The Oregon Biz Report - Business News from Oregon

By The Oregon Prosperity Project

What exactly is a health insurance “Exchange?”   Right now, the Oregon legislature is hard at work trying to create a health insurance exchange for health insurance consumers. It is contained in Senate Bill 99. But that begs the question – What exactly is a health insurance “exchange?”

The “exchange” is simply a new marketplace where individuals or small employers can shop for health insurance using simple, standardized cost and benefit comparisons between plans so that consumers can easily compare health insurance plans. The “exchange” is an attempt to bring retail competition into the health insurance marketplace. The desired result is to increase the number of Oregonians insured while bringing down costs for all health insurance consumers.

Advertising Medical Marijuana on Broadcast Stations – Is It Legal, What Will the FCC Think?
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
Oregon law firm

As medical marijuana has become legalized or decriminalized in many states, broadcasters have looked at advertising for the services of clinics and dispensaries as a potential new revenue source. As some community newspapers and other local media have begun to advertise dispensaries in states where medical marijuana is legal, we’ve been asked many times whether broadcasters can start to run such ads as well. Many radio and TV stations have even been approached by the operators of these clinics, seeking to run advertising schedules. Should broadcasters accept such ads? We urge caution.

Startup Company Lebron Jordan files suit against Nike
By Oregon Small Business Association

A new customizable shoe maker called Lebron Jordan, Inc. is now suing LeBron James and Michael Jordan for interfering in their business to the tune of $150 million each. Lebron Jordan is also suing Washington County-based Nike, Inc. and its Converse subsidiary.

Lebron Jordon, Inc., a Brooklyn based startup company, offering customizable sneakers on their website. CEO Aaron Fraser of Lebron Jordan insists that the company’s name is not related to the Basketball stars Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Fraser’s godsons were the motivation for the business name, as they are named Lebron and Jordan.

By J.L. Wilson
Associated Oregon Industries

SB 301 – Connection to the Federal Tax Code for Business Tax Incentives
AOI Position: Support
Passage of SB 301 has been the biggest achievement of the business community in the early going of the 2011 Legislative Session. SB 301 connects Oregon businesses to key federal tax incentives for purchasing capital equipment and putting it into operation. Under the bill, Oregon companies can now take advantage of accelerated depreciation for capital purchases and increased Section 179 expensing allowances offered by the federal government.
How SB 301 impacts jobs in Oregon: SB 301 is a significant job creation bill. It allows for easier compliance with state and federal tax laws, but more importantly, it incents the purchase of capital equipment for use in Oregon companies. Capital investment is a key job creator in Oregon.

Unemployment Insurance Recipients in 2010
by Mary Bernert
Oregon Employment Department

This analysis is based on data for every UI benefit recipient who also received a 1099g from the Oregon Employment Department. The form 1099g is a tax record, like a W2 for wages which shows how much was paid to the individual during the calendar year. This file is used because every individual is represented only once.

The unemployment insurance program has numerous reports that come out weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually. One of the monthly reports, the ETA 203, is on the demographics of claimants on regular benefits who were unemployed during the week of the 12th of the month. Regular benefits are the benefits available to all covered employees during all periods. Looking at regular claim activity allows you to compare claim trends during periods when there are and are not extension programs. Data from this report is used to underscore some of the trends observed in comparisons between the 1099g data.

Top 20 Billionaire List by Forbes
See whole list in greater detail here

1. Carlos Slim Helu, $74 B, telecom, Mexico
2. Bill Gates, $56 B, Microsoft, USA
3. Warren Buffett, $50B, Berkshire Hathaway, USA
4. Bernard Arnault, $41 B, LVMH France
5. Larry Ellison $39.5 B, Oracle , USA
6. Lakshmi Mittal, $31.1 B, Steel , India
7. Amancio Ortega, $31 B, Zara Spain
8. Eike Batista, $30 B, mining, oil , Brazil
9. Mukesh Ambani, $27 B ,petrochemicals, oil & gas, India
10. Christy Walton, $26.5 B, USA

Happy Anniversary – Health Care Reform One Year Later
By Barran Liebman
Oregon law firm

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the health care reform bill, popularly known as “Obamacare,” after being passed by the Senate and House as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. This alert provides a summary of what has occurred, what is next, and where health care reform is likely going in the future.

