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LILY YAO (she/her) LILY YAO (she/her) Youth Council President Lily attends South Eugene High School where she is actively involved in student government, competes in Speech and Debate, and plays varsity tennis and club Ultimate. As an environmental advocate, Lily has served as a regional leader intern with Our Future, a project of Partners for Sustainable Schools that has aimed to create a statewide, student-led climate justice network since 2022. At the same time, in roles as a City of Eugene Sustainability Commissioner and member of the Eugene Youth Advisory Council, she seeks to educate herself and others about the climate while becoming more civically aware. Similarly, as a founding member of the Lane County delegation of the Oregon YMCA Youth and Government program, she has had the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience advocating for policy solutions and participating in government simulations of the legislative process, which has further sparked her interest in civics education. Alongside her commitment to environmental issues, Lily is passionate about disaster preparedness. In her role as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 10 Youth Preparedness Council, she has educated youth in her local community and collaborated with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) to promote disaster resilience. Her experience includes presenting at the 2024 Oregon Prepared: Emergency Preparedness Workshop, hosted by OEM, and as a panelist with Resource Tap Disaster Support Services at the 2024 Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, the largest and oldest conference of its kind. In addition to her advocacy work, Lily believes in promoting cultural diversity and understanding. In addition to English, she speaks both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese and is involved in various efforts to foster inclusivity and celebrate cultural heritage. This has included acting as a Mainstage Production Assistant for the Oregon Asian Celebration. Her commitment to bridging cultural gaps, as well as her passion for S.T.E.M., are demonstrated by her selection as a 2024 TechGirls Finalist. This year, Lily is taking on the role of Co-Voter Strategist with the League of Women Voters of Oregon Youth Council. She is dedicated to empowering young voters and increasing voter turnout among young people. In serving on the Youth Council, Lily hopes to learn more about the civic process, reach out to her community, and advocate for voters across Oregon. youthpresident@lwvor.org

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Legislative Report - Week of 4/10 Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley / Sharron Noon • Education: Jean Pierce / Stephanie Engle • Equal Rights for All Ballot Measure: Jean Pierce Kyra Aguon • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Jump to a topic: Housing Criminal Justice Gun Safety Immigration Housing By Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Governor Kotek recently announced funding amounts to address the state’s homelessness state of emergency tied to HB 2001 A . The bill requires specific goals to rehouse more than 1,200 households and create over 600 new shelter beds in emergency areas to reduce unsheltered homelessness by January 10, 2024. Each region submitted local plans for the Governor's Office to review and how they will meet specific goals to reduce unsheltered homelessness in their local area. The state is expected to provide technical assistance and partner with them to help them succeed. Listed below are funding amounts the state will award to regions within designated areas of Oregon's homelessness state of emergency. She also announced outcome measures each region is expected to achieve with this funding. Portland/Gresham/Multnomah County: $18.2 million to rehouse 275 households and create 138 shelter beds Eugene/Springfield/Lane County: $15.5 million to rehouse 247 households and create 230 shelter beds Central Oregon: $13.9 million to rehouse 161 households and create 111 shelter beds Salem/Marion, Polk Counties: $10.4 million to rehouse 158 households and create 79 shelter beds Medford, Ashland/Jackson County: $8.8 million to rehouse 133 households and create 67 shelter beds Hillsboro/Beaverton/Washington County: $8.0 million to rehouse 121 households and create 61 shelter beds Clackamas County: $4.4 million to rehouse 130 households. It also was announced that the funds appropriated for this companion bill in HB 5019 will be appropriated as indicated below. A total of $85.2 million will be allocated for local homelessness emergency plans. OHCS will reserve $3 million to ensure the goals of the emergency order are achieved. An additional $3 million will be used for a statewide landlord incentive, available to landlords participating in local rehousing efforts. However, the requests from all regions within the emergency order total $98.8 million, which is not enough funding to provide each region its full funding request. In addition, the early funding package included $33.6 million to help prevent homelessness for an estimated 8,750 households. This funding will be distributed statewide through existing eviction prevention programs. Recognizing that unsheltered homelessness impacts communities in every part of Oregon, the legislature also approved $26 million to address homelessness in counties that do not meet the emergency order threshold. OHCS is sending each region an announcement of its funding amount and will include an updated timeline for finalizing grant agreements with the goal of funding being available to communities by April 28, 2023. