[0:02] Good evening, welcome back to the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue. It is 5 p.m. on March 2nd. We are going to open a work session on House Bill 4148A and Senator Taylor, would you offer a motion please?

[0:18] Mr. Brownman, I move that House Bill 4148A.

[0:22] We move to the Senate floor with the do pass recommendation.

[0:26] Senator Taylor moves, House Bill 4148A to the floor with the do pass recommendation

[0:30] colleagues, discussion.

[0:33] Senator Anderson.

[0:34] Thank you, Chair.

[0:36] I'm making that rash decision or observation that there was no amendment.

[0:44] So this bill as is has the dash 7 in it, which is what we argued to brought up this morning.

[0:56] Colleagues Mike, my concern, as I stated before, is we've, this bill already moves the 70s, 30s split down to 50, 50, which I don't have a problem with.

[1:12] But that virtue of that, less money is going to tourism by Osmosis.

[1:19] With this dash seven in there, there is a potential over time given other needs that municipalities

[1:32] have in counties and cities, and I'm a local government guy.

[1:36] However, the way it's worded tourism could actually end up with no dollars from the tax that was originally intended for tourism because of the lack of sidebars, the lack of guidelines on this.

[1:55] So, you know, I just hate going this route, to me it's potentially again another

[2:06] revenue source with good intentions to get switched to something else.

[2:13] And when that happened I hope we changed the wording on it so that we actually say what it

[2:20] it's not going to tourism. I'll be in no vote, by the way. Thank you, sir.

[2:26] Thank you, and so, may I? Please. So in the bill,

[2:33] it was, thank you, Chair Broadman. I

[2:37] and I've talked to the sponsors of this, and I wish that the dashes seven that have been put in here,

[2:47] had the appropriate sideboards. It's just good government. And I know that there are all of these

[2:53] reporting requirements, and here we are today. So that is what I have to follow on at this point,

[3:00] because I don't think that this was as well without out of the supply would have liked it to have been.

[3:07] And so with that being the case, we haven't here all these reporting things. And there's a question

[3:15] how this was designed, but that's what I'll have to follow.

[3:18] I'm going to be voting yesterday, yesterday, however, this is reporting back to the Legislative

[3:25] Revenue Office, you know, what's happening, and so I expect that the counties and the

[3:34] League of Cities will take that very seriously, because I will be taking it seriously, and

[3:40] will be reporting back exactly how this money is to be spent.

[3:44] And so when we start talking about small business,

[3:47] resiliency grants, or business resiliency grants,

[3:50] that's a pretty open term about a variety of circumstances.

[3:55] And I just letting folks know that I will be paying attention

[3:59] to these are public tax dollars.

[4:01] These are people who come and tour in Oregon.

[4:04] And I was very supportive of making certain

[4:05] we had the emergency services as the good senator

[4:09] from both of our coastal senators here, Senator Anderson, and Senator Weber had brought up.

[4:15] I thought, okay, that seems to make sense that they needed the money in order to provide

[4:19] the services.

[4:21] Now that there's this other aspect in there, and I would like to see more guardrails, the only

[4:26] thing I can follow on and feel okay about voting yes at this point is about the reporting requirements.

[4:32] I wish it had more specificity in it.

[4:34] about exactly what it is. I'll be reporting on so I just encourage to use to be very, very thorough

[4:41] and maybe check with your, uh, your auditors at your city and your county and to make certain

[4:47] that you're setting up a way to be able to come back with LRO and report what it is that the money's

[4:53] going to, uh, on all fronts because this will be a new change. Um, I do think it's really unfair to

[4:59] all the people who spent their career in building these tourism programs, it was a big shift

[5:04] for them.

[5:07] So here we are now, so I just want to put those comments.

[5:11] Thank you, Senator.

[5:13] Senator.

[5:13] Thank you so much.

[5:14] I'd like to go on the record as saying that I shared the opinion of Senator Anderson that tourism

[5:23] is a major industry in our state.

[5:25] We know agriculture and health care are huge, but so is tourism.

[5:32] And because this would be a major change to the funding model,

[5:42] I worry about the amendment that got put in without the sideboards.

[5:46] And again, if there's no, it doesn't say a percentage, like 1% or something,

[5:51] just that hand-made grants and sort of bottomless and they don't have any place else to get

[5:58] funding from these organizations while I would like to see more not transfer. It's maybe transparency

[6:08] around how the dollars are spent. I this this 11th hour amendment is concerned to me and

[6:15] I would prefer not to take the vote until we had our whole committee here.

[6:20] Thank you, Senator.

[6:21] Can we stand at ease for a moment?

[6:29] Great.

[6:30] We are back on the record on House Bill 4148A.

[6:34] Colleagues, at this time, we are going to, I'm going to ask for a motion from Senator

[6:39] Taylor to rescind the motion to move House Bill 4148A to the floor with a due pass recommendation.

[6:48] There's more work to be done.

[6:52] And obviously we can have discussion on the motion, but at this time I think procedural

[6:57] I'm going to request a motion to rescind the motion to move House Bill 4408 to the.