What Has Occurred
Health plans have already or will over the next few months (first plan year beginning after September 23, 2010) begin:
• Coverage for dependent children up to age 26;
• Removal of lifetime limits and restricted annual limits for essential health benefits;
• Limitation of rescissions of coverage to fraud or misrepresentation;
• Removal of preexisting conditions of children under age 19;
• Restricting reimbursements from FSAs for over the counter drugs;
• Determining if the health plan is integrated with dental and vision plans, requiring compliance with health care reform for dental and vision plans; and
• Determining if the plan is grandfathered and if not:

State Treasurer asks Legislature to increase the savings in Oregon’s ‘rainy day’ reserves
– Senate Bill 553 would dedicate the interest earnings from state’s general fund
By Oregon State Treasurer

SALEM – State Treasurer Ted Wheeler on Monday asked legislators to increase the state’s ‘rainy day’ reserves, which will help to save more money in good times as a buffer against budget downturns.

Oregon relies on the notoriously volatile income tax for the lion’s share of funding for state programs such as schools, public safety and public healthcare. Allowing more money to be saved in good economic times will help to reduce the budgetary deficits in times when the economy sours.

Japan’s Earthquake and American Manufacturing Businesses: Economic Impacts
By Bill Conerly,
Conerly Consulting, Businomics

Japan’s terrible earthquake has economic implications for American manufacturers, in addition to the terrible human consequences. Japan’s economy is large and diverse, with strong business ties to the United States. The key point to ponder is that Japan’s businesses play three roles with respect to American manufacturers: customers, suppliers, and competitors.

Japanese Businesses Are Customers of American Businesses

Homeowner may pursue negligence claim for construction defect, Oregon Supreme Court holds
By Ater Wynne LLP,
Oregon law firm

Last week the Oregon Supreme Court held that a homeowner seeking to recover against a builder for damages caused by construction defects may sue for common law negligence, absent a contractual provision that forecloses such a claim. In Abraham v. T. Henry Construction, Inc., plaintiff homeowners hired defendant contractors to build a house. When plaintiffs discovered defects in the construction years later, they sued for negligence.

The Court of Appeals held that the parties’ contractual relationship did not prevent a negligence claim, and that plaintiffs were entitled to pursue a negligence per se claim based on a violation of the Oregon Building Code.

Oregon NFIB member Poll Puts Finger on the Pulse of the Problem With ObamaCare
By Oregon NFIB,

SALEM, Ore., March 7, 2011—They are both the engine of all economies and also the people at the center of the health-care debate in America, and their responses to one of the questions in a poll released today by their leading representative association show them deeply uncertain and extremely suspect over one particular element of ObamaCare that the Oregon Legislature is now having to grapple with…

The narrowest margin of difference came on the question: Should Oregon establish its own health insurance exchange instead of deferring to the federal government? Only 36 percent of NFIB-member, small-business owners voted ‘Yes,’ 35 percent said ‘No,’ and 29 percent were undecided.

Reports Shows Delayed Energy Projects are Costing the Economy $1.1 Trillion and Nearly Two Million Jobs
By U.S. Chamber

WASHINGTON D.C.—As part of its Project No Project initiative, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a first-of-its-kind economic study today identifying 351 stalled energy projects nationwide that in aggregate are costing the American economy $1.1 trillion in GDP and 1.9 million jobs a year that could be created during the construction phase of these projects alone.

“This study should serve as a wake-up call for legislative action to improve the permitting process,” said William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber senior vice president of Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs, during today’s unveiling of Project Denied: The Potential Economic Impact of Permitting Challenges Facing Proposed Energy Projects. The study by TeleNomic Research was conducted by Steve Pociask, President of the American Consumer Institute, and Joseph Fuhr, Professor of Economics at Widener University and Senior Fellow at the American Consumer Institute. “These are projects that would create jobs and give a much-needed boost to our economy, but with every day that passes, the more expensive the projects become. In most cases, if the projects are substantially delayed they won’t be built.”

By Oregon Employment Department,

Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 10.4 percent in January, essentially unchanged from 10.6 percent in December. Newly revised figures show that Oregon’s unemployment rate was 11.0 percent in January 2010. January marked Oregon’s lowest unemployment rate in 24 months. Not since January 2009, when the rate was 9.9 percent, has Oregon’s rate been lower. In January, 218,789 Oregonians were unemployed.

In January, Oregon’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment rose by 6,300, following a revised gain of 4,000 in December. In January, three industries added at least 1,000 jobs more than is normally expected at this time of year: educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and manufacturing.

