Oregon Ballot Measure 5 (1990)

Ballot Measure 5 was a landmark piece of direct legislation in the U.S. state of Oregon in 1990. Measure 5, an amendment to the Oregon Constitution (Article XI, Section 11), established limits on Oregon's property taxes on real estate.

Property taxes dedicated for school funding were capped at $15 per $1,000 of real market value per year and gradually lowered to $5 per $1,000 per year. Property taxes for other purposes were capped at $10 per $1,000 per year. Thus, the total property tax rate would be 1.5% at the end of the five-year phase in period. The measure transferred the responsibility for school funding from local government to the state, to equalize funding.

The measure was passed in the November 6, 1990 general election with 574,833 votes in favor, 522,022 votes against. It was one of the most contentious measures in Oregon election history.

Although measure numbers are reused, the effect of this measure on the state was significant enough that when Oregonians speak of Measure 5, they are usually referring to the specific measure passed in 1990. Measure 5 is often seen as the beginning of the Oregon tax revolt. One effect of the measure was that funding for local schools was shifted from primarily local property tax funds to state funds. With this, it led to a general equalization of funding between districts as funds are now given to districts based on the number of students in each district. Schools with higher value property in their districts previously could fund local schools at a higher rate than more economically depressed areas.

Passage of the measure and the limits led to some discussion of eliminating county services in Multnomah County by combining them with Portland city services or Metro, as well as talks of combining Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties into one large urban county for the Portland metro area.

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