Opinion ID: 1391760
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The writ of review is an available remedy in the Oregon Tax Court.

Text: Petitioner contends that writ of review is not available in the Oregon Tax Court because the specific authorization to that court to issue writs of mandamus by amendment of ORS 34.120, without making any change that would specifically authorize the tax court to issue a writ of review is an indication that the legislature did not intend to add the writ of review jurisdiction to the tax court. Petitioner also contends that ORS 305.425 requires all proceedings in the Tax Court to be heard de novo  and that [t]his is totally in conflict with proceedings on writ of review, citing cases holding that on writ of review to a circuit court that court has no power to conduct a trial de novo, but is limited to a review of the record. We disagree. In 1964 this court, in City of Woodburn v. Domagalla, 238 Or. 401, 395 P.2d 150 (1964), held that the Oregon Tax Court had no power or jurisdiction to issue a writ of mandamus. In so holding this court noted (at 403-05, 395 P.2d 150) that ORS 34.120 then provided that the circuit courts have exclusive jurisdiction of mandamus proceedings and that the jurisdiction of the tax court is nowhere expressly defined. In 1965 the Oregon Legislature, in direct response to Woodburn, amended ORS 305.405 so as to confer upon the Tax Court the same powers as a circuit court, including all ordinary and extraordinary legal, equitable and provisional remedies available in the circuit courts, and also amended ORS 34.120 so as to expressly grant to the Tax Court power to issue writs of mandamus. It did not, however, specifically amend ORS 34.030 so as to expressly grant to the Tax Court the power to issue writs of review. We recognize that the failure of the legislature to expressly confer upon the Tax Court power to issue writs of review, while expressly conferring upon it the power to issue writs of mandamus, provides the basis for a logical argument that the legislature did not intend to confer power upon that court to issue writs of review. We find, however, upon examination of the legislative history of the 1965 session of the Oregon legislature, that it quite clearly intended to confer the same power upon the Oregon Tax Court to issue all extraordinary remedies as conferred upon circuit courts, including writs of review. Both the 1965 amendment to ORS 305.405 and the amendment to ORS 34.120 were included in SB 4, relating to the Oregon Tax Court, which was adopted after hearings before the joint Senate and House Interim Committee on Taxation. The record of the hearings before that committee indicates that this legislation was introduced in direct response to the then recent decision by this court in City of Woodburn v. Domagalla, supra . On October 10, 1964, Judge Peter Gunnar, the Oregon Tax Court judge whose tax court decision in Woodburn, holding that the Tax Court had all the powers of a circuit court, including mandamus jurisdiction, had been overruled by this court, appeared before the interim committee and gave his explanation of what the proposed amendments would accomplish. The interim committee appeared to fully accept his explanation of and purpose for the new legislation, which was to create a court that had the powers of a circuit court limited only to the specific fields of taxation which were assigned to that court. A memorandum for the interim committee explaining the amendments was also prepared by the staff of the Legislative Counsel Committee, stating that although the amendments were specifically designed to overcome the effect of the decision by this court in Woodburn, supra, the amendments would also accomplish    other changes and would confer upon the tax court all the powers of the circuit court in tax cases within its jurisdiction  . In light of this legislative history, we are of the opinion that in 1965 the legislature intended not only to confer upon the Tax Court power to issue writs of mandamus, but also intended to confer upon it all the powers of cirucit courts, including the power to issue writs of review.