Share this article! Tax breaks reigned in Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill to place limits on the controversial Business Energy Tax Credit, after vetoing a similar bill last year. The bill is designed to save the state’s general fund about $140 million over the next three years. The bill phases out tax incentives for … Read more
Tax breaks reigned in
Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill to place limits on the controversial Business Energy Tax Credit, after vetoing a similar bill last year.
The bill is designed to save the state’s general fund about $140 million over the next three years. The bill phases out tax incentives for large wind farms and gives the state more authority in rejecting applications, among other changes.
“The legislation is a win for Oregon taxpayers and for Oregon’s economy,” Kulongoski said in a statement after approving House Bill 3680. The bill, passed during the special February legislative session, lays out a long list of new ground rules for Oregon’s unique Business Energy Tax Credit program.
For years, Oregon has offered renewable energy companies tax credits worth up to $10 million for wind farms and other renewable energy projects and $20 million for plants that produce solar energy components. The cost of the program skyrocketed, however, as hundreds of companies took advantage of loose regulations that allowed some to obtain multiple subsidies and others to claim tax credits without saving any energy.
Read the full story at OregonLive.com.
Quake benefits Oregon
Earthquake damage to Chilean sawmills and plywood plants is providing an unexpected rise in demand for Oregon lumber.
To fill the gap of products normally produced by Chilean companies, hiring has increased at Oregon companies.
And, in addition to increased demand for Oregon plywood, prices for sanded plywood have risen about 20 percent, according to Swanson Group President Steve Swanson. The Swanson Group is a sawmill and plywood manufacturer with headquarters in Glendale and plants in Glendale, Springfield, Noti and Roseburg.
People in Oregon’s industry said that no one is rejoicing at what Swanson called “a sad situation” in Chile, but they are grateful for the additional work and the higher prices.
Read the full story at The Register-Guard.
Forest offsets offered
A subsidiary of EcoTrust is unveiling its first deal to sell carbon credits from its Olympic Peninsula property.
3,276 acres of the property are now on the market for credits to help offset greenhouse gas emissions from businesses and government.
EcoTrust aims to improve habitat in its forests, which total 13,000 acres now, and increase carbon storage to combat climate change. Carbon-saving steps include logging less, allowing trees to grow older before cutting and expanding logging-free buffers around streams and on steep slopes.
It also plans to maintain steady wood supplies to local mills through “patch cuts” and thinning. Jobs on its forest lands should eventually double the work created by industrial-style clear-cuts, said Bettina von Hagen, CEO of the forest management group.
Read the full story at OregonLive.com.
Klamath fish over farmers
In an effort to help threatened coho salmon survive the drought, a new plan will give Klamath Basin farmers just 30% of normal irrigation water.
The 1,300 farms on the Klamath Reclamation Project will start receiving irrigation in mid-May, six weeks later than usual.
A new plan for protecting threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River made a little more water available for farms, but even this much depends on normal rainfall in coming weeks, [U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Mike Connor] said.
He added that he hopes to get irrigation up to 50 percent of normal by spending $5 million to buy water from wells and pay some farmers to leave their fields dry. Farmers will also be eligible for $2 million in federal aid — $1 million on the Oregon side and $1 million on the California side.
Read the full story at The Bulletin.
Eugene slashes city jobs
About 40 Eugene city workers will either be laid off or have their hours reduced, while 25 to 30 currently vacant jobs will be eliminated by the next fiscal year.
The cuts will bring the number of city employees below 1,500, its lowest level since 2006.
The personnel moves are needed to relieve pressure on the city’s $445 million budget, which has been squeezed by the slow economy, steadily rising employee costs and past decisions to add expenses without money to pay for them, city officials said.
The job cuts and hours adjustments will affect all city departments and include unionized and nonunion employees, [City Manager Jon Ruiz] said. No police officers and firefighters will lose their jobs, he said.
Read the full story at The Register-Guard.
