State Director Anthony Smith reports from Salem on the small business agenda for the legislative week ending March 8, 2024

It’s no exaggeration to characterize the 2024 session as the least harmful to small business in more than 10 years. NFIB opposed several bills that either did not move forward or were amended (based on our opposition) to the point where we were neutral.

With so much of the focus of the session on affordable housing, homelessness, and recriminalizing drug use, small business avoided the unwanted spotlight typical of years past which have led to tax increases, new regulations, and increased legal exposure. Not so in 2024 – and while that was a very welcome development, it was also frustrating that we couldn’t get any traction on our most pressing priorities, for example, exempting more small businesses from Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax (CAT).

• SB 1542 would have raised the current $1 million CAT exemption to $5 million, exempting more than 70% of the businesses that currently pay the CAT, nearly all of which are small businesses. In a recent NFIB survey, more than 80% of respondents supported this change in policy. It was great to get a public hearing on the bill to keep this very important conversation alive, but the bill did not move forward.

• Still, the Legislature was helpful to small businesses on several other tax issues. HB 4111 resolves an issue that has been plaguing farmers for years – the inconsistency from county to county in how farm equipment is taxed, or tax exempt, based on how it is used. HB 4111 updates Oregon’s property laws to clarify that most farm equipment and machinery is exempt from taxation. Click here view a floor letter from supporters of this bill, including NFIB.

• HB 4031 and HB 4034 were two additional bills relating to taxes that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. HB 4031 protects taxpayers’ private tax information from public disclosure and HB 4034 keeps Oregon connected to the federal tax code – both of these bills were featured in a prior update, if you’d like to read more about them.

• Perhaps the most surprising legislation to come out of the 2024 session is a bipartisan deal on campaign finance reform that was negotiated and agreed to by the state’s largest businesses and labor unions. HB 4024 passed in both chambers with overwhelming support from both parties and is likely to keep a proposed ballot measure off the 2024 General Election ballot. This bill has implications for how NFIB will engage in the political process in the future, but not until after the 2026 election cycle.

Check this webpage for a full post-session report coming shortly.

Prior legislative reports

• February 23—Legislature Passes Mid-Point of Brief, 2024 Session

• February 10—Oregon Legislature Convenes for 2024 Session