CITY OF SALEM AND 2023 GO BONDS RETAIN AA2 RATING FROM MOODY’S
Salem, Ore. - Moody’s Investor Service has assigned an Aa2 rating to the City of Salem and the City’s 2023 General Obligation Bonds.
By approving the $300 million community improvement bond measure in November 2022, residents in Salem have allowed the City to fund a 10-year plan to increase funding for street upgrades, sidewalk construct…
OREGON PART OF $391 MILLION GOOGLE SETTLEMENT
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, along with 39 other state attorneys general, announced a historic $391.5 million settlement with Google over its location tracking practices. The settlement, which was led by Oregon AG Rosenblum and Nebraska AG Doug Peterson, is the largest attorney general-led consumer privacy settlement ever. Because of Oregon’s l…
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REVENUE FORECAST RAISES KICKER QUESTIONS
The signal was loud and clear this morning that lawmakers are coming after your kicker. In Salem, the state’s economists gave their quarterly revenue forecast to an interim committee of lawmakers. Surprisingly, even with high prices and increased interest rates, economists are still projecting short-term growth in tax monies coming into the state. In fact,…
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Marion, Polk County Key to Deciding Legislative Majorities
While every voter in Oregon will help decide this year’s ultra-competitive three-way race for governor, it’s voters in Marion & Polk counties, particularly in Salem, that will likely determine whether Oregon’s new chief executive will be working with Democrat or Republican majorities in the next legislative session.
Currently, Oregon is on…
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Shocking the Electric Vehicle System
Last month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs by 2035. Like many other industries, California’s vehicle market is the largest in the nation, so it’s no surprise that this change in policy will have major impacts for automakers and drivers in other states, whether they adopt thei…
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Oregon Taxes for Upcoming Ballots
With the elections upcoming and inflation at record highs, Americans turn their attention to ways to save money. This includes their tax plan as well.
In addition to $3.3 trillion in federal taxes, in 2018 Americans paid $950.5 billion in state taxes distributed across sales, income, property, license, and other taxes. Across all states, sales and gro…
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LAWMAKERS PUSH $22B INCOME TAX FOR FREE HEALTH PLAN
As the Lund Report notes, “The task force released a draft report on Monday and is accepting comment until the end of the day on Sept. 19. The report is due to be submitted to the Legislature later this month. Under the plan, lawmakers would create a single generous statewide comprehensive health insurance plan that eliminates premiums, co-pays, office vis…
Understanding Paid Family Medical Leave fund
Beginning next year, Oregon workers and many companies will begin paying into a Paid Family Medical Leave fund, and workers who need time off with pay can begin applying for benefits under Paid Leave Oregon in September 2023.
Oregon lawmakers in 2019 passed the Paid Family Medical Leave Act, which lets workers apply for prorated paid time off to care for a …
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The September Economic and Revenue Forecast
The September Economic and Revenue Forecast came out Aug. 31. Here are the highlights:
Bottom line: Gross general fund revenue for the 2021-23 biennium, which began on July 1, 2021, is now expected to be $27.9 billion. This exceeds the $23.3 billion forecast in June 2021 as the legislative session ended and just before the biennium began. The forecast now p…
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Taxpayers Association of Oregon: The Bull Pen
By October 1st, 2022, a new Oregon law will go into effect that bans hiring bonuses in the name of equality (HB 2818). The current practice of Tri-Met transit offering $7,500 and McMennamins restaurants offering $1,000 hiring bonuses will soon be illegal.
If minorities are suffering from lack of employment and businesses suffering from historic labor…
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