Mae Yih
From PortlandAfoot
Mae Yih is a former Democratic state representative and state senator from Albany, Ore.
In 1993, Yih cast the deciding vote to kill a constitutional amendment that would have allowed gas taxes and other automobile-related revenue to be used on anti-congestion efforts, not just on roads themselves.
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[edit] Role in 1993 amendment
[edit] Initial support for amendment
SJR 2, the proposed amendment, was described as allowing the state to "use motor vehicle fuel tax revenues and revenues from taxes for fees on ownership, operation or use of motor vehicle for implementation of surface transportation plans that reduce traffic burden."
If referred to voters and approved, the amendment would have changed the terms set by the legislature and voters after a previous amendment in 1980, which removed state parks and state patrol expenses from the Oregon gas tax.
The bill was backed by the Sierra Club, Oregon Association of Railway Passengers, Citizens for Better Transit, Oregonians for Cost Effective Transportation, the Oregon Environmental Council, Oregon State Public Interest Research Group and the Oregon State Council of Senior Citizens.
"We had been visiting the legislature for years," said Ray Polani, the former spokesman of Citizens for Better Transit, in an August 2010 interview. "It took hours and hours of testimony and lobbying the various legislatures and committees in the House and in the Senate."
On April 16, 1993, the transportation committee, including Yih, voted 4-3 to recommend the bill to the full Legislature.
[edit] Shift in support
Two weeks later, on April 26, SJR 2 reached the Senate floor.
The 30-member state Senate was split 16-14 that year between Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats in the narrow majority. The Democrats' organization that year had been delayed when Yih, a conservative Democrat, temporarily refused to join her party's caucus and give them control of the body.
According to the legislature's records, every Democrat except Yih voted for the bill. Every Republican voted against it except Gordon Smith, who was excused from the vote. Yih also opposed the bill, and it failed with 15 votes in support, 14 in opposition and 1 not voting.
The senate requires a majority of 16 votes to pass a bill.
[edit] Yih's explanation
In an August 2010 phone interview, Yih said she didn't specifically remember the vote, but that she wouldn't have supported such a bill in the first place.
"I didn't support it in committee," she said. "And I don't vote for tax increases anyway."
Yih said TriMet should "adjust their schedule so that more people can use it, or cut down their expenses to make it more user-friendly instead of keep talking about increasing taxes. ... They should increase ridership in order to get more money."
[edit] External links
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