Here’s an alert they sent out this week
ACTION ALERT:
Oregon HB 2505 (Sales Tax Increase)
is scheduled for a vote Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 1:00pm
Act now to help defeat this destructive bill!
Oregon House Bill 2505 poses an existential threat to Oregon’s cannabis industry. If passed into law it will allow localities to raise the cannabis sales tax an additional 7% (a 35% increase) up to a total cannabis sales tax rate of 27%.
As you all know a 27% sales tax will cause immense damage to our industry. Despite the harm it will cause us, there is a strong and concerted legislative campaign behind the bill.
We can defeat this bill but Oregon’s Cannabis industry must act fast and and make a strong unified show of force! Last year we were able to defeat a similar bill 3 times but to it took hundreds of cannabis industry folks writing letters, calling, and submitting public comments to legislators.
So please get engaged now and make your voice heard!
How you can help defeat 2505:
1st – Sign the petition against this bill. Over 2600 hundred of you have already signed the petition – THANK YOU – but we need as many signatures as possible. So if you have not signed sign it and if you have see below!
2nd – Share the petition on your social media and with your coworkers, colleagues, customers, friends and families. Every signature helps, all cannabis lovers should sign!
3rd – Retailers, help collect customer signatures. Retailers, please download and post our petition flyer with QR code for your customers to add their name to the petition. Download – Retailer Petition – NO HB 2505.
4th – Submit your personal testimony against HB 2505 – Everyone who is able should make their individual voice heard and submit their own written testimony before noon on Tuesday. We have provide testimony templates below to make it very easy.
**If you want to testify in person at the hearing on the 28th at 1:00 pm email me – jesse@ciaoforegon.org.**
5th – Work with us to lobby the legislature – The fight for fair taxes and good policy for the cannabis industry goes beyond this bill. This is a fight we have fought legislative session after legislative session and we will need help beyond stopping this bill. If you want to get more engaged with our legislative efforts email me ASAP whether you are a member or not – jesse@ciaoforegon.org.
Testimony Templates:
Messaging examples that show how easy it is to let the State Government know how you feel about HB 2505:
If you copy and paste please be sure to add in your own personal information in the correct spots. If you write your own messaging please make sure it is clear, direct, passionate, and respectful.
Example A: My name is [NAME] and I’m writing to ask that you to oppose HB 2505 and don’t let it move forward. Increased sales taxes will only hurt my business adding more financial stress in an already horrible market. My company [NAME] in [PLACE] employs [#] and I am proud of that but I am scared that if this passes I would have to lay folks off to absorb the costs. Simply, this bill would make it harder for us to be price competitive with the illicit market, create more finical instability for my business, and hurt my ability to innovate and expand.
Please oppose any new cannabis sales taxes or tax increases. It’s just not the Oregon way.
[Signature]
Example B: My name is [NAME] and I’m writing to urge you to oppose HB 2505, a sales tax that will decrease consumer choice by financially pressuring small businesses. In [PLACE] where I live I can trust that cannabis products are tested, labeled, tracked and legal. I’d like these things to continue to be true!
Please oppose any sales taxes or tax increases. It’s just not the Oregon way.
[Signature]
