Replaces Oil Heat Commission program to clean and remove leaking underground tanks, currently available only to households continuing to use oil heat, with Department of Environmental Quality program available to all households. Pays sliding scale grants based on household income.

Redirects existing 3.5% oil heating assessment to new program. Sets minimum assessment of 2.865%.

State: The 2.865% assessment on heating oil sales will transfer about $3 million per biennium to the Underground Heating Oil Tank Technical Assistance and Grant Fund. This replaces the 3.5% heating oil assessment of the Oil Heat Commission. The assessment raised about $3.6 million per biennium.

Expands ability of television translator districts to impose charges on properties outside or surrounded by the district if there is reason to believe the property is using their signal.

Allows district to broadcast signals originating more than 500 miles away. Allows use of VHF equipment if district provides encoder.

Local television translator districts: Uncertain increase in revenue. The amount depends on local decisions to identify and classify properties using the signal. There are currently three districts operating in the state. The largest, Blue Mountain, estimates the bill could as much as double their revenue in the long run. District revenue next year without this bill is expected to be about $100,000.

Makes technical changes in Oregon tax statutes. Adjusts grammar, syntax and punctuation. Changes obsolete language or provisions. Conforms language to existing statutes. Inserts omitted provisions.

None.

Makes technical changes in Oregon tax statutes. Deletes obsolete provisions including discontinued HARRP, health pool tax credit, tire fee programs, and irrigation district delinquency certificates.

None.

Allows Oregon Racing Commission to allow horse and dog racing at the same facility under one license. Adds Pine Valley Fair Association to the list of non-profit licensees eligible to conduct races. Adds gambling offenses to grounds to deny a license. Makes technical changes.

Reduces the license fee for non profit greyhounds from 3% to 1.6% of gross mutual wagering and reduces the purse supplement for races consisting exclusively of Oregon bred horses and mules from 0.4% to 0.1% of gross mutual wagering.

Allows account wagering in person, by telephone, or by other electronic media as authorized by the Commission. Makes other changes.

State: General Fund increase of $100,000 in 1997-99 and $500,000 in 1999-01. This is based on speculative Racing Commission estimates of the net increase in wagering from allowing betting by telephone or over the Internet. The idea is untested and, in any event, will require time to implement.

The Pine Valley Fair is a small operation with no racetrack and currently there is no nonprofit greyhound racing. So these changes have no revenue impact.

Changes source of per capita personal income data used to distribute beer and wine taxes and liquor revenues to cities from the most recent U.S. Department of Commerce data to the most recent federal decennial census.

Cities: None in aggregate. Individual cities will gain or lose revenue depending on the relative change in their per capita personal incomes between the 1987 Commerce distribution and the 1989 census distribution. Commerce no longer produces these estimates. So further changes in the Census data will result in additional shifts.

Requires state agencies to transmit funds received to State Treasurer within one business day of receipt. Allows reasonably longer period if documented and submitted to the Secretary of State for review.

State and Local: Unknown. State agencies collect revenues for state and local governments. The sooner the revenues are transferred to the Treasurer, the sooner they earn interest. This bill pressures agencies to minimize the time between receipt and deposit of revenues. It does not guarantee revenues will be deposited sooner.

Interpretation of the existing law that money be deposited "forthwith" seems to have been relaxed by a recent Attorney General's opinion. This opinion followed a Secretary of State audit of the Department of Revenue's tax payment processing. The audit found that, on average, tax revenues were deposited three days after receipt and that 1994-95 interest earnings would have increased by $745,000 if the average was one day.

Extends the sunset on the existing 10¢ temporary cigarette tax to January 1, 2000.

Excludes cider from the privilege tax on wine. Imposes a tax on cider of $2.60 per barrel (31 gallons) but not less than the tax imposed on malt beverages.

Takes effect for the first reporting period after the effective date of act.

Reduces total beer and wine privilege taxes by $113,415 for the 1997-99 biennium and by $136,097 for the 1999-01 biennium. These reductions are distributed to both state and local governments as follows:

These estimates assume this bill will tax as cider 9,750 gallons per month of cider currently taxable as wine and 525 gallons of cider which is currently exempt as the product of small wineries. It also assumes that the effective date of this bill is September of 1997.

Reduces the gross receipts tax rate for closed circuit and pay-per-view telecasts of boxing and wrestling events from 6% to 3.5%.

State: Reduces Other Fund revenues as follows:

This estimate assumes current law tax rates would raise $279,919 in both the 1997-99 and 1999-01 biennia and Boxing Commission expenses are $170,665 each biennium of which $8,953 is available from other sources. Of any revenue in excess of Commission expense, 25% remains in the State Police suspense account and 75% is transferred to the Children's Trust Fund.

Expands standing to appeal rulings of local tax authorities to include persons affected as a result of contract, lease or other intervening instrumentality. (Under current law, the right of appeal is limited to the property owner.)

Changes basis for calculating Public Utility Commission assessment on electric companies from per dollar of gross operating revenues to per kilowatt hour of delivered electricity. Limits rate to 0.18 mill. Begins January 1, 1999.

None. The electric company fees are designed to be revenue neutral relative to fees collected in 1997.

Allocates $3.8 million in lottery revenue and $1 million in Racing Commission funds to racing industry development.

State: One-time General Fund revenue reduction of $1 million in 1997-99. Excess Racing Commission funds accrue to the General Fund. So allocating some of these funds to industry development reduces the amount that would otherwise be transferred to the General Fund.

Extends sunset of the telecommunications access fees that fund the Public Utility Commission's residential service protection and hearing and speech impaired programs from January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2002.

State: Other Fund increase of $7.0 million in 1997-99 and $9.8 million in 1999-01.

Access line charges are set by the PUC, not to exceed 35¢ per line per month, to cover the costs of the residential service protection and hearing and speech impaired programs. The 1996 rate was 25¢ per line per month. This rate produced surpluses and was reduced to 13¢ for 1997 with the expectation it would be increased to 20¢ for 1998. This estimates was based on about 2.1 million access lines and an annual growth of 2% in the number of lines. Analysis of monthly revenues suggests about 2.3 million lines and a rate closer to 18¢.

Changes procedures authorizing city-county consolidations. Changes makeup of Charter Commissions.

Requires that the question of merging an unincorporated area into a city-county be submitted to the electors in the unincorporated area. Makes city-county responsible for county functions in unincorporated areas excluded from the consolidation. Allows unincorporated areas electing not to merge into a city-county to seek to form a new county and specifies procedures to be followed.

Changes the allocation of city shared revenues to city-counties by increasing the proportion of the city-county population used in the distribution formula for city shared revenues over a 10 year phase-in period.

Requires a city-county charter to provide the following when an unincorporated area has elected not to merge into the city-county:

• Special districts will continue in the unincorporated area
• Initial taxes and fees will be at the rate in effect when the charter is adopted
• Any rate increase for taxes and fees, except for correctional facilities, libraries, and animal control, that exceed the rate of population growth in the unincorporated area will not take effect in that area without voter approval by the electors in the unincorporated area.
• The unincorporated area will receive rural service levels for basic city-county services.

Local: Indeterminate. This bill specifies the procedures for city-county consolidations but does not require any specific consolidation. If a consolidation occurs, there may be shifts in property taxes, other taxes and fees, and city and county shares of state revenues.

Return to top / Return to table of contents