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Special Sessions ... Special Favors?

M.O. Stevens
/
Wikimedia

Earlier this month, Washington lawmakers met in special session with one purpose in mind: to extend billions in tax breaks for aerospace giant Boeing so the company wouldn't build its next model of airliner in another state. 

Last December, the legislature in Oregon held a similar special session to give Nike assurance that Salem wouldn't change how the firm is taxed. The Beaverton-based global footwear behemoth had suggested it might pull up stakes and move if lawmakers didn't cooperate.

JPR's Liam Moriarty talks with Northwest News Network capital correspondents Austin Jenkins in Olympia and Chris Lehman in Salem about how iconic northwest corporations use the threat of relocation to get what they want from state governments.

Liam Moriarty has been covering news in the Pacific Northwest for three decades. He served two stints as JPR News Director and retired full-time from JPR at the end of 2021. Liam now edits and curates the news on JPR's website and digital platforms.