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and the state housing agency (OHCS) have supported establishment of Multi-Agency Coordinating (MAC) groups to oversee the money in each region and deliver emergency care. They are made up of a wide range of individuals, from people who are part of public housing authorities, local homelessness agencies, shelter developers, and landlords associations. The Governor, after several meetings with city of Portland and Multnomah County officials, said she has a lot of questions. Despite her concerns, she tentatively approved state funding to the city of Portland and Multnomah County and promised to provide state help to address some of her questions and concerns. However, the Governor wasn’t convinced that Clackamas County had the ability to increase shelter beds, so the funding was denied. SB 976 : Mortgage Interest Deduction Reform: There is a lot of interest in this bill because if passed; the state’s largest housing subsidy would see some of the savings redirected away from higher earning homeowners and would instead benefit low- and moderate-income home purchasers. In addition, resources resulting from reducing the subsidy would be used for homelessness prevention. The League submitted testimony in support of the reform. Senate Finance and Revenue held a hearing on this bill on April 12. HB 3151 : Manufactured home parks are one of the largest sources of unsubsidized housing in the country and make up 16% of the state’s affordable housing stock. HB 3151 would institute several provisions related to manufactured home parks. It would limit the types of improvements or repairs a landlord could require in a rental contract and extend the sunset for the Manufactured and Marina Communities Dispute Resolution Advisory Committee and legal assistance grants for low-income facility tenants addressing disputes to January 2, 2027. It would also allow manufactured home park loan funds to be used for development of new parks and require local governments to allow siting of those parks in certain non-residential zones. A HB 3151 hearing took place in Senate Housing and Development on April 12. SB 702 : Appraiser Certification and Licensure Training: This bill would require training to be adopted by the Appraiser Certification and Licensure Board for real estate appraisers and appraiser assistants to comply with state and federal fair housing laws. At the present time, appraiser education requirements do not include provisions specifically covering racial bias or appraiser responsibilities under state or federal fair housing laws. Appraisal training can be completed online or in person. National studies have identified race-based disparities in appraisals. In 2022, the Legislature appointed the Joint Task Force on Addressing Racial Disparities in Home Ownership and proposed to amend ORS 674.310 to add language including these topics in appraiser education requirements. A Public Hearing on SB 702 was held in House Housing and Homelessness on April 13. Immigration & Refugee By Claudia Keith Bills we are supporting or following: HB 2957 A the -4 amendment Work Session was held 3/29 . It passed out of committee unanimously to JW&Ms, -4 Staff Measure Summary . Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Fiscal. League Testimony . HB 3176 A - 3 : ‘Welcome and Reception’ program for immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. Work Session was 4/3 . Passed out to JW&Ms with 9/1 vote. Staff Measure Summary . Public Hearing was March 8 . Fiscal . Bills moved from Policy Committee to JW&Ms: SB 627 : Funding for universal (legal) fees for non-documented individuals ($15M) Sen Lieber. Passed out of Sen Judiciary, DO Pass, Feb 7, sent to JW&Ms with partisan vote. The League has supported this policy/funding category in the past. Fiscal Analysis . Bills of Interest or possible League support: SB 849 A Public Hearing 2/28 with -1 amendment . Preliminary SMS -1 : Work session was 3/14. Now in JW&Ms. Fiscal $20M grant fund. Requires professional licensing boards to provide culturally responsive training to specified staff members, publish guidance on pathways to professional authorization for internationally educated individuals and waive requirement for English proficiency examination for specified internationally educated individuals. Basic Needs SB 610 -5: Work Session 4/3 . Moved to JW&Ms. Establishes Food for All Oregonians Program within Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Fiscal , Staff Measure Summary . HB 2990A : Work session 3/27 . Moved to JW&Ms. Resilience Hubs. Directs Oregon Health Authority to develop and implement grant programs to support resilience hubs and networks in Oregon. Fiscal Statement Other Bills SB 216 Passed out of SCHC 3/1 , Now in House Behavioral Health and Health Care. PH 4/16 and WS 4/18 scheduled. Related to data collected by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), request of Governor Kate Brown. OHA set a goal of eliminating health disparities by 2030 including those based on race, ethnicity, language, or disability (REALD) and sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). HB 2905 : Now in Senate Education, expands the list of individuals whose histories, contributions and perspectives are required to be included in social studies academic content standards and in