Governor Kitzhaber has until Wednesday (tomorrow) to sign or veto SB 967, which abolishes ratepayer protection against phony income tax charges.

David Cay Johnston, the Pulitzer Prize-winning former financial writer for the New York Times, called this specific bill:

SB 967 repeals a 2005 law (SB 408) that prohibits regulated utilities from charging ratepayers for federal, state, and local "income taxes" that in fact were not paid to any unit of government by the utility.  Senator Vicki Walker (D Eugene), the primary sponsor of the 2005 law, stated at its enactment:

For several years, the large electricity and gas utilities regulated by the Oregon Public Utility Commission have been charging to Oregon ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars for "state income taxes" and "federal income taxes" that in fact have not been paid to any government. Currently, the best available estimate of these charges to Oregon ratepayers is $150 million per year."

Between 1998 and 2006, Portland General Electric (PGE) charged Oregon ratepayers over $750 million for such never-paid income taxes.

The OPUC Commissioners fully supported these phony charges, and SB 967 allows this outrageous practice to resume.

For additional information to include in your message, see the IPO Letter to Governor Kitzhaber and the Dan Meek Testimony to the Legislature.