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Metro’s attorneys issued a legal determination today that the ballot initiative proposed by People for Portland two weeks ago, which would reroute hundreds of millions of dollars of housing services funds approved by voters in 2020, does not meet the requirements of Oregon’s constitution.
Metro’s argument: The rules for distributing the money can’t be changed via a ballot measure. “Because the substance of [the measure] is administrative in nature, it is not subject to the initiative process provided by Article IV of the Oregon Constitution,” Metro’s lawyers wrote.
The attorneys also write that “voters must be provided with the full text of the statute as it would appear if amended. Here, [the measure] proposes to amend [code] by adding specific sections. However, several of the proposed ‘new’ code actions amend existing sections of the Metro Code, but those sections are not included or otherwise referenced. Without the context of the existing sections of Metro Code, voters do not have sufficient information to understand the full impacts of [it].”
That “full text” concern was also raised in a ruling by Secretary of State Shemia Fagan that recently led to the demise of a proposed statewide campaign finance limitation measure.
The measure put forth by People for Portland would reroute 75% of the 2020 Metro housing tax dollars to building emergency shelters and beds. That tax is expected to raise about $250 million a year for homeless services.
The proposed measure would also require cities to enforce their own anti-camping ordinances to be eligible for long-term funding, force an annual audit of all spending, and seek to prevent conflicts of interest on the oversight board.
“The Metro Attorney has rejected the petition and will not further comment on the prospective initiative due to potential litigation,” Metro spokesman Neil Simon said in statement.
The decision by Metro attorneys can be challenged by People for Portland. The business-backed advocacy group says it will comment after consulting with its attorney.
