On Tuesday, an Oregon Circuit Court judge dismissed the lawsuit against OPB and its environmental reporter, Monica Samayoa.
The lawsuit had to do with the release of documents about businesses that paid into Portland’s Clean Energy Fund in 2022, as well as the amount paid by each business.
Samayoa had filed a public records request with the city in October 2023 asking for this information.
The Fund imposes a 1% tax on Portland businesses that earn $1 billion or more in national sales and $500,000 or more in Portland retail income.
The city denied her request. Samayoa then appealed to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who ruled partly in her favor. The city then filed a lawsuit, arguing the documents Samayoa asked for were confidential.
“The City contends that its taxpayers have a right to confidentiality and that this right is recognized in Portland City Code, State Law, and Federal Law and accordingly, the requested information is exempt from disclosure,” the lawsuit reads.
On Tuesday, the case was dismissed.
“It is a tremendous victory for OPB and for public records requesters in Oregon,” OPB said in a statement Wednesday. “The ruling supports OPB’s unwavering belief that local public bodies should not sue requesters. The harm is too great, and the impacts last too long.”
The lawsuit led to the passage of a state law, House Bill 4031, in March that made it more difficult for OPB to receive these records because it requires local government agencies to apply the same confidentiality requirements that the Department of Revenue employs to tax information.
As a result, both OPB and the city filed motions to dismiss the case.
“OPB has made the clear choice not to further pursue the records,” according to a June motion. “Now that HB 4031 is law, it gives OPB even more reasons not to litigate over these particular records, as it is clear that doing so will be expensive and (although OPB believes that HB 4031 does not prohibit release of all of the records responsive to its request) without a significant chance of success.”
The city of Portland was also pleased by Tuesday’s decision.
“I’m pleased OPB reversed their position and is no longer seeking the records,” Portland City Attorney Robert Taylor said in a statement Wednesday. “The City offered to dismiss the case six months ago in March, but OPB declined which resulted in continued litigation. “
“I am relieved the case has been dismissed, but I am still processing how this has impacted me personally and professionally,” Samayoa said in a statement Wednesday. “I learned that a law was changed to further block the records from being released. It was overwhelming trying to understand the city’s choice to prevent the public from knowing more about the Portland Clean Energy Fund finances. It disrupted my work and was really stressful.”
