[5]
Recycling Modernization Act Update
By Oregonians for Food and Shelter,
The Federal District Court in Oregon ruled in favor of DEQ [6] regarding the Constitutionality of Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act (or commonly knows as “Extended Producer Responsibility” program). Outside of the litigation, many businesses and trade associations have expressed concerns with the cost, administration, and implementation of the program, which uses a third-party non-profit to assess fees to producers for packaging. Whether this is the end of the road for the legal challenge is yet to be seen, but the program itself remains a hidden driver in increasing consumer costs. As the program was implemented, OFS worked to obtain exemptions for certain agricultural chemical containers. Still, many ag and timber products remain subject to the law, including food packaging, pesticide and fertilizer packaging, lumber wrap, and more.
Revenue Forecast
This week, Oregon’s Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) released its quarterly revenue forecast. According to state economists, there is good news heading toward the 2027 Legislative Session. Projected revenues are up about $55 million for the current biennium and $538 million for 2027–29, largely due to stronger wage growth leading to higher personal income-tax collections.
The position of the OEA is that while Oregon’s economy lags behind the national rate, our growth rate is getting closer to the national rate. The overall message from OEA is something like – “Our economy is bad, but maybe soon it won’t be worse than everywhere else”… Yet, our unemployment rate remains high, and businesses are facing rising inflation costs. The OEA consistently mentions tariffs as an inflationary driver, but omits Oregon’s regulatory costs and burdens as a contributor to inflation and a driver of Oregon’s economic condition.
The current additional revenue will certainly ease some of the need for cuts, but it will not eliminate the difficult budget decisions lawmakers face as federal funding declines and our state government continues to grow. Of course, we have three more revenue forecasts before legislators will begin building next biennium’s budget, so many things can change.