Ballot Measure 5 was a landmark piece of

direct legislation Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy model which occurs in the majority ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

in 1990. Measure 5, an amendment to the

Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

(Article XI, Section 11), established limits on Oregon's

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

es on real estate. Its primary champion and spokesman was Don McIntire, a politically-active Gresham health club owner who would go on to lead the Taxpayers Association of Oregon. Property taxes dedicated for school funding were capped at $15 per $1,000 of real market value per year and gradually lowered to $5 per $1,000 per year. Property taxes for other purposes were capped at $10 per $1,000 per year. Thus, the total property tax rate would be 1.5% at the end of the five-year phase in period. The measure transferred the responsibility for school funding from

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

to the state, to equalize funding. The measure was passed in the November 6, 1990

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

with 574,833 votes in favor, 522,022 votes against. It was one of the most contentious measures in Oregon election history.

Results by county

1990 Oregon Ballot Measure 5 results map by county

Historical significance

Although measure numbers are reused, the effect of this measure on the state was significant enough that when Oregonians speak of ''Measure 5'', they are usually referring to the specific measure passed in 1990. Measure 5 is often seen as the beginning of the

Oregon tax revolt Oregon ( , ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much ...

. One effect of the measure was that funding for local schools was shifted from primarily local property tax funds to state funds. With this, it led to a general equalization of funding between districts as funds are now given to districts based on the number of students in each district. Schools with higher value property in their districts previously could fund local schools at a higher rate than more economically depressed areas. Passage of the measure and the limits led to some discussion of eliminating county services in

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The state's smallest and most populous county, it ...

by combining them with

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

city services or

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, as well as talks of combining Multnomah,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and Clackamas counties into one large urban county for the Portland metro area.

Lasting effects and subsequent legislation

The measure has remained controversial since its passage. Oregon remains one of only five states without a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

, the others being

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Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Furthermore, the measure is blamed for cuts in school programs, the budget crises of 2002 and 2003 and cuts to statewide public safety programs, including deep cuts to the Oregon State Police which never fully recovered from 50% staffing reductions. Many critics say that then-Governor

Barbara Roberts Barbara Kay Roberts (née Hughey; born December 21, 1936) is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first woman elected to serve as Oregon ...

' warning that Measure 5's passage would lead to massive chaos has been borne out. Supporters defend the measure as necessary to curb government spending excesses. Measure 5 was followed up with Measure 47 in 1996 and Measure 50 in 1997. Measure 47 limited the growth of a property's assessed value to 3% maximum per year to combat local governments' raising assessed values to make up the difference in the rate they could charge. Measure 50 clarified that measure.

References

External links

Oregon Initiatives, Referenda and Recalls, 1988-1995
*
Oregon Taxpayers Union
{{Oregon legislation Initiatives in the United States 1990 Oregon ballot measures

Results by county

Historical significance

Lasting effects and subsequent legislation

See also

References

External links