Democrat and Republican Lawmakers Come Together in a Rare Moment of Bipartisan Cooperation
By Andrew Meyers, CPA
Overview
During the 2013 special session of the Oregon State Legislature, citizen lawmakers from both sides of the aisle came together to pass HB 3601, in an effort to slow the growth of government pensions while funneling more dollars to schools, colleges and mental health programs. The “grand bargain,” as it’s being called by its supporters, achieves this by increasing taxes on some taxpayers, mostly highly profitable corporations and high income individuals, and decreasing taxes on some small businesses owners.