[7:01] Okay, I'm just going to ask a clarifying question.

[7:03] So, is the discussion happened?

[7:05] Before on the motion to rescind?

[7:07] Can it, does the discussion happen before or does it happen once the motion is made?

[7:15] Okay, excuse me, Chair Rodman, I moved to rescind the motion to move House Bill 4148

[7:19] for 8A to the floor with the due pass recommendation.

[7:23] Okay, colleagues, we have a motion to rescind the motion to move HP 4148A

[7:28] of the floor with the due pass recommendation.

[7:32] So, the comments that I made before about the accountability aspect for it, I just want to make it really clear that I, when this measure came forward last, when we had the long session, I was concerned because we, although we don't have a sales tax here in Oregon, we have this very limited revenue source for a tourism dollar since I wanted to be really careful about how those dollars were allocated.

[7:56] I think we all would, it's logical to spend time and think about that.

[8:00] Well, knowing the proponents, they worked hard to come up with this balance, and I was

[8:08] not part of those negotiations, but I have been convinced, and I do think it's important

[8:13] that this bill passes, because of the fact that it is very, very real, that we have areas

[8:19] of the state that experience, I don't know if it's just a higher volume, tourism, or more

[8:24] or accidents or corps, whatever the scenario is.

[8:27] But it is very, very real when you're in certain parts

[8:30] of the state and you can't get medical care

[8:32] or when there's a road to shut down or something's happening.

[8:35] I mean, these are very, very real things.

[8:38] And the local jurisdictions, I was OK with there

[8:41] being the flexibility.

[8:44] Me being a little bit not so happy about the small business

[8:46] resiliency is one small part of the bill.

[8:49] And I think that those, the concerns I raised around that,

[8:53] I think by the reason I put the statements on the record that I did before was about the accountability aspect for it and I'm sorry

[9:00] You were you're just trying to establish trim a claim so we were having a dialogue about to the small business resilience

[9:06] He grants and

[9:08] In the bill there's you know over a page of bold print and so even though I was not

[9:14] You know thrilled about that being put in on the house side

[9:17] There is extensive language in the bill about the reporting back to the legislature about how those dollars are spent

[9:23] so just trying to catch up on Vice-Charmic Land on what's happening.

[9:27] So I feel that there are all sorts of other measures that have come before this body

[9:31] and we've been in these situations and change as always, you know, anyone who's elective and you're about to make a change, you want to take it seriously and I think it's great that all of us have been taking it so seriously and not being really nearly about all of this.

[9:44] But I, and I was serious about wanting to hold them accountable and I didn't get any indication at all from the cities and the counties that they weren't taking that seriously.

[9:52] I think they know and now feel the pressure that they will need to take it seriously to report back on how the dollars are being spent.

[10:00] And so I just really want to, I do think that the bills had a lot of negotiations and a lot of work and the proponents have come together.

[10:08] And there's been a great compromise in just because there's one aspect of it that I, as one member, am not super thrilled about, I'm relying on the fact that as I said in my previous comments that there is extensive language in here about reporting back.

[10:21] And if the counties in the cities are giving you

[10:25] any note, small business grants to their cousins,

[10:29] and doing things like that, which I don't think will happen,

[10:32] then we would be able to say, hey, that's not appropriate.

[10:36] But I don't think that we've made it really clear

[10:39] that they need to spend the money in an appropriate way

[10:42] and to set up an appropriate system.

[10:44] So I don't think it's a good idea of colleagues

[10:46] to let I think we need to come together

[10:48] and to realize that we're where we are in session.

[10:51] And I think it's good, I want to see the bill pass, so I'm just kind of wanting to encourage everyone to think about their positions considering where we are in session, so that's what I wanted to say thank you.

[11:02] Thank you, Senator.

[11:03] Any other discussion on this motion?

[11:06] Senator Anderson.

[11:07] And I apologize because correct me if this is for this motion, but residing.

[11:13] I guess a piece while we're sitting at ease, I was reading again the reporting, the accountability asked.

[11:21] and in this bill and I guess to buy reading they are reports. There's no

[11:33] action. So go down the road. Somebody's going to report how they're using the

[11:40] money or not using the money and then you know like a lot of other reports in this

[11:46] building and legislatures. There's no action attached to this. And so I, I hear, and, and agree,

[11:52] and it looks, looks good, but it still doesn't, for me, address the lack of side bars

[11:58] and accountability, and my biggest fear remains. Tourism, industry, will lose their source

[12:07] of revenue for advertising. I think that's still germane to the, to the motion.

[12:14] Thank you for sending the motion.

[12:17] I would observe that my interpretation of the reports

[12:19] is that they would come back to us through LRO2,

[12:23] Senate Finance, and House Finance, and Revenue.

[12:26] And we could take action on those reports

[12:28] is how I view those.

[12:30] Can I add to that, please?

[12:31] Sure.

[12:32] Because I think that to me, what is the way it's written?

[12:35] That's just the custom LC language.

[12:38] That's just because they're not going to make

[12:39] an assumption about what we would do in any way.

[12:43] So, Colleagues, before us is a motion to rescind the motion to send this to the floor.

