FILE - Remains of the devastation from the 2020 Beachie Creek Fire are still evident in the small town of Gates, Feb. 26, 2021.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Oregon lawmakers are advancing a bill that would offer a tax break to wildfire victims.
Senate Bill 1520 would exempt from state income taxes any money received as a result of a wildfire-related lawsuit.
Hundreds of people have either won lawsuits or reached settlements against electric utilities in the wake of the 2020 wildfires, which burned thousands of homes across Oregon.
Supporters of the bill said that after paying attorney fees and taxes, some plaintiffs don’t have enough money left over to actually rebuild their house.
During a brief discussion on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, urged his colleagues to act quickly.
“I think it is an emergency,” he said. “These families have already been harmed. This gives us the opportunity to give them a little bit of relief.”
One lawmaker whose district was hit hard by the Almeda Fire said he heard “hair-raising” testimony in committee from wildfire victims who found that money won via the legal system didn’t end up going very far.
“The list of expenses they had were really quite remarkable out of their settlements, including ... a large share to state government,” said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland.
If signed into law, the bill would be retroactive to 2020, meaning wildfire victims who had already paid state taxes on their settlements could apply for a refund.
SB 1520 passed the Senate unanimously and now heads to the Oregon House.