Many of you have heard this already, but the pieces of House Bill 2859 that included sunsetting some of the most important tax assessments for farmers in Oregon has been removed!
I’ll quote Representative Barnhart in saying,
“In other words, you win.”
What an incredible day at the Capital!
A huge thank you to the over 100 folks who took the time, to come show up and stand up for our great industry here in Oregon! You all made the difference on Wednesday.
We showed up, we were at the table, and we killed it!
For a more extensive recap check out these links:
- Bad Bill Crushed: HB2859, a Win for Farmers, Ranchers & Foresters -Daughter of a Trucker (Shelly Boshart Davis)
- Lawmakes Back Away from Controversial Farm Property Tax Bill -Capital Press
And if you would like to read my testimony that I submitted you can find it by clicking HERE. Mine is under “Kirsch Family Farms Testimony” by Brenda Frketich (half way down the page). It’s pretty long, but if you’re curious why farmers should get or do get special assessments on their taxes, check it out.
Happy Friday folks!
NuttyGrass 
What I find disturbing about this is the comment “You Win”. The people at the legislature are supposed to be supporting and helping their constituents, not feeling that their constituents are their adversaries.
I was in the foyer in overflow, just trying to be a “butt in a chair”. The testimony was very moving and effective. Was especially struck by the points raised by the Woman from Linn-Benton, a woodland owner, speaking on Natural Resource issues. The wonderful research that would have to be abandoned; the best practices to maximize the health of the forest land and wildlife that would have to be modified; and the way of life stretching back in their family to the mid-1800’s that would have to be abandoned if these provisions had not been struck from the bill.
There were many wonderful heartfelt speakers. Thank God the members of the Revenue Committee were listening and believed the testimony.
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This was definitely a happy conclusion to what could have been a disasterous bill. What I think happened is that the committee saw that there was a large amount of opposition from the farming, ranching and forestry interests and that that amount of opposition would probably sink the entire bill. So, in order to preserve the other sunset provisions in the bill, they carved out the “natural resources” component. It is always easier to prevail against a smaller, less organized group.
Other groups that will be affected by this bill were not represented, at least so far and will still be subject to its provisions. These results show how important it is for groups like ours to be prepared and to show up and speak up.
Good job to all those who took the time to make this happen!
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Very nice Nuttygrass
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