[12:49] At this point, we can decide it after that if we want to take further action.

[12:52] At this point, I'm going to ask for, are there any objections to the motion to rescind the motion to send this to the floor?

[13:00] Our discussion.

[13:01] She had a discussion.

[13:02] Do you have any further discussion, Senator?

[13:04] Not seeing any.

[13:05] I'm asking if there are any objections to the motion to rescind.

[13:09] Not seeing any, the motion to send us to the floor is rescinded.

[13:15] Colleagues, we are still in a work session.

[13:19] We do not currently have a motion to send this bill to the floor.

[13:24] I'm going to ask is there any further discussion on this motion?

[13:28] I mean on this measure.

[13:30] We are still in a work session.

[13:32] And I would like to send I would like to advocate that we take this seriously and send it to the floor with putting on the record all the things that we've discussed.

[13:45] So.

[13:47] Okay.

[13:50] Great.

[13:51] Well, at this time unless there's any further discussion, I'm going to recess the work session.

[14:06] And please stay tuned.

[14:08] We may have further work to do on this measure, but at this time we are going to recess.

[14:14] Any questions?

[14:15] Great.

[14:15] Thanks.

[14:16] We are in recess.

[14:17] Thank you.

[14:29] Welcome back to the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue.

[14:32] I am reopening the work session on House Bill 4148A.

[14:40] It's 547 p.m., we started with Senator Taylor, but I asked her to make a motion.

[14:48] I'd love it if it's so much more entertaining than Senator McLean does it.

[14:51] Vice Chair McLean, would you give us the motion on the floor?

[14:54] No, no, on the floor.

[14:55] On the floor, please.

[14:56] No, you're back here, please.

[14:57] House before anyone forty eight.

[14:59] I would love it.

[15:00] So much forward, so much for your team.

[15:02] So there's no amendment. No.

[15:04] Just to I move House Bill 4148A to the floor with the do pass recommendation. Great. Vice Chair McLean moves House Bill 4148A

[15:12] to the floor with the do pass recommendation colleagues. Further discussion on the measure.

[15:18] Senator.

[15:19] I have to admit I'm not crazy about this bill. Okay. And I know that our cities, some of the more than others, need more help with fire.

[15:31] and emergency services, and they should have that.

[15:35] They shouldn't be expected to

[15:38] quadruple their workload without any additional support.

[15:41] However, I really don't think it should be on the back

[15:43] of the travel industry, the hospitality industry.

[15:50] And yet, it is the tourists who are causing

[15:53] those well in the need for this.

[15:56] And so I can see where there's a connection there.

[16:00] I'm not crazy about that amendment, the dash 7, but I think that the need for the services

[16:08] in these communities are such that it's not really wanting to take, but I will be taking

[16:16] it.

[16:16] Thank you, Senator.

[16:18] Further discussion?

[16:19] Thank you, Chair.

[16:22] Just a protocol.

[16:23] Do I have to make my speech again, or is that a record from earlier meeting?

[16:28] I don't know your earlier speech for the record. I think it's part of the permanent record.

[16:32] Good, because it was excellent.

[16:34] Yeah, thank you.

[16:37] It really was good. I wasn't even here, but I'm sure that.

[16:40] I'll catch you up later.

[16:42] Oh,

[16:46] we could still do this amendment piece.

[16:51] We could get the amendment written.

[16:53] And I'm disappointed that we don't have it.

[16:57] We could just spend rules.

[16:58] We could push forward and make a run at it.

[17:05] I am serious about my concern regarding the amendment and the potential tourism not getting

[17:14] the dollars they originally had reduced all the way along to I'm afraid zero over this.

[17:28] So I'm going to hold fast, but I'll stay here all night to get an amendment and go and I guess if that means I have to buy certain to claim a state dinner that he's missing out on, you know, I would do it.

[17:48] Appreciate it.

[17:50] By the way, that's not a bribe.

[17:52] I don't like the clarity, you know, Todd Nash is cooking, so we're good.

[18:03] Great, for their discussion colleagues on the motion, great, not seeing any further discussion,

[18:09] I'll ask Adam and please call the roll.

[18:13] Is that under a two?

[18:14] Yes.

[18:15] Senator Anderson?

[18:16] Yes.

[18:17] Senator Anderson?

[18:18] No.

[18:19] Vice chair and the clean?

[18:20] No.

[18:20] Chair and Robin?

[18:21] Yes.

[18:21] Motion carries House Bill 4148A, I'm wondering if I could

[18:29] share about a minority report on something like this.

[18:35] Maybe put you on notice that there might be a minority report.

[18:41] Thank you. Thank you, Senator.

[18:43] Without the House Bill 4148A,

[18:46] headed to the floor with a new pass recommendation. I will assign the measure to Senator Weber

[18:54] as a carrier and colleagues any other any other comments or discussion for the record before

[19:03] we adjourn for the day. Not seeing any thank you for sticking with us and the multiple meetings

[19:09] really appreciate it and we are adjourned.

Senate Committee On Finance and Revenue 03/02/2026 5:00 PM

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