Relating to capital funding for schools; prescribing an effective date.
Summary
HB 3360 changes how Oregon’s corporate income and excise tax “kicker” surplus would be used, but only if voters approve the related constitutional amendment in HJR 13. Under current law, excess corporate kicker revenues are returned or otherwise handled under the kicker framework; this bill redirects those excess corporate revenues into a new School Facility Improvement Fund for school construction, maintenance, and infrastructure projects. The bill also ties the change to biennia ending on or after June 30, 2027.
The measure amends several statutes governing Oregon’s revenue surplus calculations and school facility grants. It requires excess corporate income and excise tax revenues to be appropriated to the School Facility Improvement Fund rather than the State School Fund, and it revises the school facilities grant program so that money from this source can be used only for public school construction projects, infrastructure improvements, and maintenance projects. The bill also keeps the existing grant structure, including matching requirements and priority criteria, but narrows the use of these particular funds to capital needs for K-12 schools.
Impact
HB 3360 would alter ORS 291.345, 291.349, and 327.330 to redirect corporate kicker excess revenues into school capital funding instead of general school funding. It creates a more targeted funding stream for school facilities, prioritizing health and safety needs, districts with limited reserves, and districts that have recently failed bond measures. The bill would affect state budget handling, the Department of Administrative Services’ revenue calculations, the Department of Revenue’s taxpayer credit administration, and school districts seeking grants for construction and maintenance.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong committee support: the House committee voted 7-0 to do pass with amendments and refer the bill onward. That suggests broad agreement on the policy goal of using corporate kicker revenues for school facilities. No committee transcript is provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate in the supplied materials, but the unanimous vote indicates the bill was viewed favorably at the committee stage.
Contention
The main policy issue is the redirection of corporate kicker revenues away from the existing surplus framework and into school capital projects, which changes how those funds are used and limits flexibility. Because the bill is contingent on approval of HJR 13, another point of concern is that the measure depends on voter approval of a constitutional amendment before it can take effect. The bill also creates distributional questions by limiting grants to certain districts and prioritizing districts with health and safety needs, low reserves, or unsuccessful bond attempts, which could leave some districts with less access to the new funding.