[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6087151,"mediaKeyId","2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da","parentId",2891296,"title","Senate committee hears bill to exempt business wildfire settlements from Oregon corporate tax","audioSeconds",793,"startMs",26000,"endMs",819000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da&start=26&end=819","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da/thumbnail_26000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6087151/Oregon/Senate-committee-hears-bill-to-exempt-business-wildfire-settlements-from-Oregon-corporate-tax","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087151-6c8d13b38f1bb1b03e4c503334c367c2/orig.mp4?Expires=1770484804&Signature=APplsMOyeroI71PZBE0mK-hSTmJUiYr6zatCHNJ6YHXWHsRcru431dX1B5snYF-InTiu-cJGR7yp2nq2Ftyn9RIRNRYX5A4Fgwb07R5qMZ3NY~FfZHGZvs1ZAV-rNEKTikUwCj8AU1umrM-RgpngDhJiWgn39tLoI1DqDXR4NCudkttNpkX1upEtREYKRRioej5~AchUGg4fxDu232hHbsrh1zydCaZMeOhqUYFM~TcdtGimN6-GMqtAjM-by8nETWojL~5WgCkAJGveMx-niBMPwvJJgPFJKMx~MmwWR4zM6foDYrPWAFxOR-AnfaPPzERQE-W6cdgVcSPmfXbyHg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-04-07T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue opened a public hearing April 7 on Senate Bill 587, a measure to let Oregon businesses subtract wildfire-related judgments, settlements and related legal expenses from corporate excise and income tax through Jan. 1, 2026, and to allow amended returns for 2018–2022, sponsor Senator Mark Meek said.

The bill, Meek said, \"creates an Oregon corporate excise and income tax subtraction for judgments or settlements received, for civil actions from wildfires, and it also creates, subtraction for, related legal expenses.\" Representative Ed Deal, a co-chief sponsor, said the measure extends relief that last year’s Senate Bill 1520 provided to individual taxpayers to businesses.

Supporters told the committee the bill would help businesses recovering from catastrophic wildfire damage. \"Willamette Valley Vineyards is one of 35 wineries that did suffer damages in the 2020 Labor Day Fire,\" testified Bill Cross for Willamette Valley Vineyards, noting pending litigation against Pacific Power seeking more than $100 million. Zach Reeves of the Oregon Winegrowers Association described statewide crop impacts: \"Yield per harvested acre decreased by 24% as a result of the 2020 wildfires\" and said grape production fell about 29% compared with 2019.

Committee staff explained limits in the draft language: if damages were covered by insurance or already deducted at the federal level, the subtraction would not apply. A staff member summarized that the bill contains \"a kind of a no double dipping\" clause: \"So if it's covered by insurance, then there wouldn't be a subtraction. And if there was already a federal deduction, then there wouldn't be a subtraction.\"

Testifiers described the bill as narrowly tailored to declared wildfire disasters. Representative Deal said the bill applies only when \"the governor has declared a state of emergency or when a federal disaster has been declared\" and urged retroactive relief to 2018 so survivors of events such as the 2020 Labor Day fires could claim refunds.

The committee heard from agricultural and industry witnesses (wineries and associations) and from at least one senator representing a rural district who supported the measure for its broad economic effects. No committee vote was taken at the hearing; the chair closed the public hearing after witnesses finished.

The committee record for SB 587 will include submitted testimony and the hearing transcript; sponsors and witnesses asked the committee to advance the bill for further consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee On Finance and Revenue 04/07/2025 8:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue opened a public hearing April 7 on Senate Bill 587, which would allow Oregon businesses to subtract wildfire-related judgments, settlements and related legal expenses from corporate excise and income tax through Jan. 1, 2026.","taxTitle","Finance and Revenue, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",17809,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6087142,"Committee hears resolution to dedicate lottery funds to wildfire plan; sponsor proposes three‑leg financing package",3042,3046000,3722,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da&start=3046&end=3","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da/thumbnail_3046000.jpg","/articles/6087142/Oregon/Committee-hears-resolution-to-dedicate-lottery-funds-to-wildfire-plan-sponsor-proposes-threeleg-financing-package","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087142-57b7187f8be6586f1cededde4e8160a3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770484804&Signature=FZxz-6GhVPzYFwQm4UmP0mPjLUieSeQqMi6d4avJ1lXLesFACtP0telnM4LL9qB88vJaU7FBaIEcEY0OYbu6wWoeAEUOa4UPEH~e6SM52gvHEil6fgSt1n~jLTiWQ1IkHjO7QpcV2Bp~hRX74epfuz1MBGRyu41z4eXLPuBG1IKkhRZoJSOoVPEF95Uj2mX7I6UHVD2VbO4DeFW3A~1Ic9sscB9xBZeyEsk4~9xUsibLhaO0kM0HRszOv~ydeWNku7GkF-e9RLX3qcb4CqGRFZk9-OuSq2N~KF~I6UKrQ8yHMEbMalEAH9moEWD50P1u26qUqbLZk1sjuZK~a-2kNw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue held a public hearing April 7 on Senate Joint Resolution 11, a measure to dedicate a portion of Oregon Lottery revenue to wildfire response and mitigation. Senator Fred Girod (transcribed variably in the record) described the resolution as one leg of a three‑part funding plan.

