[5]
Legislative Update
By Oregonians for Food and Shelter [6],
The 2026 Legislative Session is entering its final week. It seems the legislature has figured out how it will dispense with the major (and most contentious) issues, paving the way for the final few days of floor votes followed by adjournment sometime late next week.
The tortured transportation debate appears to be headed for the November ballot after all. SB 1599 [7], one of the most politically divisive bills of the session, stalled on the House floor without a vote, blowing past the soft deadline of February 25th for passage. This week the Secretary of State said that passing the bill now and trying to get the tax hike proposal on the May ballot would likely cut the public out of the process. [8]
Democratic leadership has succeeded on at least one of its early priorities, raising revenue by eliminating existing tax deductions. SB 1507 [9] passed both chambers, decoupling Oregon’s tax code from several new deductions. Most notable of these is bonus deprecation, which is beneficial for businesses in making new equipment purchases. Unless the Governor vetoes the bill, we could see a similar signature gathering campaign for this proposal as we did last fall on the proposed transportation taxes.
While the Legislature acted quickly on new tax increases and a few new labor restrictions, there is little movement on bills that would make things better for Oregon businesses and employers. The Governor’s bill to help speed up permitting, offer extended property tax breaks in enterprise zones, and finance infrastructure (HB 4084 [10]) is still stalled. Meanwhile, the JOBS Act (SB 1586 [11]), which creates new tax credits and other property tax benefits, has yet to move out of its original committee, partially due to concerns over land use changes in Washington County. However, as of Thursday, there appears to be forward momentum on the high-profile efforts to renovate the Moda Center (SB 1501 [12]), in order to try and retain another notable employer, the Portland Trailblazers.
Many Capitol insiders have noted how quickly the Legislature passes bills that add additional burden on businesses (i.e. HB 4089 [13] creating criminal liability for contracting practices or HB 4147 [14] requiring employers to determine and disclose whether their employers receive state health benefits), while taking weeks to consider improving the tax, labor, or regulatory environment for the Oregon business sector. Fortunately, SB 1541 [15], the Climate Superfund Recovery bill, will likely remain bottled up without further action.