Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Constitutional Procedure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senators debate constitutionality procedure for SB1599 and warn Senate Bill 1507 could raise taxes for small businesses
Summary
The presiding officer read Mason's Manual to say the Senate must decide on constitutionality when SB1599 reaches third reading; Senator Starr appealed procedural rulings and separately warned that SB1507 would amount to a tax increase that harms small businesses.
Clerk and the presiding officer addressed multiple points of order raised concerning the constitutionality of Senate Bill 1599, reading directly from Mason’s Manual to explain that the presiding officer lacks authority to rule on a bill’s constitutionality and that such questions must be decided by the Senate as a body when the bill is considered for final passage.
Senator Starr appealed the chair’s handling of the earlier points of order; after consultation the presiding officer said no ruling had been made and declared the appeal out of order. Starr later introduced and successfully moved a separate suspension of the section-by-section reading requirement for the day’s third-reading calendar (see separate article on that motion).
Earlier in remonstrances, Senator Starr criticized Senate Bill 1507 as effectively a tax increase that would disconnect Oregon from federal tax relief for bonus depreciation and suggested it would raise costs for small businesses and working families, citing possible impacts on equipment purchases and loans. Starr urged senators to reconsider the direction of that bill to avoid harming working Oregonians and small manufacturers.
