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Senate Ways & Means advances bill to repeal unused tax preferences after contentious amendment votes
Summary
The Ways & Means Committee gave substitute Senate Bill 5,794 a due-pass recommendation to the rules committee after debate and votes over multiple amendments that would preserve or repeal specific tax preferences; sponsors said the bill clarifies legislative intent and removes unused preferences.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee on April 18 recommended substitute Senate Bill 5,794 to the rules committee after debate over dozens of proposed changes to state tax preferences.
The bill, as briefed to the committee, would repeal, modify, or clarify legislative intent for a set of tax preferences and, according to the staff briefing, increase state revenue in the upcoming biennium and over the four‑year outlook; staff also listed administrative costs for the Department of Revenue. The committee heard a proposed substitute by Senator Frame and multiple amendments that would restore or remove particular preferences.
The measures under discussion included proposed repeals of public utility tax deductions for the in‑state portion of interstate transportation, certain preferential B&O tax rates, exemptions for research and development property, incentives for alternative fuel vehicles, and a business-and-occupation exemption for credit unions. Several senators offered targeted amendments to restore specific preferences; others argued for repeal or for clearer legislative intent as recommended by the tax preference performance review process.
Senator Gildan urged support for an amendment that would “maintain[] all of the preferences that are currently in use and remove[] the ones that are no longer in use,” characterizing the amendment as a straightforward cleanup. Senator Grama opposed that change, saying it would “undercut the whole purpose of the bill” to implement the Legislature’s tax‑preference review. Senator Wagner and others argued for restoring preferences they described as serving public purposes, such as the public utility tax credit for discounts to low‑income households and exemptions for prescription drug resellers.
One amendment offered by Senator Trudeau — to repeal the B&O tax exemption for credit unions — was adopted by the committee. Other amendments were withdrawn or failed on voice votes. Senator Grama noted the bill would also repeal nearly 40 unused preferences to “clean up the code.”
After consideration of adopted and rejected amendments, the committee voted by voice to recommend substitute Senate Bill 5,794 receive a due‑pass recommendation to the rules committee.
Why it matters: The bill implements recommendations from the tax‑preference review process and could change which businesses and activities receive preferential tax treatment. Committee members framed the debate around transparency and whether preferences achieve stated public objectives.
What happens next: The committee forwarded the substitute bill to the rules committee for signatures and further action.
