In another of the so-called “Compact” cases, the Oregon Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Oregon Tax Court and held that: (1) the 1967 Oregon Legislature, in enacting Oregon Statute Section 305.655, did not clearly and unmistakably intend for Oregon to enter into a binding contract that would bind the states under the Oregon and federal contract clauses, and (2) the 1993 Legislature’s repeal of part of Oregon Statute Section 305.655 did not violate the Oregon Constitution by not setting out the text of that statute. In reaching the first part of its holding, the court considered the text, context and legislative history of Section 305.655. The court found that functionally, the terms of the statute did not resemble a contract, because the Multistate Tax Commission did not permit member states to do anything collectively that each state could not do unilaterally. The context of the statute was consistent with the adoption of a uniform law instead of an interstate compact. While the legislative history supports the position that the Oregon legislature understood that it was entering into an interstate compact, the history also supports that the compact would require congressional approval before the compact could go into operation. In reaching its second holding, and relying on one of its prior decisions, the court found that the amendment of Section 305.655 by the 1993 Legislature reflected a complete and perfect legislative choice to replace one set of apportionment formulas with another. In a concurring opinion, three judges reached a different conclusion, finding that the 1967 Oregon Legislature, in enacting Section 305.655, intended to enter into a binding contract, although it ultimately agreed with the majority that the taxpayer did not have a contractual right to enforce Section 305.655. Health Net, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 362 Or. 700 (2018).
