Ballot Measure 5 was a landmark piece of

direct legislation Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the electorate decides on policy initiatives without elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently established democracies, which are represen ...

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 sover ...

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

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Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857.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 or millage rate 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 net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inheri ...

es on

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

. 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 public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

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

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

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

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 The Oregon tax revolt is a political movement in Oregon which advocates for lower taxes. This movement is part of a larger anti-tax movement in the the West (U.S.), western United States which began with the enactment of 1978 California Propositio ...

. 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–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

by combining them with

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

city services or

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

, as well as talks of combining Multnomah,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, 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

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, and

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by 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 List of Governors of Oregon, 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first List ...

' 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