related textbooks and instructional materials. Passed House Committee by Unanimous Vote . Public Hearing SCE 4/25 SB 421 A Work session 3/30 moved to JW&Ms with 6/1 vote, establishes a youth advisory council. Prescribes youth standards advisory council membership and duties. ODE to establish a work group to establish member selection process. Staff Measure Summary , Fiscal SB 613 : Creates Commission for Indigenous Communities. In Senate Rules. SB 612 Establishes Indigenous Language Justice Fund. Requires nonprofit organization in this state to serve as fiscal agent to receive disbursement of moneys for purposes related to supporting Indigenous languages interpretation in this state. In Senate RULES, WS 4/1 3 was cancelled. SB 911 Creates Commission for Original Peoples from South America, Central America and Mexico. In Senate Rules, WS was 3/28. Gun Safety By Marge Easley HB 2005 B , the omnibus bill that included a ban on undetectable firearms, an age restriction of 21 and over for purchase, and an expansion of public jurisdictions that can create gun-free zones, was scheduled for a House floor vote on April 12. However, the vote was postponed until May 2 and made a Special Order of Business, most likely to allow time for lengthy pro-con statements from members. Another firearms bill that has attracted attention is SB 393 A , which passed Senate Judiciary in a work session on April 4 and is headed to the Senate floor. A placeholder bill was amended to add clarity to the process by which a gun dealer completes a firearm transfer under the new permit-to-purchase regulations. After verifying that the purchaser has a valid permit, the gun dealer must receive a unique background check approval number from the Oregon State Police and allow 72 hours to elapse between receipt of the approval number and the transfer of the firearm. This amounts to a waiting period, which is strongly opposed by gun supporters. Criminal Justice By Marge Easley Senate criminal justice bills are now making their way to committee hearings in the House. The League is monitoring these bills that appear on upcoming agendas: SB 339 A had a public hearing on April 18. It adds harassment to the crimes that may require sex offender treatment and polygraph tests as a condition of probation, if recommended by the probation officer and if harassment involved touching of sexual or intimate parts of another person. On April 19, House Judiciary has a work session on SB 234 , which allows the Chief Justice to make rules for gathering non-identifying demographic information to evaluate disparities and impacts in the justice system. Also on the agenda is SB 306 A , which modifies statutes to allow for non-attorney associate members of the Oregon State Bar to practice law within a defined scope of practice. This is one of several bills this session to alleviate the shortage of public defenders in Oregon. On April 20, the following bills dealing with juvenile offenders will be heard: SB 902 permits those over 20 who are resentenced for a crime they committed when under 18 to continue temporary assignment to a youth correctional facility. SB 903 directs the Oregon Youth Authority to maintain demographic data, including race, ethnicity, and gender, of youth authority employees in order to evaluate how demographic disparities between youth and employees may affect the cultural appropriateness of programs. SB 904 A modifies the criteria for determining maximum allowable population levels for youth correction facilities.

Back to All Legislative Reports Natural Resources Legislative Report - Sine Die - Week of August 11 Natural Resources Team Coordinator: Peggy Lynch Agriculture/Goal 3 Land Use: Sandra U. Bishop Coastal Issues: Christine Moffitt, Peggy Lynch Columbia River Treaty: Philip Thor Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries: Joan Fryxell Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone Forestry: Josie Koehne Elliott State Research Forest: Peggy Lynch Northwest Energy Coalition: Robin Tokmakian Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Melanie Moon Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Advisory Committee: Sandra Bishop Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board: Lucie La Bonte Water: Peggy Lynch Wildfire: Carolyn Mayers Ways and Means Natural Resource Budgets/Revenue: Peggy Lynch Please see Natural Resources Overview here . Jump to a topic: Agriculture Air Quality Bottle Bill Budgets/Revenue Climate Coastal Issues Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ ) Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) Dept. of State Lands Drinking Water Advisory Committee (DWAC) Elliott State Research Forest (ESRF) Emergency Services Forestry (ODF) Governance Land Use & Housing Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. (OPRD) Recycling Regional Solutions State Land Board State Lands/Waterways Taxes Transportation Water Weather Wetlands Wildfire There were 3,467 bills introduced with 704 passed, including agency budget bills. The League had volunteers covering a variety of areas, but never as many as there are issues being discussed! The League did provide testimony on 147 bills . The Governor had until Aug. 8 th to sign passed legislation, let them take effect without signing or vetoing. The Governor provided this news release with her final decisions. She vetoed a couple of bills and provided “signing letters” for 17 bills. Your natural resources volunteers addressed issues around agriculture, wildfire and water, as well as