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The Oregon Court of Appeals, in a decision received today, ruled that
our one-sentence proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution, to
allow enactment of limits on political contributions and spending,
somehow amends the Constitution in several "unrelated" ways.<br>
<br>
This decision will be taken to the Oregon Supreme Court, where I am
confident we will win. Recently, the Oregon Supreme Court has not
accepted the reasoning of the Court of Appeals in "one amendment" cases.<br>
<br>
In the meantime, we will continue to collect the signatures needed to
quality for the ballot. We need essentially 101,000 valid signatures.
We have collected almost 120,000 to date but need an additional 20,000
an insurance.<br>
<br>
Please continue with your dedicated efforts to get big money out of
Oregon politics!<br>
<br>
Thanks.<br>
<br>
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<p><span style="font-family: 'Univers',sans-serif;"><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"></span></span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span
style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;"><span
style="font-variant: small-caps;">Fairelections Oregon</span></span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span
style="font-weight: bold;"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.fairelections.net">www.fairelections.net</a></span></span></span></p>
<br>
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<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Daniel Meek, attorney</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">(503) 293-9021</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dan@fairelections.net">dan@fairelections.net</a></span></span></p>
</td>
<td
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valign="top" width="32%">
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Harry Lonsdale</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">(541) 549-1556</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:harry@fairelections.net">harry@fairelections.net</a><span
style="font-size: 8pt;"></span></span></span></p>
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<p style="line-height: 0.207701in;"> <br>
</p>
<p style="text-align: center; line-height: 0.249241in;"><span
style="font-weight: bold;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">April
26, 2006<br>
</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 20pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"></span></span><span
style="font-size: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"></span></span><span
style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span
style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">OREGON
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM ADVOCATES
WILL SEEK REVIEW OF COURT OF APPEALS RULING</span></span></span></p>
<br>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"></span></span><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Supporters
of two campaign finance reform ballot measures will seek review in the
Oregon
Supreme Court of today's ruling by the Oregon Court of Appeals that
Petition 8 proposes to
enact more than one unrelated change to the Oregon Constitution.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">"Among
those who disagree with the conclusion adopted by the Court of Appeals
are us, the
Oregon Attorney General, and the Oregon Secretary of State," said
attorney Dan Meek. "We all
argued that Petition 8, a one-sentence amendment that would allow
enactment of limits on
campaign financing in Oregon, is a valid change to the Oregon
Constitution. But the Court of
Appeals agreed with the ACLU."</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">The
decision does not halt the effort to qualify Petition 8 for the ballot.
Supporters need to
submit 100,840 valid Oregon voter signatures by July 7. They have
already collected about
120,000 signatures and intend to submit over 140,000 in order to ensure
qualification for the
ballot.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Petition
8 is very simple. Here is the full text:</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: 0.226667in; margin-right: 0.226667in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span> </span></span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: 0.226667in; margin-right: 0.226667in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Constitution, the people through the
initiative process, or the Legislative Assembly by a three-fourths vote
of both Houses,
may enact and amend laws to prohibit or limit contributions and
expenditures, of any
type or description, to influence the outcome of any election.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Petition
8 is a limited expansion of legislative power in Oregon. It modifies
the Constitution to
overcome the 1997 decision of the Oregon Supreme Court that the Oregon
Constitution does
not allow any mandatory limits on political contributions or
expenditures.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">The
requirement that the Legislature can adopt such changes by 3/4 vote of
both houses is to
prevent the Legislature, elected under the current system of no limits,
from repealing or
eviscerating effective limits enacted through the initiative process.
In 2003, the Ma<span style="font-family: 'Univers',sans-serif;">ssachusetts
Legislature -- by voice vote -- repealed the “clean money” public
funding system enacted by
initiative. In December 2004, an emergency session of the Ohio
Legislature voted to increase
limits by factor of 4 and open various campaign financing loopholes for
corporations, by votes
that were majorities but not 3/4 majorities.</span></span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span
style="font-family: 'Univers',sans-serif;">"The Court of Appeals
reasoning would also invalidate Oregon's income tax "kicker"
constitutional amendment," said Meek. That amendment was enacted by
voters in 2000. It put
into Article IX, Section 14, of the Oregon Constitution the mechanism
for a mandatory tax credit
equal to all of the expected revenue in excess of that expected for the
biennial at the end of the
previous legislative session. The revenue forecasts are made by the
Governor but can be
changed by the Legislature "by a two-thirds majority vote of all
members elected to each House." If changing the majority required for a
legislative vote is a "separate and unrelated" amendment
to the Oregon Constitution, then the kicker amendment was and is also
invalid. "The validity of
amendments can be challenged after they are enacted," noted Meek. One
Oregon court has
applied the 10-year "statute of ultimate repose" to such a challenge
(to the amendment creating
the lottery), but the kicker amendment is well within the 10-year
period.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.207701in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"> </p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;">Petition
8 is endorsed by the Oregon Sierra Club, Alliance for Democracy,
OSPIRG, and many
others.</span></span></p>
<p
style="line-height: 0.193854in; margin-left: -0.173333in; margin-right: -0.163333in;"><span
style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial',sans-serif;"><span> </span>-30-</span></span></p>
<br>
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