Oregon Business Interests Floating a 2020 Ballot Measure to Address PERS Costs

Democratic lawmakers want to raise billions in new taxes but aren't interest in making concessions on public employee benefits.

Astoria, Oregon. (Sam Gehrke)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Members of the Oregon Business Council, a group of the state's large employers, have pooled funds to test messaging for a possible 2020 ballot measure aimed at reducing the gaping $27 billion unfunded liability in the state's Public Employees Retirement System.

Democratic lawmakers won super-majorities in both chambers last November, thanks in part to strong support from the state's public employee unions. Democrats have shown little interest in making cost-containment concessions on PERS by cutting retirement benefits as part of the multi-billion-dollar tax increases they are proposing to fund education, healthcare and environmental priorities.

It is unclear whether the nascent ballot measure effort, led by Tim Nesbitt, former statewide head of the AFL-CIO, is merely an attempt to give business interests leverage this session or is genuinely headed for the ballot.

"It's a possibility but not our preference," Nesbitt says of a ballot measure. "We'd rather do something during the session."

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