agency budgets. We worked with our coalition partners at the Oregon Conservation Network (OCN) on both policy and budget bills. OCN provides legislators with a “Hot List” of bills OCN groups are following—supporting, opposing or having concerns. A new group, the Oregon Ocean Alliance , provided a coordinated voice for ocean and coastal issues. We are a member of the Oregon Housing Alliance , where the natural resources volunteers follow land use, infrastructure and environmental policies while our Social Policy volunteers follow other housing issues. The League determines our Priorities at the beginning of the session. The Legislative Policy and Research Office (LPRO) provided a 20-page review of Natural Resource legislation for 2025. Below are summaries of the work our volunteers have done this session. But the work continues between sessions as we follow natural resource boards and commissions and follow rulemaking to implement the policies passed during session. You can find their meetings schedules on each agency’s website. The nonpartisan Legislative Revenue Office did a preliminary analysis and determined that Oregon could lose out on roughly $972 million in the two-year budget period that began in July based on various federal tax changes that will flow down to the state. Oregonlive provided a good article of explanation. We now await the Aug. 27 th Revenue Forecast from the State Economist who will also need to consider the effects of tariffs, proposed federal budget cuts and other federal actions as well as state economic news to provide on-going guidance for the legislature. Look for the possibility of more special sessions in the future to rebalance the state budget. AGRICULTURE A lot of proposals were under discussion this session to make changes to, or simply ignore provisions of Oregon’s land use law. More than two dozen bills were introduced with the potential to change what activities are allowed or restricted on farm land in Oregon. No legislation passed this session to change existing uses allowed on high value farm and forest lands in the state. Early in session the League gave testimony in support of two bills and opposed one measure proposing such changes. By mid-March it seemed clear that no other agricultural land-related bills were likely to move this session. SB 788 – proposed to exempt some eastern Oregon counties from existing land use laws governing the use of farm and forest lands for weddings and other events. The League submitted testimony in opposition. SB 77 – to clarify what home based businesses are allowed on farm and forest land. The League presented testimony in support. SB 78 – a comprehensive proposal to specify a maximum size for replacement of a farm dwelling. The League submitted testimony in support. All three of these bills died in the Senate Natural Resources & Wildfire Committee upon adjournment. One result of the plethora of bills proposing changes in use of farm and forest land was encouragement from the governor for interested parties and organizations to identify issues related to businesses and activities allowed on farm land in conjunction with agricultural operations. This led to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) undertaking Farm Stand Rulemaking to clarify existing administrative rules and potentially surface recommendations for legislative changes to farm and forest land use laws if needed. OAR 660-033-0130: Regarding farm stands in exclusive farm use (EFU) zones and agri-tourism On July 25 th at the request of Governor Tina Kotek the rulemaking process to clarify allowable uses associated with farm stands and related uses on agricultural lands zoned EFU was “ paused ”. The carefully tailored rules process coordinated by DLCD apparently is no match for a social media campaign that resulted in more than 2,000 emails and phone calls flooding the governor’s office. Erroneous facts including statements that the rules on farm stand uses would go into effect on Sept 1 st contributed to the frenzy and flurry of protests. Regardless of the public uproar, the purpose of the rulemaking is to clarify what types of activities are allowed under a farm stand permit in Oregon; to protect farmers and agricultural operations by making it clear when and if a use is allowed, whether or not a permit is needed, and, if so, what type of permit. This rulemaking would only apply to new farm stands and would not affect agritourism and other activities already allowed on farmland. This rulemaking process was initiated in March 2025. DLCD appointed a 20-member Farm Stand Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RAC) . The charge of the RAC was to explore five areas or topics identified by a legislative agritourism work group formed after HB 3133 , expansion of allowable sales and uses related to farmstands on EFU land, failed to move in the 2025 session of the Oregon legislature. (See the 2025 Farm Stand Rulemaking Fact Sheet ) Lively, informative, in-depth discussion from a wide variety of perspectives took place at the RAC meetings covering: 1. Primary Use Test (percentage of income from farm products), 2. Promotional activities outside and inside farm stand structures, 3. Activities that promote the sale of farm products, the farm operation itself, or agriculture (such as on-farm education), 4. Prepared foods with a direct tie to the farm operation or the local agricultural region, and 5. Impact on neighboring farms. The first of five anticipated RAC meetings was held on May 16 th . Four subsequent 