OTA Dispatch Issue 4 2018

30 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch Oxley & Associates Partnering with OTA in Salem on Your Behalf OXLEY & ASSOCIATES is a multistate lobbying firm that represents a broad portfolio of clients, including the Oregon Trucking Association. The firm advocates on behalf of OTA at the Oregon legislature and the City of Portland. In 1992, Gary Oxley founded the firm, which currently employs or contracts with nine individuals who have extensive backgrounds in government policy and advocacy. The areas of advocacy the firm focuses on behalf of their clients are wide ranging and include: transportation, manufactured home park owners, manufacturing, non-profits, pharmaceutical, real estate development, retail, recreation, sports entertainment, technology, tobacco, and utilities. The 2018 election saw strong victories for Democrats across the state, and they now enjoy supermajorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This means that Democrats will be able to pass tax legislation without Republican votes, as it takes three-fifths majorities in both chambers to pass new taxes. Removing the need for bipartisanship is particularly challenging at this point in time, as many priority issues that will be addressed in 2019 will legally be considered taxes and will therefore require the higher threshold of votes to pass. Many of these issues will have an impact on the trucking industry. Arguably the most noteworthy issue that will surely impact the trucking industry in the 2019 session will be carbon reduction legislation, also referred to as Cap and Invest. Emissions from electric utilities, stationary sources (manufacturing, food processing, etc.), and the transportation sector will all be considered for regulation, but it is widely accepted that the transportation sector has the largest target on its back. A top priority for Oxley & Associates will be to protect the trucking industry from undue harm and to ensure that the Highway Trust Fund is safeguarded so that all fuel taxes continue to go to transportation projects. Aside from carbon emissions, some legislators will likely bring forward air quality legislation to limit emissions from diesel engines. While companies continue to phase out older, less-efficient trucks for lower-emitting ones, it still is not sufficient in the minds of many environmentally-focused legislators. It is likely that legislators will push for more stringent regulations, so the Oxley team is prepared to fight against measures that would add more costs on the backs of the industry and companies who rely on diesel-fueled transportation. There will also be a comprehensive revenue conversation in the 2019 legislative session. A joint committee has spent the 2018 interim traveling the state to talk to communities about education issues and how to properly fund state programs. The business community expects to see proposals that would impact the state’s corporate tax structure in order to help fill its enormous education funding gap. Some of the proposed revenue reform policies could impact the trucking industry, as we expect to see proposals including gross receipts taxes, an increase to the corporate minimum, and various other forms of taxes on business. During the 2018 elections, many Democrats highlighted employer/ employee issues in their campaigns, including paid family leave. As a result, in the 2019 legislative session, there will be a push for legislation to have the state require companies to give employees time off for various reasons. The details of potential paid family leave requirements are still unknown, including how many days or hours off an employer must offer, for what purposes this time off can be used, how large a company must be in order to be in the program, and how it will be paid for. Washington State passed a paid family law in 2017 which is scheduled to go into effect in 2020, so it is possible that Oregon will take a similar approach to this issue. In addition to the issues already highlighted, Oxley & Associates will be immersed in healthcare, housing, privacy, and labor issues to name a few. Throughout the interim (when the legislature is not in session) the team has been invited to sit at the table to help resolve the state’s struggles with opioid abuse, housing, labor, employment, economic development, and privacy/data breach issues. As the legislature continues to work on these issues, the Oxley team will be in Salem every day protecting their clients while bills move through the legislative process. When the legislature is in session, things move fast. If you are interested in what is happening down in Salem, we encourage you to come to Salem on January 29, 2019 for OTA’s Trucking Day at the Capitol. OTA Board members, the government affairs team, and OTA members will be meeting with legislators to discuss the issues impacting the trucking industry. When it comes to meeting with legislators and sharing your thoughts with them, there is strength in numbers. Legislators are especially interested in hearing from their constituents, so OTA and Oxley & Associates encourage you to reach out to your legislators to let them know about the issues that affect you and your business. 2019 will be an eventful year in the Oregon legislature, and Oxley & Associates looks forward to fighting for the Oregon Trucking Associations.