Count Comcast among the big winners in this year's legislative session in Salem.

Efforts to repeal a tax break worth millions of dollars a year to big internet companies faltered at the last minute Thursday during the Oregon Legislature's short session.

"I'm really disappointed we weren't able to get that one over the finish line," said Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who chairs the rules committee where House Bill 4027 died. She said the measure didn't clear the House early enough to avoid a potential Republican slowdown, and with the Legislature set to adjourn Saturday or Sunday she said the clock ran out on the bill.

"This happens every session," Burdick said. "You have to prioritize things and this one, frankly, we would have lost anyway."

The bill's abrupt demise was a major disappointment to Oregon cities, counties and school districts, which have been fretting about the loss of a key source of revenue.

And the news caused a good deal of private consternation in Democratic circles, though party members in Salem declined to speak publicly about the circumstances behind the bill's sudden death.

Wendy Johnson, with the League of Oregon Cities, called it a "painful loss" on Twitter. She wrote that it would cost local governments and schools millions of dollars, beginning with the next property tax year that starts in July.

Thomas Baker, Comcast's Salem lobbyist and Burdick's former chief of staff, did not respond to a call seeking comment.

The tax exemption is worth $15 million a year to Comcast, according to state estimates, and another $2.5 million to Frontier Communications. A repeal drive appeared to be sailing through the Legislature this session, winning unanimous support in a House committee and then passing the full House 36-21 on Tuesday.

Lawmakers created the tax break in 2015 to lure Google Fiber to Portland. It exempts internet providers from an unusual Oregon tax methodology, which includes the value of some companies' brands in their property tax valuations.

Google said it wouldn't come to Oregon if it was subject to the tax, so lawmakers created an exemption for companies that offer internet service of 1 gigabit per second - 40 times faster than the federal broadband standard.

Google dropped plans to serve Portland in 2016 but the gigabit tax break remained on the books. Comcast and Frontier moved to cash in.

Chastened lawmakers, who approved the gigabit tax break unanimously in 2015, admitted they never intended it to apply so broadly. They tried to reverse it both last session and again this year.

Oregon cities and counties had lobbied heartily for the repeal and, until Thursday, had been confident the bill would pass this time out.

With the death of the gigabit tax break repeal, attention now turns to the Oregon Department of Revenue. It is negotiating with Comcast over a long-running dispute over Oregon's property tax system. After losing a succession of court rulings, Comcast could owe as much as $170 million to state and local governments.

That issue remains before the Oregon Tax Court as Comcast negotiates with the state, and now -- with the gigabit tax break intact -- the company has more leverage in its talks with the state.

Still, Burdick said it's possible the tax break could be addressed through those talks -- or by next year's Legislature.

"The gigabit issue is on that table," she said. "So hopefully some settlement will be agreed to and, if not, you will certainly see this back in '19."

This article has been updated with additional context.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699