Legislative Update from State Rep. Anna Scharf

Dear Friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family. I'm sure many of you are now gearing up for Christmas, ‘tis the season!

If you get a chance, stop by the Capitol because the rotunda is FINALLY open. After six long years, the Christmas decorations have returned and they are beautiful! Almost daily, there are choir performances from schools throughout Oregon. Here is the schedule of performances, if you are in the area. The Capitol gift shop also makes a wonderful place to do holiday shopping! 

Below you will find several updates as we begin to prepare for the 2026 Short Session which starts in February and constitutionally must end by March 8th. As a reminder, Legislators only get two bills, which helps with such a short window of time to conduct business. Both of the bills for HD 23 have been submitted to Legislative Council for drafting as that deadline has passed. 

As always, thank you for your continued support. Please reach out to my office with any questions or concerns.

From my family and my staff to all of you, I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, legislators met during November Legislative Days to hold informational hearings and prepare for the upcoming 2026 Short Session. The conversations largely revolved around Oregon’s projected budget deficit, which the majority party claims is the result of H.R.1., what is known as Congress’s “Big Beautiful Bill”. Many of the conversations revolved around State agency budget cuts, but no final decisions will be made until February during the Short Session.

I know there is a lot of concern for Oregon's financial situation, but if the state government is anticipating losing money as a result of H.R. 1, where is it going? The answer is, much of it will be going back into the taxpayers’ pockets.

The bill includes several provisions that relieve the financial strain on Americans by slashing taxes for the middle and lower classes and making it easier for businesses to succeed. It is estimated that H.R.1 will save the average Oregon taxpayer $3,157 in 2026.

Tax relief provisions include:

• No Tax on Tips — Establishes a temporary federal income tax deduction of up to $25,000 for “qualified tips,” including cash or charged tips received from customers or through tip sharing. Think of how many people receive tips today; waitresses, bartenders, baristas, hairdressers, Uber drivers, the list is endless.
• No Tax on Overtime — Establishes a tax deduction of up to $12,500 for qualifying employees receiving overtime pay that is reported on a Form W-2, Form 1099, or other specified statement. Virtually no hourly employees in Oregon are exempt from overtime pay so this reaches a large portion of workers.
• No Tax on Car Loan Interest — Establishes a tax deduction of up to $10,000 on a loan used to purchase a vehicle for personal use that was made in the U.S. Buy American is a focus of the current administration. It does not have to be an electric car, just an American made car to qualify opening up the door to many makes and models.
• Increase in the Child Tax Credit — to $2,200 per child, and makes it a permanent, inflation-adjusted credit after 2026. As the cost of child care increases this is a major benefit to working families with children and the permanent inflation adjustment is something that should have been put into place a long time ago.
• Deduction for Seniors — Adults age 65 and older may claim an additional deduction of $6,000. This new deduction is in addition to the current additional standard deduction for seniors under existing law. Many of our seniors are struggling as social security is not keeping up with inflation and pensions are a thing of the past. Additional tax deductions are a way to assist them in improving their quality of life in their golden years.
• Qualified Business Income Deduction — Makes the 20% qualified business income deduction permanent for pass-through entities, while also providing a minimum deduction of $400 for any business with $1,000 or more in qualified business income. As we have heard over and over again, Oregon is one of the least business friendly states in the nation. If Oregon can’t figure out how to help our businesses at least they are being offered tax help at the federal level.
• Enhanced Business Expensing and Depreciation — Raises Section 179 small business expensing limits to $2.5 million (up from about $1.29 million), with a higher phase-out threshold of $4 million, and restores full bonus depreciation for capital investments, canceling the remaining phase-down of this expensing benefit. Capital investments and the ability to depreciate investments means that businesses are growing!  We should want businesses to grow and this is one way to do that.

Oregon's quarterly Revenue Forecast was recently released, revealing that Oregon’s ending balance is now projected at –$63.1 million, an improvement of $309.5 million from the previous forecast. So, when Legislative leadership talks about funding issues what they are really saying is they want to continue to grow government. They want the same level or more from Federal and State tax revenue to do it with, and they do not want any strings attached.   

I believe in less government - less government jobs, more government accountability. I believe in growing the private sector. As Ronald Reagan said, "I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts."

Oregon Business of Industries just declared an economic emergency. It points to what I have said in committee many times. Our government is dependent upon private sector job growth. Government cannot outpace business. It is unsustainable. 

As we see businesses and people fleeing our State, I believe we have reached that tipping point, and it is time for government to face the truth that there are needs and wants and the wants have got to go.   

The Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) has received an important new addition!

New Feature Release: Executive Appointments (EA’s) & Board Information: OLIS now provides a unified, publicly accessible overview of the entire EA’s legislative process. This includes appointments by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation, in addition to all historical appointments and legislative history.

Prior to this enhancement, all EA’s information could only be found on the Secretary’s webpage in a non-dynamic or intuitive format. Appointments and boards are now “clickable” throughout the entire process, including committee agendas, referrals, reports, and Senate third readings. These OLIS additions make it easier for members, staff, and the public to search executive appointments, while strengthening government transparency.

Where to Find New Features & Navigation:
Find the new Menu on OLIS, in the upper right hand navigation menu under “Exec. Appts.”

1. Appointments tab: browse or search all current session appointments being considered.
2. Boards tab: browse through and search for any boards, commissions, or other entities with appointments in the current session.
3. All Boards tab: search any boards in OLIS, regardless of any current appointments or active status.

For further navigational information, go to EA's Help Page On OLIS.