Healthcare Tax Repeal Campaign Turns in More Than 84,000 Signatures

Reps. Julie Parrish and Cedric Hayden far exceed threshold. Secretary of state must now test validity.

Oregon Health & Science University Emergency Department, October 11, 2016. (OHSU/Kristyna Wentz-Graff)

Two Republican state representatives today turned in more than 84,000 signatures in an attempt to qualify a tax repeal measure for the January 2018 ballot.

The two representatives, Julie Parrish (R-West Linn) and Cedric Hayden (R-Roseburg) need 58,789 of those signatures to be deemed valid by the secretary of state's elections division in order for the repeal vote to happen.

The two lawmakers want to repeal parts of House Bill 2391, which raises taxes on hospital bills and some health insurance policies. The bill would raise $673 million over the next two-year budget cycle, an amount that would be matched by $1.87 billion in federal dollars.

Parrish and Hayden's repeal targets only part of House Bill 2391. But the total impact, according to a preliminary fiscal impact estimate from the secretary of state's office, would be a loss of $840 million to $1.3 billion to the state.

"Ninety days ago, we started out with a simple goal to give voters the opportunity to weigh in on the new tax  increases passed by pro-tax lawmakers and signed into law by Governor Kate Brown," said Hayden, in a statement. "The Referendum 301 campaign has always been about one thing—letting voters vote. Today, we think we accomplished that goal."

Elections officials now have 30 days to validate the signatures.

Confused? Here's what's at stake with Referendum 301.

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