Results show jobs, economy overriding concern for voters
By Portland Business Alliance,

Portland, Ore. – Today, the Portland Business Alliance and Portland General Electric released results of a public opinion survey of registered voters in four Portland-metro counties. The survey, conducted by noted pollster Tim Hibbitts of Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, showed voters’ utmost concern is job opportunities. Results also revealed voters want a greater statewide focus on the economy and job creation.

“The Alliance’s top priority is private sector job creation because it is the only way to build the type of community we want with healthy families and properly funded public services,” said Roger Hinshaw, chair of the Portland Business Alliance board of directors and market president for Bank of America in Oregon and Southwest Washington. “With this survey, we wanted to see if voters also viewed job creation as the top priority for our region and the response was a resounding yes.”

By Bill Conerly,
Conerly Consulting, Businomics

BUSINOMICS: I rarely invite guest authors in, but the following piece is worth an exception. The author is Phil Diamond, CFA, Chief Investment Officer of Focus Point Solutions:

PHIL DIAMOND:  Before you all get the idea to ask the question, we thought we’d go ahead and answer it. What does this mean for our portfolios? The short answer is probably very little. Obviously, the outlook in Japan has changed in the last week. Much of Japan’s focus is going to shift from economic recovery and growth to helping their fellow Japanese ease their crisis.

Oregon’s Employment Laws Cost 11,578 Jobs
By Oregon Prosperity Project,

It’s always difficult to quantify just how costly a state’s regulatory environment can be, but a recently-released study commissioned by the US Chamber of Commerce puts an exact number on the lost jobs in Oregon due to our burdensome workplace laws and regulations.

Oregon fares rather poorly in the study. We rank in the bottom third of US states in terms of competitive employment regulations.

In other words, Oregon makes it harder to provide a job than nearly every state in the union.

The costs of our regulations are real. If Oregon adopted a regulatory system consistent with federal regulation, and did not choose to add additional layers of regulation on our businesses, employment in Oregon would increase by 11,578 jobs. The study concludes that there would by 787 new businesses in Oregon today but for our burdensome workplace regulations.

Workplace regulations are tricky because a lot of them sound good. These are the laws that govern the employer/employee relationship. They govern how many hours we can work, our paychecks, our ability to take time off from work, or our ability to access workers’ compensation or unemployment benefits.

But it’s important to note that federal law guarantees protections to Oregon employees on all of these issues. Oregon’s loss of 11,578 new jobs or 787 new businesses is due to the fact that Oregon imposes additional regulatory burdens that most states do not.

States edge closer to online gambling for revenue
By Oregon Tax News

As states struggle to balance their budgets, they constantly search for new ways to increase revenue and decrease their deficits. Although there is a federal ban on Internet gambling, several states, led by New Jersey, battle to legalize online gambling by initiating state laws that could circumvent a federal ban on Internet gambling.

New Jersey is the first state to authorize online gambling. Although Republican Governor Chris Christie vetoed the bill, gambling experts believe states’ efforts to legalize online gambling for their own residents, known as intrastate gambling, are increasing. Iowa lawmakers followed New Jersey and introduced a bill to legalize online poker, and California and Florida are considering similar bills.

Businesses named in AG’s consumer complaint Top 10 list
By Oregon Attorney General

The Department of Justice has improved its online business complaint search function and is making raw complaint data available to private sector software developers to create new applications

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger today recognized National Consumer Protection Week by announcing the Oregon Department of Justice’s Top 10 Consumer Complaint List for 2010. “Scammers and crooked companies continue to target seniors, people who have lost their homes and other vulnerable Oregon consumers,” Attorney General Kroger said. “We will continue to aggressively pursue malefactors in and out of court.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Statement on the  NFL Players Association  action to Decertify As a Union
By U.S. Chamber of Commerce
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, Randel K. Johnson, issued the following statement on the decision by the NFL Players Association to decertify as a union:

“We are troubled by the decision of the NFL Players to decertify as a union so that they may litigate under the antitrust laws, with the prospect that once the litigation is over they will again claim they are a union. Gaming the labor laws and the antitrust laws offers a potentially disastrous model for labor-management relations in this country and raises serious questions of labor policy.”

By BDO

Chicago, IL –– According to a study by BDO USA, LLP, a leading accounting and consulting organization, only 35 percent of U.S. technology companies surveyed are currently outsourcing services or manufacturing to companies outside of the U.S. This represents a 43 percent decrease from the 2009 high when 62 percent of companies were outsourcing and a slight decline from 2010 (37%).