SALEM – Oregon lawmakers are heading into a special session next week without any certainty they will pass Gov. Kate Brown's plan to expand a business tax break.
And even if they do, the final version could be quite different from what Brown has proposed.
That much was clear during a short hearing Wednesday to prepare for the emergency session that begins Monday.
Senate President Peter Courtney told lawmakers they should expect to spend Monday listening to public testimony and working on the bill, including considering possible amendments. That's in contrast to the smooth one-day special session Brown envisioned.
Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek, both Democrats, have instructed lawmakers to turn in their proposed revisions to the governor's plan by noon Thursday. It's unclear how many amendments there might be. "I really don't know," she said after the hearing. "At this point there hasn't been extensive caucus discussion."
The governor wants to expand an existing tax break that allows people who earn income from certain businesses such as partnerships and S corporations to pay a lower tax rate than wage earners. Lawmakers passed the law in 2013 with the idea that it would boost manufacturing and export businesses. Under Brown's plan, the state would extend the same treatment to people earning as much as $5 million from certain sole proprietorships.
In testimony before lawmakers Wednesday, Brown largely reiterated points she has made since calling for the special session a month ago, including that her proposal would correct an inequity by including sole proprietors.
No one has yet conducted an economic impact analysis to determine whether the existing tax break achieved the desired effect, but legislative economists have determined that many people who take advantage of it work in the medical and legal fields.
Democrats, including Rep. Alissa Kenny-Guyer of Portland, are calling on Brown to use the special session to both extend the tax benefit to sole proprietors and ratchet down the current income cap of $5 million. They are also calling for the Legislature to place a sunset on the tax break to force legislators to more closely examine whether it is achieving economic benefits.
There were also signs Wednesday of other tensions heading into the session. Sen. Brian Boquist of Dallas emailed Courtney after the meeting, bristling at Kotek's request that lawmakers refrain from questioning people who give testimony.
"I trust when you have the gavel some level of protocol deemed appropriate in the Senate will be followed, and extended to House members," wrote Boquist, who is the vice chair of the Finance and Revenue committee and a member of the joint committee working on Brown's plan. "If not, then we can begin the meltdown now."
-- Hillary Borrud
503-294-4034; @hborrud