Oregon Dems, GOP agree: Measure 118 is a hard No
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — In rare bipartisan agreement, leaders of both parties in the Oregon House and Senate plus Gov. Tina Kotek all oppose a ballot measure that would raise corporate taxes and give every Oregonian $1,600 per year.
Democratic and Republican leaders unanimously oppose Measure 118, which is on the November ballot. If passed, Measure 118 would place a 3% tax on a businesses’ sales in the state above $25 million, then distribute that money equally to Oregonians.
But on Tuesday, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate — Speaker Julie Fahey, House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, Senate President Rob Wagner and Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Taylor — announced their firm opposition to the measure.
Last week, the Oregon Senate Republicans said they unanimously oppose Measure 118 since it “poses a significant threat to all Oregonians and undermines the economic stability of the state.”
The Democrats released a joint statement that said, in part, “In these tough times, we all want working families to get every break they can, but Measure 118 is not the answer. We have grave concerns it will slow job growth and cause cuts to critical services like road maintenance, fire fighting, and addiction recovery.”
Both sides took aim at Measure 118’s out-of-state funding.
“Measure 118 is another out-of-state and dangerous experiment that doesn’t align with the needs of Oregonians,” Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) said in a statement last week. “It threatens our economic stability by driving up costs for businesses and consumers, leading to widespread job losses and higher prices for goods and services.”
Bonham also said the measure would severely cut education, public safety and infrastructure.
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Democrats agree.
“It’s clear that this California-funded initiative has concerning, potentially dire implications for the critical services that hardworking Oregonians rely on. According to non-partisan research, Measure 118 would be a tremendous strain on our state resources, including a potential impact of more than $2.8 billion on state resources and require deep cuts to important front-line services, like health care and public safety,” the Democratic leaders said in their statement.
They added prices on consumer goods would rise and job growth would slow if Measure 118 passes.
Gov. Tina Kotek also publicly announced she’s against Measure 118.
KOIN 6 News will have more information later.
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