CC Minutes - 07/21/99 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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In support of his motion, Mr. Kelly stated that he had believed earlier council action about the Hyundai allegations would have been premature given the lack of facts, and recollected the council's agreement that it would await the results of Tax Assessor Jim Gangle's investigation. He said it was unfortunate that the State legislature failed to take a similar approach, as the proposed bill would halt the investigation or render it useless. He described the contents of the bill, which would add new language changing the compliance criteria for a company in an enterprise zone, establish new rules regarding the effect of noncompliance on a company's tax exemption, and establish new rules regarding what was necessary to establish noncompliance with the criteria. Mr. Kelly said the Legislative Revenue Office indicated the amendment would directly affect the Hyundai semiconductor plant in Eugene. In addition, Art Fish of the Oregon Economic Development Department stated in The Register-Guard that the department believed the assessor's actions were inappropriate and the statutes needed to be changed, a clear statement that the intent of the department was to short-circuit the investigation. Local legislator Floyd Prozanski expressed confusion about the intent and impact of the bill, and concern about the haste to pass the bill. Mr. Kelly reported the bill passed the House of Representatives the previous night and would be considered by the Senate as soon as later that day. He asked the council to support his motion on the basis of home rule and its previous decision to let the investigation go forward. Responding to a question from Mr. Pap~ regarding the appropriateness of the motion under the council rules, Mr. Torrey said he believed any councilor could bring up any item at any meeting. He was unsure of the ramifications of Oregon's public meetings notice requirements on the issue. Mr. Johnson indicated he had been unable to consult with the City Attorney before the meeting, but believed there were provisions in the law that allowed the council to take action, given that the discussion regarding an action taken by the legislature near the end of the session, when things typically happened very quickly. Mr. Torrey ruled, as chair, that the motion was appropriate, but requested legal counsel to guide the council in situations such as this in the future. He asked the council to comment on the motion. Mr. Meisner recollected the precedence set by the council's action regarding the resolution related to the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and said in this case the council was being asked to take action on specific legislation based on already adopted council policies. Mr. Meisner concurred with Mr. Kelly that home rule was the basis for opposing the legislation. He added that the council should not "pick and choose" which local control issues it chose to fight. He did not think the council could afford that approach. Mr. Meisner wanted the Tax Assessor's investigation to go forward. He said his research indicated that the anti-discrimination portions of the Unmh Act, the California law violated by Hyundai, were so close to Oregon's anti-discrimination statutes that a judgment finding discrimination under that act would likely produce the same outcome under Oregon law. Acknowledging that Senate Bill 245 was likely to be passed by the Senate, Mr. Meisner believed the motion was important as a means of communicating the council's position to Governor John Kitzhaber. He said the council failed to communicate its position to the governor when the enterprise zone statutes were previously amended to provide for the grandfathering, a decision that he believed had "come back to haunt us now." Ms. Nathanson said that the issue was appropriately raised by Mr. Kelly. She was unsure the council needed to spend time on the issue at this time, however. She said her approach to the subject was somewhat pragmatic: did the council want to spend an already full agenda on the issue given the lack of time to affect the issue, and the possibility the legislature would act in spite of, or even because of, Eugene's opposition? She MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 21, 1999 Page 3 5:30 p.m.