SB 853 bans out-of-state commuting reimbursement

02/03/2023

SB 853 VOTE: YESNot yet scheduled  
Status (overview) of bill: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/SB853
Committee assigned to bill: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Committees/SLB/Overview

This bill bans taxpayer dollars from funding out-of-state commuting travel reimbursements for state workers. This legislation has been sponsored by all 30 Senators and has bi-partisan support in the House.

This policy states that “employees who work under the full-time remote work model must be reimbursed by the agency for travel to and from the central workplace.” The policy allows state workers to work remotely from another states and have their travel to Oregon reimbursed using taxpayer dollars.

While businesses have ordered their workers back, thousands of state employees still work from home, and hundreds live and work out-of-state. When workers need to be at a meeting or in the office for other reasons, Oregon taxpayers cover the cost for their commute.

Oregon has 7,691 state employees teleworking, and 500 more work remotely out-of-state and 300 of them live in distant states. They report that Oregon Department of Human Services has spent $4,000 in the first 9 months of 2022 to bring their 157 workers in from another state.

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