BY SARAH ROSS

MEDFORD- The list of political action committees hoping to influence Oregon politics can add two new tax-focused groups to its ranks.

The new political action committees, although officially unrelated, were both created to promote lower taxes and fees.

The Jefferson Political Action Committee will focus primarily on raising money for “fiscally conservative and responsible” candidates in swing districts and will host events that would bring in national speakers.

Meanwhile, the Taxpayers Union USA will distribute information to members of the PAC for the purpose of writing letters to State Legislators and the Governor regarding tax- and fee-focused legislation and Letters to the Editor for major newspapers in the state.

Jonathan Bilden, Executive Director for both PACs, said the recent $1.5 billion increase in state taxes and fees―combined with the growing government, state deficit, and federal debt―led to the creation of the organizations.

Bilden said he hopes to provide “the access for taxpayers to be communicating with their representatives at the state and federal levels.”

Bilden called the PACs’ “absolute main focus” to be the “responsible expenditure of the public funds.”

“If that’s a more conservative outlook on fiscal policy, than that’s what it is,” said Bilden.

State Representative Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, co-founder of the groups, said the PACs were created because they will meet a need.

“We need to―as people and as taxpayers―need to protect our interests, and the only way we can do that is putting money into a political action committee and trying to offset some of that union money,” said Esquivel.

Esquivel stated that everyone is concerned about taxes and fees in Oregon, regardless of their political affiliation.

Whenever legislation is presented that would increase taxes or fees, Esquivel plans that the Taxpayers Union would send a message to its members notifying them of the legislation and directing them to a site for submitting letters to every state legislator.

“It’s about being proactive instead of reactive,” said Esquivel. “It’s about getting in front of these issues. And it’s about speaking from your heart.”

BY RACHEL CHEESEMAN

SALEM- As of July 1, many employers no longer will be able to perform a credit history check of potential employees as part of their hiring process.

This is a result of the Job Applicant Fairness Act, Senate Bill 1045, which was passed in the most recent February session, spearheaded by Sen. Diane Rosenbaum and Rep. Tina Kotek. Oregon is the third state to enact such legislation, following Washington and Hawaii.

Kotek said in a press release that this bill would remove an unfair obstacle preventing qualified Oregonians from finding employment, making finding a job even harder in the rough economic climate.

The bill passed with a strong majority, Kotek said, largely because of the bill’s structure, which includes exemptions for banks, law enforcement and other agencies where a credit history is “substantially job related.”

Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, said that bipartisanship was actually stronger in the votes against the bill than in the votes for it. Only one Republican voted for the bill, and four Democrats voted against it.

Kotek said credit history reports are not just credit scores, but are an in-depth history of every credit card owned, any debt accrued over years and a variety of other pieces of information, many of which would have no relation to job performance.

“To have that information used against somebody when they’re trying to get a job,” she said, “that seemed pretty unfair.”

She added that the histories are often inaccurate, leaving potential for employees to be denied hire because of inaccurate information in their credit history. While companies are working to rectify those errors, the correction process can take 30 days or more.

Kotek said the requirement of credit histories during the hiring process was based on the assumption that a bad credit history might indicate an individual would be an unsuccessful or dishonest employee.

However, Kotek said there is no research that could prove any such connection.

“There is no research or data that says someone with a bad credit history is going to be a bad employee or is going to steal from you,” she said.

Esquivel, who also sits on the House Business and Labor Committee, said he wasn’t entirely sure of the arguments against the bill, but his concern was primarily with government stepping into the hiring practices of companies, calling it “way over the line.”

“When you start dictating to people how they’re to hire their people and what criteria they have to hire their people, the government has gone too far,” he said. “Government can’t run itself let alone somebody else’s business.”

SALEM- Talk of jobs in Oregon continues to dominate speeches on the House floor, as seen in Tuesday’s speeches by Rep. Sal Esquivel (R-Medford), Rep. Bill Garrard (R-Kalamath Falls), and Rep. Jules Bailey (D-Portland).

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