Measure 59