Oregon Employment Department seeks larger diversion to administrators' fund to avoid $33M cuts

Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue members heard testimony May 19 on Senate Bill 143, Dash 2, which would increase the share of unemployment insurance payroll taxes diverted into the supplemental employment department administrative fund (CDAF) from 0.109% to 0.135% for quarters beginning April 1, 2025, and would change how unused CDAF money reverts to the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.

The amendment would also alter the reversion formula so that, instead of comparing the CDAF balance to prior first-quarter collections, the statute would cap CDAF at a set number of months of the department’s most recently legislatively approved biennial budget (the amendment proposes three months); any amount over that cap would transfer to the trust fund for the biennium ending on or after June 30, 2025.

The change is intended to let the Employment Department use more withheld payroll taxes for…