Gas tax goes to court

The City of Sisters and local fuel dealers squared off in court on Friday in a hearing that will decide whether Sisters' three-cents-per-gallon gas tax is valid.

The Sisters City Council passed the ordinance creating the tax on August 13 in advance of a four-year statewide moratorium on local gas taxes that took effect after September 28. The Oregon Petroleum Association, on behalf of local gas station owners, immediately circulated a petition to get the matter on the March ballot.

Voters passed the referendum approving the tax.

The legal argument boils down to whether the council's passing of the ordinance in August is the "enactment" of the measure or the vote is the enactment. If the council action is the enactment, the tax stands. If the vote is the enactment, the tax is void because the election was well past the moratorium

deadline.

Both sides argued their case in Deschutes County Circuit Court on Friday before Judge Alta Brady, who told attorneys up front that "this is one that I am going to take under advisement so I can chew on it." No decision is expected until next week.

Oregon Petroleum Association attorney Paul Romain argued that when Sisters citizens signed his referendum petition they "vetoed" the council's action.

"In effect they have vetoed the measure until the people vote on it," Romain told the court.

City attorney Steve Bryant argued that the council's action "enacted the ordinance" and the referendum merely placed on hold the "effective date" of the

ordinance.

"The city approves an ordinance and that's the enactment date; then there is an effective date," Bryant said.

Bryant argued that here is a key difference between initiatives and referendums that is critical to this issue: He noted that initiatives arise from the people. In the language of the constitution, the people by their vote either "enact or reject them at an election independently of the legislative assembly."

In referendums, on the other hand, voters either "approve or reject" the actions of a legislature (or council).

Bryant says that "enact" and

"approve" mean different things and that the language makes it clear that the council "enacted" the measure - before the deadline - and voters "approved" it.

At stake is about $130,000 in revenue that the city wishes to collect to fund city street maintenance.

The due date for the first payment of the tax is Tuesday, May 25, but the city may not get any money.

"I have told them (the local fuel dealers) not to pay it," Romain told The Nugget. "I don't know if they are. They're independent

actors."

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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