Both measures needed.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Lane County voters' participation in the Sept. 17 election crept past the 25 percent mark Friday - not bad, considering that it's the lowest-profile statewide election in recent memory. Any ballots that haven't already been mailed should be delivered to the county elections office or to a ballot drop box before the 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline. It's important that voters have their say, particularly given the performance of the Legislature during the past week.

Both measures on the Sept. 17 ballot were referred to voters by legislators during their third special session in June. The third special session seems like ancient history, given that legislators are back in Salem for their fifth. The measures deal with familiar issues that have been debated at such great length that many people may think they've already been settled. Both proposals, however, are needed to keep Oregon's dire financial condition from getting even worse.

The most unambiguously positive of the two is Measure 20, which would raise Oregon's cigarette tax to $1.28 per pack, a 60-cent increase. The higher tax would yield an additional $70 million during the current biennium, and $114 million a year after that. The money would help finance the Oregon Health Plan and smoking prevention programs, thereby freeing up funds for other purposes, including public education.

Funding publicly supported health care programs with tobacco taxes is fair. Many smoking-related health problems are treated at public expense, so tobacco taxes are a step toward making smokers pay their own way.

What's more, cigarette tax increases are effective public health measures. Most smokers acquire the habit before they're old enough to buy cigarettes legally. These underage smokers are a price-sensitive group - it's estimated that in the long term, the price hike resulting from Measure 20 will keep 15,000 young Oregonians from becoming addicted to cigarettes.

Oregon needs the revenue from a cigarette tax increase today. In future years, the increase will pay dividends in improved public health and lower health care costs. Measure 20 deserves a strong yes vote.

Slightly more problematical, but even more urgent, is Measure 19, which would spend $150 million from the lottery-funded Education Endowment Fund on the state's public schools. The $138 million remaining in the endowment would become a rainy day fund that would be tapped during future economic downturns. Measure 19 deserves approval, mainly because the consequences of defeat would be unacceptable.

Measure 19 is an improved version of Measure 13, which voters narrowly rejected in May. The earlier measure would have taken $220 million from the fund. The new version takes less, and would replenish the fund more quickly. Oregon needs a rainy day fund such as the one Measure 19 would create - nearly all other states have such funds, and the lack of one hurts Oregon's credit rating.

Above all, however, a defeat of Measure 19 would inflict crippling harm on Oregon school districts. The Eugene School District, for instance, would have to cut an additional $4.7 million from the budget for the current school year. That's on top of the $6.8 million in cuts that are already expected.

The Legislature has made it clear that it could not be relied upon to replace the $150 million that Oregon schools will lose if Measure 19 is defeated. It can't agree upon a responsible plan to close a $482 million shortfall, and defeating measures 19 and 20 would widen the gap by $227 million. On the Sept. 17 ballot, the voters have better solutions at hand than any the Legislature would be willing to embrace. Both should be approved.