Girod told the committee his three‑leg plan would: (1) front-load $150 million from the state rainy-day fund to cover immediate suppression costs; (2) direct about $160 million from the existing retaliatory tax paid by insurers into wildfire response; and (3) refer a percentage of lottery revenue to wildfire (Girod suggested 10%, which he estimated would generate about $200 million on a roughly $2 billion lottery revenue base).

Girod said the approach would avoid raising new taxes on individuals and argued the plan aligns funding to the problem without drawing heavily from the general fund. He described equipment and capacity needs — including improved aerial attack — and told the committee that dedicated, predictable funding would support purchases and long-term planning.

Supporters including The Nature Conservancy and the Oregon Forest Industries Council told the committee they back referring a dedicated lottery share to voters. Michael Eliason of the Oregon Forest Industries Council said voters should decide whether to dedicate the slice of lottery revenue. Several witnesses testified that a stable funding stream would support home hardening, community mitigation, and aircraft and suppression capacity.

The committee closed the public hearing with no committee action recorded; witnesses submitted written materials for the record and sponsors asked the Legislature to consider the resolution alongside related proposals.","Senate Joint Resolution 11, a referral to dedicate a portion of lottery revenue to wildfire programs, was the subject of a public hearing April 7 before the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6087148,"Committee debates redirecting Oregon \"kicker\" into permanent wildfire fund",2227,861000,3088000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da&start=861&end=3088","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2891296-cc886d4b4daa1ddb2dd989d4b136e1da/thumbnail_861000.jpg","/articles/6087148/Oregon/Committee-debates-redirecting-Oregon-kicker-into-permanent-wildfire-fund","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087148-5b9987c0df21c7d72cc77fb02564b581/orig.mp4?Expires=1770484804&Signature=d4lCWAkQtsCNiI8YEgqqFIIYwTVHhejX4nCBlwGnf5MbKsj3p5kOcS7jkixPtNTqHYP~F9jpHXk0tk95-ameSIjUcBix8MT5dhUgkbMri-Pq-xmVNoclHGjQTS499S4nD099rpDCOJGdr1VhZwaM2wI4DdH~DK2KHJfyMk1j3BTFo5~JS235BWxLkV5G-H7q4FkIhR6Gtn8yPmCXzbBcMUgaLLRNi1gtWYGfIknyKdDa05NEqx6-7HNHnaTkjIeuE0EzlSjCRurE21J0XQsNO7fFSIO9GX42gcfVFqkuBFvYBIOV88oiO87fKeMfrX-t8h0JGWJOu7bA9nJ14Dpx0Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue opened a public hearing April 7 on Senate Bill 1177, which would redirect a pending personal income tax \"kicker\" to a permanent fund managed by the Oregon State Treasury to generate ongoing revenue for wildfire mitigation and suppression.

Senator Jeff Golden, a sponsor and member of the wildfire funding work group, said the proposal would invest the full kicker — the most recent estimate cited in testimony was $1.73 billion — as principal and use only investment returns to fund wildfire programs. \"A 5% return on that investment ... would yield between 170 and $180,000,000 per biennium for wildfire programs,\" Golden said, describing the design as a \"one-time investment\" to provide long-term revenue.

Supporters included wildfire work-group members, conservation and fire-safety organizations, and the state firefighters council. Casey Kula of Oregon Wild said a one-time redirection would \"provide stable dedicated funding that doesn't require tax increases into the future.\" Ralph Bloemers (testimony transcribed as Bloomers), director of Fire Safe Communities for Green Oregon Alliance, warned that insurance markets are already tightening and said investments in community hardening could stabilize premiums.

Opponents included Oregon Business and Industry, which argued SB 1177 would diminish the \"kicker\" rebate that helps offset Oregon's high tax burden and remove a check on general fund growth. Derek Sangston, policy director at the Oregon Business & Industry, said the bill \"would decrease the effectiveness of one of the few provisions of Oregon's tax policy that mitigates the growing tax burden\" and warned of potential long-term impacts on competitiveness.

Committee members asked procedural and policy questions during the hearing. The chair clarified that redirecting the personal kicker would require a two-thirds vote in the Legislature (40 House members and 20 senators) to enact. Representative Mark Gamba and others debated whether general fund priorities could or should cover wildfire costs instead of redirecting the kicker.

Witnesses referenced recommendations from the Fire 35 work group and offered implementation priorities including community mitigation (home hardening, defensible space), forest and landscape investments, and suppression capacity. Several witnesses urged the committee to weigh this bill in context with other pending proposals from the work group and the House.

The committee closed the public hearing without a committee vote; testimony and written material were submitted for the record.","Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue held a public hearing April 7 on Senate Bill 1177, a proposal to redirect the incoming personal income \"kicker\" into a permanent, interest-earning wildfire fund managed by the Oregon State Treasury.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate committee hears bill to exempt business wildfire settlements from Oregon corporate tax

Committee hears resolution to dedicate lottery funds to wildfire plan; sponsor proposes three‑leg financing package

Committee debates redirecting Oregon "kicker" into permanent wildfire fund