3-hour RAC meetings were held in June and July. One final meeting of the RAC was anticipated in August or early September. The online meetings were live-streamed and recorded and may be viewed on the DLCD Youtube channel . The official public hearing on proposed rules was expected to be held at the September 25-26 Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) meeting. The public comment period for this rulemaking originally set to close on October 5th was extended to Nov 5 th 2025 with the expectation that final rule adoption would take place at the December 4-5, 2025 LCDC meeting. It is now unclear what the rulemaking schedule will be since rulemaking has been suspended. DLCD staff described this process as Phase 1 of the Farm Stand Rulemaking. After the conclusion of this rulemaking at the end of 2025, it was expected that DLCD would recommend a work plan for additional phases of Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) changes to address agritourism and other commercial events, use of soils reports, replacement dwellings and non-farm dwellings. Contact Hilary Foote at hilary.foote@dlcd.oregon.gov with any questions about the RAC or the larger project . Rulemaking Webpage AIR QUALITY The League signed on to a letter in opposition to HB 2642 , a bill that seeks to divest the authority to administer vehicle emission testing away from the Department of Environmental Quality, to the private sector. The bill did not pass. Bottle Bill By Sandra U. Bishop SB 992 , the omnibus bill making changes in Oregon’s beverage container deposit and redemption system passed into law and has been signed by the Governor. The new changes will allow modifications in the operation of redemption centers and adjustments to the responsibilities of small and large retail stores to redeem containers. Any changes are expected to make it easier for frequent redeemers (those individuals who redeem containers on a daily or near daily basis) and give some relief to retail stores, especially in the inner-city area of Portland, through the use of Alternative Redemption Centers and implementation of a faster-turnaround accounting system for redeemed containers. Although most changes are applicable only to Portland, some provisions will permeate the bottle bill system statewide. Retailers will be allowed to limit the hours required to redeem: from 8am to 6pm if the business is operating during those hours. A winery may refuse to redeem containers of a type or brand they do not sell. A proposal to include wine bottles in the deposit and redemption system failed. A bill to increase use of reusable beverage containers also failed. Stakeholders are expected to be brought together every three years or so to continue to make suggestions for improvements to the redemption system. As early as next year stakeholders may again review the operation of redemption centers including issues such as drug use and overdose deaths in proximity of redemption centers, land use and public notification issues. The League has always supported the bottle bill and continues to support the most appropriate, effective, and environmentally sound recycling and recovery of beverage container materials. There was a flurry of activity around HB 3940 , a bill to fund wildfire issues, because it originally included a proposal to increase the bottle deposit to provide for that funding. That provision was quickly removed from the bill. (See below under Wildfire for more info on the bill.) BUDGETS/REVENUE By Peggy Lynch Here is the 2025-27 Legislatively Adopted Budget 3-page summary . In between legislative sessions, the Emergency Board (E-Board) can meet when called to expend monies provided to them (See HB 5006 .) The Co-Chairs of the E-Board (Senate President and Speaker of the House) are designated to be able to call a meeting. They will continue to review federal actions. Oregon will likely bring in fewer tax dollars, spend more money on administrative tasks and receive billions less in federal funding. Rep. Gomberg provided some concerning information about the potential loss of federal funding here in Oregon: Thrown into uncertainty was the Oregon Health Plan. State figures show 33.5% of Oregonians are on the state’s Medicaid program. About 14% of Oregon’s annual education budget comes from the federal government, amounting to more than $1 billion each year. And 17,500 preschool children are enrolled in Head Start . A March 28 th press release from Senate President Wagner shared more data on federal losses. Then from bloomberglaw.com : Included in the budget request is a $2.46 billion cut for the EPA’s clean and drinking water state revolving loan funds. The program “has been heavily earmarked by the Congress for projects that are ultimately not repaid into the program and bypass states’ interest and planning,” according to the request. This could mean a 17 percent cut to the clean water programs and a 12 percent cut to DEQ funding. Cuts to NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) will affect Oregon coastal communities per this article in Columbia Insight. Attorney General Dan Rayfield has added a federal litigation tracker to the “Federal Oversight” tab of his website. Check it out here . Each long session the Governor provides a statewide biennial budget (GRB) with individual agency budget requests. Her budget was due by Dec. 1, 2024. For natural resource agency budgets, start on page 141 of the web document. The Governor proposes; the Legislature disposes. It wasn’t long into the