Taxes

More taxes on marijuana. More taxes on alcohol, including allowing local taxes on alcohol. More flexibility to spend money from tourism taxes on things like roads and law enforcement.

Those are just some of the things that the League of Oregon Cities may be pushing for in the next legislative session.

Should Central Oregon cities be pushing for those changes?

It’s not enough to just watch the Legislature during the few months when it is officially in session. That’s when the concentration of power and the acts of power are most visible. But now is the time when government agencies are setting the stage with preliminary budgets and options for Gov. Tina Kotek. Lobbyists are also preparing to support or oppose major bills and minor language changes. And groups across the state are readying their agendas for the session.

One such group is the League of Oregon Cities. It is asking cities to tell it what it should prioritize. On its list are those three that we listed at the top and about 20 more.

Bend is kind of the poster child for how tourism taxes can be spent. Basically, the state law is that there is a 70/30 split. So that means that 70% of transient lodging taxes must be spent on tourism promotion and the remaining 30% is discretionary. But just what qualifies as “tourism promotion?” And is the real answer for the state a “one-size fits all 70/30 split,” or should cities get more flexibility?

Another unsettled issue in Oregon is recreational immunity. What liability does a city or park district have if a person slips and falls on a city or park district path? The Bend Park & Recreation District was basically told by its insurer to shut trails down because a court decision seemed to open up the district to a lot more liability. The Legislature passed a temporary measure that expires in July 2025. It restored immunity basically back to where many believed the law to be. But it is temporary.

The list of the legislative priorities will be finalized at the organization’s meeting in Bend in October. If you want an early preview of some of these issues and others that the Legislature may confront, you can look here: tinyurl.com/Oleg25.