Tax Expenditure Review Commission elects House co-chairs, hears LBO plan to evaluate roughly $24 billion in tax expenditures

The Tax Expenditure Review Commission elected Representatives Esther Abbad and Greg Davids as House co-chairs and Senator Doran Clark as Senate vice chair at its Sept. 11 meeting, then heard Legislative Budget Office staff outline how the panel will move from identifying objectives to performing full evaluations of tax expenditures.

Commissioner Paul Marquort, commissioner of revenue, opened the session in Capitol Room 120 and framed the commission’s work as a check on tax breaks that the state counts outside the general‑fund appropriation. “The tax expenditure budget right now is about $24 billion a year. Our general fund budget is 33 billion,” Marquort said, describing those foregone revenues as a large but seldom‑seen part of state finance.

Why it matters: The commission’s statutory job is to identify the objective of each tax expenditure and — when practicable — perform full evaluations that measure revenue loss, who benefits, and whether the tax mechanism is the most effective way to achieve the objective. The commission must include a recommendation in its annual report to the House and Senate tax committees by Feb. 15 about whether each examined expenditure should continue, be repealed, or be modified.

Director Christian Larson, of the Legislative Budget Office, told commissioners that the Department of Revenue’s 2024 tax‑expenditure budget listed about 327 tax expenditures (he noted that number rises to roughly 330 after recent legislation). Larson said the commission has approved objective statements for 45 expenditures, and LBO staff have begun work on full evaluations for about 31 of those items. “There were 327 tax expenditures listed,” Larson said, describing that inventory as the commission’s starting point.

Larson and deputy director Christy Shreddle explained the two statutory phases: an initial review that establishes the objective of a tax expenditure, and a deeper, full evaluation that typically includes up to nine components — from annual revenue loss and incidence to possible alternatives and recommended modifications. LBO staff said full evaluations typically take between two and 12 months depending on data availability and that LBO will sometimes contract work out for specialized analysis; one contracted data‑center evaluation was described as likely ready by November or December.

During a question‑and‑answer period, Representative Aisha Gomez pressed staff on why certain items might be omitted from review and how the commission is grouping related expenditures. Larson said the commission may choose to omit items tied solely to federal conformity, but that LBO plans to prepare objective statements for all expenditures unless the commission directs otherwise. Shreddle flagged typographical bundle‑name errors in a draft schedule and said staff would correct them.

How the commission will make recommendations: Commissioner Paul Marquort led a discussion of options for complying with the statute’s requirement that the commission recommend whether to continue, repeal or modify each expenditure. Options discussed included an oral roll‑call or voice vote with a final vote at a later meeting; written motions and submission of members’ positions in writing; a hybrid that records individual member positions in the annual report; or using a structured evaluation template modeled on another state’s practice to prompt discussion and build consensus. Shreddle described the omission provision in statute, saying the commission may omit a component “if the commission determines it is not feasible due to lack of available data, third‑party research, staff resources, or a lack of majority support.”

Commissioners and staff emphasized procedural choices will affect workload: bundling similar expenditures reduces the number of separate reports LBO must produce, while more formal or individualized voting and reporting would require additional staff time. Larson said LBO can support the commission under whatever process members choose.

Votes at a glance: The commission recorded these formal outcomes at the Sept. 11 meeting — all motions and vote tallies were read into the record. Representative Esther Abbad and Representative Greg Davids were elected House co‑chairs (six recorded votes in favor, none recorded against). Senator Doran Clark was elected Senate vice chair (five recorded votes in favor). The minutes from the Dec. 4, 2024 meeting were approved by motion.

What’s next: Co‑chairs Abbad and Davids said they will meet with LBO to set a meeting cadence; the commission will hold hybrid meetings to preserve quorum and expects to schedule several meetings before the February report deadline. Commissioners asked staff to return a recommended process for recording recommendations (component nine) at the next meeting so the panel can begin receiving full evaluations and take formal positions.

Sources: Statements and votes recorded by the commission during the Sept. 11, 2025 meeting; presentations and Q&A by Legislative Budget Office Director Christian Larson and Deputy Director Christy Shreddle.