02/29/2008
Message from Harlan Levy, NFIB/Oregon State Director
Oregon's first "supplemental" legislative session concluded at 9:39 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 22. Legislative leadership had hoped that this session would be limited in scope and be a trial run for annual sessions. A move to annual sessions will require a constitutional change by a vote of the people.
Leadership had originally intended the session to be focused on the most pressing fiscal and policy issues. However, several legislators were running for higher office and tried to use the supplemental session to boost their campaigns. As a result, over 100 bills were introduced covering a wide range of topics from dogfighting to mortgages. Many of these bills would have wide ranging consequences on Oregon's small businesses.
The National Federation of Independent Business was actively involved in the supplemental session, protecting the interests of its members. NFIB's lobbying efforts paid huge dividends for small businesses across the state.
NFIB lobbies for amendments to protect small retailers from toy recall litigation
House Bill 3631 makes it an unlawful trade practice for a retailer to sell or offer to sell a recalled children's product. Children's product is defined to include any consumer product designed or intended to come into contact with a child under the age of 12. The bill does not apply to food, drugs or cribs.
HB 3631 started as a very anti-small business bill. The bill, as introduced, contained a presumption that made a retailer guilty until proven innocent and contained no grace period from the time of a recall to the time that a trial lawyer could sue a retailer, seeking his or her attorney's fees and punitive damages.
NFIB actively lobbied against the bill in its original form. While acknowledging the Legislature's legitimate right to protect children from dangerous, recalled products, NFIB argued that HB 3631 went too far. This strategy paid off.
The final version of HB 3631 was stripped of the guilty until proven innocent presumption. It also added a grace period of 30 days for a retailer to remove a recalled item before he or she could be sued.
The final version of HB 3631 requires the Oregon Attorney General to assist retailers in arranging to receive recall notices issued by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Finally, an amendment tightened up the bill's definitions to ensure the bill was not overly broad and would not generate frivolous lawsuits.
To comply with HB 3631, retailers need to subscribe to the free CPSC e-mail subscription list.
HB 3631 becomes effective on May 1. The bill may be downloaded online.
NFIB protects small business tax cuts
NFIB successfully protected Senate Bill 1081, which reconnects Oregon's income tax code to changes made by Congress to the federal tax code during 2007. While tax reconnect bills are routinely passed by the Oregon Legislature, this one took on special importance in light of the recent passage of the federal stimulus package. The federal stimulus package includes significant benefits to Oregon's small businesses such as bonus depreciation for certain investments, and a doubling of the current small-business expensing limit.
Pro-tax groups lobbied the Oregon Legislature to use SB 1081 as a vehicle to disconnect from the federal tax code in order to prevent Oregon's small businesses from receiving the full benefit of the federal stimulus package. They argued that the federal stimulus package would cost the Oregon budget too much in light of a $153 million drop in the revenue forecast.
NFIB reminded the Legislature of the huge impact small business plays in Oregon's economy and helped ensure that the Legislature passed SB 1081 without disconnecting from the federal stimulus package. These efforts saved Oregon businesses from having to pay an additional $100 million in Oregon income taxes.
NFIB assists returning veterans with small business loans
NFIB teamed up with the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs to lobby for creation of the Veterans' Small Business Repair Loan Program. This program will provide up to $20,000 in interest-free, small business loans for military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Veterans will qualify for these loans by showing that their existing small business suffered a setback due to their mobilization or deployment.
The loan program was originally contained in House Bill 3625, which unanimously passed out of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs after NFIB lobbied in favor of it. The Joint Ways and Means Committee then inserted the program into HB 3626 and allocated funds for its implementation in the omnibus budget bill, Senate Bill 5556. Both bills passed with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities.
NFIB helps kill new insurance mandate
NFIB joined with other business groups to lobby against House Bill 3616, which would have required many health insurance plans to cover services provided by Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. Insurance mandates inevitably lead to increased provider prices which can cause the price of health insurance to increase. Health insurance costs for small business are already rising much faster than the rate of inflation. Passage of this bill would have only exacerbated that problem. HB 3616 died in the waning hours of the session.
Conclusion
The outcome of the 2008 supplemental session proves that NFIB matters. Legislators from both sides of the aisle and in both chambers looked to NFIB for advice on issues that will affect the small businesses in their districts. In a session that was limited in scope and duration, legislators needed quick answers to their questions about potential policy changes. NFIB was there to provide those answers and will continue to be the voice of small business in Oregon in 2009 and beyond.
For comments or questions please contact NFIB/Oregon State Director Harlan Levy at 503-364-4450.
