Celebrating 25 Years of
Improving the lives of Oregonians
In the late 1990s, human services advocates recognized a void in the Oregon policy landscape: the absence of timely and reliable analysis on tax, budget and economic issues. So they formed the Oregon Center for Public Policy. Ever since, our in-depth analysis and fact-based advocacy have delivered victories for Oregonians, steering our state toward greater economic justice.
1999-2000
With Oregon suffering from one of the nation’s highest hunger rates, our work paves the way for a highly successful food stamp outreach effort — work that earns us the “Hunger Buster Award” from the Oregon Food Bank.
2001
Our research and advocacy results in the legislature improving a child care tax credit for low-income working families by making sure they're able to fully benefit from the credit.
2002
We make the case for raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation. Oregon voters agree with us, enacting Measure 25.
2003
We succeed in preserving Oregon’s Estate Tax, our state’s most progressive source of revenue.
2004
Our statement that "Oregon has more payday lender shops than McDonald's restaurants" becomes common knowledge, leading to greater consumer protections against predatory lending.
2005
We succeed in strengthening the Oregon Earned Income Tax Credit and making it refundable, ensuring that all eligible families get the full benefit of this credit that helps low-income working families make ends meet.
2006
We play a pivotal role in defeating a draconian state spending limit (Measure 48) that would have imposed a fiscal straight-jacket on Oregon, weakening schools and essential services.
2007
Our research and advocacy helps convince the legislature to create the Oregon Rainy Day Fund, a reserve account that protects the state during economic crises.
2008
Our analysis helps convince voters to reject Measure 59, a proposal that mainly amounted to a big tax cut for the rich, endangering funding for schools and other essential services.
2009
In the throes of the Great Recession, ours analysis leads to improvements to Oregon’s unemployment insurance system.
2010
In the words of The Oregonian, OCPP raises “the strongest voice” for the “yes” side on Measures 66 and 67, raising taxes on the rich and corporations. An overwhelming majority of Oregon voters agree with us.
2011
Our analysis sinks efforts to cut taxes on capital gains income, what would have been a tax cut for the richest of the rich.
2013
We succeed yet again in strengthening one of the best anti-poverty tools, the Earned Income Tax Credit.
2015
We close the “Con-way tax loophole,” which allowed profitable corporations to get around the corporate minimum tax.
2016
Our analysis is instrumental in achieving a historic increase to the state minimum wage.
2017
Our research plays a big role in the victory of the Cover All Kids campaign, ensuring that all Oregon children, regardless of their place of birth, have health insurance.
2018
We lead the charge for Oregon to sever ties from some of the most egregious parts of Trump tax cuts, thereby protecting over $1 billion in funding for Oregon’s schools and essential services.
2019
Our analysis and advocacy helps in the enactment of The Student Success Act, Oregon’s largest investment in K-12 schools in decades.
2020
In the throes of the COVID emergency, our analysis helps our partners succeed in persuading the legislature to establish the Oregon Workers Relief Fund (OWRF), providing income replacement to laid-off workers excluded from Unemployment Insurance and federal assistance due to their immigration status.
2021
Partnering with immigration rights organizations, we help make Oregon’s Earned Income Tax Credit more equitable by removing the exclusion of immigrant workers who file their taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
2022
Amid rising inflation and the lingering effects of the pandemic, our work helps advance a one-time stimulus payment for Oregon low-income families.
2023
The legislature establishes a new child tax credit, the Oregon Kids’ Credit, putting Oregon among the nation’s leaders in addressing child poverty. As one of the lawmakers who introduced the legislation notes, “The Oregon Center for Public Policy was the brains (and the brawn) behind this policy.”