new U. S. President’s term when monies from the federal government were being cancelled, making Oregon legislators nervous regarding providing Oregonians important state services. The State Debt Policy Advisory Commission meets annually to provide advice on bonding capacity: The State’s General Fund revenues are forecasted to provide for $8.9 billion of new General Fund debt capacity for the upcoming four biennia, with an average debt capacity of $2.22 billion per Biennium and Lottery bonds were recommended at an average debt capacity of $564 million in each Biennium. The SDPA Commission will meet again before the February 2026 session. The February 2025 forecast reduced the December forecast by $500 million. The Joint Committee On Ways and Means took action on March 14 on five bills to rebalance the 2023-25 budget. Then Oregon’s Joint Ways and Means Co-Chairs introduced their 2025-2027 Biennium Budget Framework on March 19th. The federal “Big Beautiful Bill” (HR 1) will cut money from Medicaid and SNAP. Oregon legislators began worrying about how Oregon was going to continue to help Oregonians with healthcare and food insufficiency. The May 14 Forecast Summary noted that available resources were down $755.7 million. The muted outlook also affects non-General Fund revenues such as the Corporate Activity Tax, Lottery and Marijuana Taxes. Corporate Activity Tax revenues in 2025-27 have declined $44.4 million from the previous forecast. Lottery earnings are revised downward by $36.7 million due mostly to weaker-than-expected Video Lottery sales. Marijuana tax revenues are also adjusted modestly, down $7.6 million from Q1. The slide presentation . A personal "kicker" of $1,639.1 million is projected for 2025. Corporate tax revenue of $915.9 million is projected to be dedicated to K-12 education. The final calculation will be announced in November 2025. Planning for 2026: The co-chairs left unspent about 22% of general obligation bond capacity and 15% of lottery revenue bonds, which theoretically leaves some flexibility for lawmakers to make investments in next year’s short session. Agency Budgets The League’s Natural Resource Team provided testimony on many of the 14 natural resource agency budgets. To learn more about their content, look for the LFO Recommendation posted for each budget. More info is listed below under each agency. Following are the budget bills we watched in Natural Resources. Go to each bill’s “Overview” and select “Analysis” to find the Budget Report: Dept. of Agriculture: SB 5502 Dept. of Agriculture Fees: SB 5503 . At the end of session, the request for an information technology project, OneODA, to modernize IT agencywide and migrate from Apple to Microsoft was also funded. Highlights of DEQ’s Legislatively Approved Budget include: Restoration of Water Quality positions that would have been eliminated due to shortfalls of federal funds. These positions will now be funded through the General Fund. Protection against cuts to currently filled General Fund positions. Authorization of essential fee increases in the Air Contaminant Discharge, Greenhouse Gas Reporting, and Water Quality programs. Creation of new positions, using existing funds, in the Cleaner Air Oregon, Materials Management, Water Quality Grants, and Fuel Tank Seismic Stability programs. Establishment of an additional Environmental Law Specialist position for the Office of Compliance and Enforcement. Creation of three additional positions for the Climate Protection Program, focused on developing new regulations to prevent emissions leakage from energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries. Oregon Dept. of Energy: SB 5518 and Oregon Dept. of Energy Fees: SB 5519 Meeting Materials . The good news is that the Oregon Climate Action Commission is being provided with one fulltime permanent staffer. Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: HB 5009 ( LFO Recommendation ). HB 2977 would have increased the Transient Lodging Tax (TLT) that is collected at lodging establishments, from 1.5% to 2.75% total. (See TAXES below.) The bill passed the House floor, but did not make it out of the Senate. A 1.25% increase in the TLT: Revenue Impact Statement Provides the list of uses for the income: Fiscal Impact Statement . Of interest was the conversation around future legislator actions that might change or add to the use of this new revenue. We expect this bill to return in 2026 or 2027. Oregon Dept. of Forestry: SB 5521 . The Governor signed the budget bill but also shared a signing letter to clarify the distribution of the monies allocated to the Private Forest Accord and the link to the pending Habitat Conservation Plan. LFO Recommendation . HB 2072 , Harvest Tax LFO Recommendation . HB 3940 increased the Harvest Tax and provided additional resources to the agency. Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI): HB 5010 LFO Recommendation . Meeting materials LWVOR testimony LWVOR support ed SB 836 , a bill that significantly increases permit fees for mining related activities. Here is the LFO Recommendation for SB 836. Dept. of Land Conservation and Development: SB 5528 LWVOR testimony . LFO Recommendation Land Use Board of Appeals : SB 5529 LWVOR testimony , that included: We are pleased that the Governor included this work as POP 500 in the LUBA budget. This budget request was one of the recommendations of the Governor’s Housing Production Advisory Committee that received almost unanimous approval. We hope this Committee will also approve. The Governor signed, but also sent a signing letter to Legislative Leadership since the budget did NOT include the money for the IT modernization so needed by this agency. Oregon State Parks and Recreation Dept.: HB 5026 Meeting Materials LWVOR testimony in part to address comments by the Legislative Fiscal Office. LFO Recommendation . The Legislative Fiscal Office notes : During the November 2024 meeting of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Commission, the Department provided an update outlining concerns for the long-term sustainability of OPRD’s operational funding. The Department asserted that the largest known challenge for the 2025-27 biennium is addressing the gap between projected operational revenues and anticipated expenditures. Throughout this biennium as well as the next, OPRD’s operational budget is dependent on an existing beginning balance. This means the current level of expenditures, given projected revenues, is unsustainable for the long-term. While the dedicated programs remain sustainable, operational expenditures are outpacing Lottery Funds and non-dedicated Other Funds revenues used to support agency. The League will engage with these budget issues before the 2027 legislative session. Dept. of State Lands: SB 5539 LWVOR testimony in support. The agency asked for $10 million General Funds as, hopefully, final bridge financing to continue to stand up the Elliott State Research Forest, hire staff and work toward self-funding in the future. Also, $10 million in Common School Funds (CSF) was authorized to be transferred to the Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries for a Carbon Sequestration pilot with the intent that such a project will reap financial rewards to the CSF as well as help Oregon address climate change. LFO Recommendation Water Resources Dept.: SB 5543 LWVOR testimony . And the fee bills: support HB 2808 and support HB 2803 OWRD Budget Summary . Although the Governor signed these bills, she provided a signing letter for both SB 5543 and HB 2803: HB 2803 and SB 5543 Signing Letter .pdf Download PDF • 953KB Recognizing the resource constraints, however, I am directing the agency to work with my staff to prioritize its efforts in a manner that is achievable and most likely to advance the State's water management goals to meet in-stream and out-of-stream needs . Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board : HB 5039 . LWVOR testimony . LFO Recommendation See page 8 of this recent Director's Report for a copy of the Legislatively Adopted Budget (LAB). Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board 6-Year Limitation: HB 5040 LFO Recommendation Limits expenditures of lottery funds from the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund for local grant expenditures by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board for a six-year period beginning July 1, 2025. Dept. of Transportation: SB 5541 LFO Recommendation The budget assumes passage of a transportation funding bill that generates sufficient revenue to support restoration of a majority of the ODOT’s Operations and Maintenance positions that would otherwise be eliminated due to the State Highway Fund revenue shortfall. HB 2025 , the comprehensive Transportation ReInvestment Package (TRIP) did not pass so 483 ODOT positions and some programs were announced as cuts on July 7—with last work date of July 31. With the special session on Aug. 29, the Governor asked that the last date be extended to Sept. 15 in case new funding is agreed to. The League signed on to a letter in support of increased transit funding in HB 2025. Legislative Administration Committee, Legislative Assembly, Legislative Counsel Committee, Legislative Fiscal Officer, Legislative Revenue Officer, Commission on Indian Services and Legislative Policy and Research Committee: HB 5016 LFO Recommendation Legislators provided testimony on their need for increased staffing and support for the departments mentioned above. Staff provided testimony on their need for fulltime employment and a work/life balance. A number of staff are only hired for the legislative sessions. The workload for our “citizen legislature” has increased tremendously—not only dealing with bills during session, but constituent services year-round. Among the changes funded are increased security due to full opening of the Capitol building in 2026, replacement/upgrades of the OLIS and 3 new legislative analysis and research positions to reflect increased workload. There is also money to contract for a review of salaries and number of staff needed by legislators. Sen. McLane supported an amendment to increase staff that did not pass. There was a discussion and assumption that having more information by the February session will help in any staffing increase change decisions. Lottery Bonds: SB 5531 : Lottery Revenue continues to be heavily dependent on video gaming, which is reliant on access to bars, restaurants and gaming facilities and showing signs of weakness vs expectations. Projected Lottery Revenue provides $2.25 billion of new Lottery Revenue debt capacity for the upcoming four Biennia, with an average debt capacity of $564 million in each Biennium over the forecast period. The Staff Measure Summary provides a complete list of projects. The amendment provides clarity on how the bonds should be spent. The League supported two of the requests: $160 million for preservation of rental housing and $25 million to preserve manufactured housing and $100 million Housing Infrastructure Fund in