Springfield said “yes” on Monday evening to a local tax on marijuana, but Eugene said “no” to the same idea.
The Springfield City Council unanimously approved a local tax, in case Oregon voters legalize the use of recreational marijuana on Nov. 4.
After a brief public hearing on the matter, the Eugene City Council voted 6-2 to stop considering a municipal tax on pot.
“I think we should drop the whole thing,” south Eugene Councilor Betty Taylor said.
The fate of local pot taxes are uncertain because the state legalization measure allows the state to collect taxes on cannabis, but it prohibits cities and counties from doing the same.
Eugene and Springfield are among two dozen or so cities and counties that have either approved local marijuana taxes before the election or have been considering whether to do so.
The Lane County Board of Commissioners is scheduled today to hold a hearing and possible final vote on a county marijuana tax.
Springfield’s tax applies to marijuana sold at retailers and at state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. It appears, however, that Springfield officials may later exempt medical marijuana from the tax.
In Springfield, the city would levy the tax as a percentage of retailers’ and dispensaries’ quarterly gross sales. The percentage would be decided upon later.
The approval of the city marijuana tax was placed on the Springfield council’s consent calendar, where noncontroversial matters are passed. A public hearing and first reading of the proposed tax ordinance was held last week.
In Eugene, southwest Councilor Chris Pryor said he previously agreed to a public hearing to learn what residents thought about a city tax on marijuana. But the council heard relatively little on the topic from residents, either by email or in person.
Pryor said he concluded the city should not attempt to add a local tax on the state marijuana tax being proposed under Measure 91.
All Oregon counties would share 10 percent of the revenue from the state’s tax to cover new law enforcement costs. Oregon public schools, programs for treatment of alcoholism and drug abuse, and state and city law enforcement agencies would share the rest of the tax revenue.
Pryor said Eugene doesn’t impose a local tax on alcohol and tobacco, so it shouldn’t add one for pot.
“We already are going to get money from the state, and I don’t want us to start a new precedent” that could lead to local taxes on other items, he said.
Measure 91 would legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 years of age and older, and it would create a system to regulate and tax its production and sale.
The measure would tax marijuana at the grower level — $35 per ounce for flowers, $10 per ounce for leaves and $5 for each immature plant.
Some Eugene councilors said they think it’s doubtful that local pot taxes will survive if Measure 91 passes because of the prohibition on local taxation.
South-central Councilor George Brown asked City Attorney Glenn Klein if a city marijuana tax would withstand a court challenge. Klein said a court would probably strike down local pot taxes unless the Legislature took action next year to let them stand.
Pryor was joined by Councilors Brown, Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Claire Syrett and Mike Clark in voting against advancing the pot tax to another meeting and possible final vote.
Councilors George Poling and Greg Evans voted in favor of advancement. They did not comment, although Poling indicated that he wanted to propose exempting medical marijuana from any city tax.
The Eugene council took its action after hearing from a handful of people in Harris Hall. Most speakers supported a local marijuana tax.
Summer Manier urged the council to pass a local tax and dedicate part of the revenue to Lane Community College to help make tuition more affordable for students.
“Everyone knows it’s hard to rise above the poverty level without higher education,” she said.
Register-Guard reporter Christian Hill contributed to this report.
Springfield council OKs marijuana tax; Eugene council says “no” to same idea
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