Section 14. There were over $2 billion in requests for a variety of projects around Oregon with only $442.7 million of net lottery bond proceeds authorized to be spent on 45 projects. General Obligation Bonds, etc.: SB 5505 : an average debt capacity of $2.22 billion per Biennium. Budget Report SB 5505 , with the -2 amendment , allocated bonding authority to the list of projects to be funded by these bonds. Six-Year Limitation/Bonds: SB 5506 is a bill that limits for the six-year period beginning July 1, 2025, payment of expenses from fees, moneys or other revenues, including Miscellaneous Receipts, but excluding lottery funds and federal funds, collected or received by various state agencies for capital construction. Budget Report . Senate Bill 5530 is a revenue allocation bill which directs funding levels for specific purposes as outlined in Oregon statute. The budget report, with more detailed information, can be found here . Emergency Board: HB 5006 , with the -1 amendment was populated with an amount for the Emergency Board to spend at will and amounts in Special Purpose Appropriations (SPAs) if needed when the legislature is not in session as well as a long list of other expenditures. There were also a few Budget Notes directing agencies to report back to the legislature on the legislature’s directions related to spending and other actions directed by the legislature. HB 5006 is the end-of-session (Christmas Tree) bill. Budget Report CLIMATE By Claudia Keith and Team See the Climate Emergency section of this Legislative Report. There are overlaps with this Natural Resources Report. We encourage you to read both sections. COASTAL ISSUES By LWV Coos County Volunteers & Peggy Lynch The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay received funds from several bills to support the proposed Pacific Coast Intermodal Port (PCIP) project. The project plans include deepening and widening the Federal navigation channel, construction of a container shipping terminal on the North Spit of Coos Bay, and the rehabilitation of the 130-mile class 3 rail line from Coos Bay to Eugene. HB 5006 , the end of session “Christmas tree” bill, included authorization to issue $100 million of general obligation bonds for the Coos Bay Channel Modification project. The accompanying SB 5505 outlined specific requirements to be met before bonds could be issued. Listed were completion of the environmental impact statement for the project and the issuance of the final record of decision through the National Environmental Policy Act. Additionally, it requires that the Port, or a private entity engaged in a public- private partnership with the port, to have received a US Department of Transportation Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan through the Build America Bureau for at least $1 billion, or to have secured equivalent levels of alternative funding through other federal grants or loans. HB 5006 also includes an additional $20 million in the Oregon Business Development Department budget for the port to support the federal navigation channel modification project. (This is the last of the funds that were authorized in 2007 to be deposited in the Coos Bay Channel Fund established by section 15, chapter 746, Oregon Laws 2007. Initially this money was for dredging but in 2024, HB 5201, revised language to the allowable use of lottery bond funds set in place by section 15, chapter 746, of Oregon Laws 2007. This change in language allows funds to be used for the design, engineering, permitting, and land acquisition efforts related to the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port.) Finally, HB 5024 appropriated $5 million of general funds to the Oregon Business Development Department for the Coos Bay federal navigation modifications. SB 5531 provided funds for port development and established a new Container Port Improvement Fund for the purpose of providing grants for capital improvement projects to ensure that Oregon ports can continue to provide container service. $20 million of lottery bonds will be deposited in this fund for Portland’s Terminal 6 project and, potentially, other Ports along the Columbia River, with the stipulation that the Port of Portland has executed an agreement with an entity to operate the terminal. SB 5531 also authorizes the State Treasurer to issue lottery bonds, not to exceed $32.7 million, to fund Oregon’s share of the Columbia River channel deepening project. This includes a limit of $750,000 for the associated studies and ecosystem restoration projects. Since the session, the electrical supply to the railroad swing bridge over the bay into North Bend was severed recently. When the bridge was inspected, the railroad inspector found significant other safety issues and has said it cannot reopen until it is upgraded to its “original operating condition. At the July port commission meeting the railroad supervisor estimated needing $5-10 million to make this happen. KVAL news story The port has this on their web site. The port’s railroad operations are well over budget. They anticipated an average of 650 car loads/month for 2025 and are nowhere near that. The April 2025 year to date general fund shortfall for port operations is $452,000. The Port has $22 million in outstanding debt, with $1.4 million in debt payments anticipated for FY2025/26. The principal payment for the Terminal One property, (the old Georgia Pacific mill site in upper Coos Bay) is estimated at $530,000–$550,000 and has been deferred to FY 2026/27 per discussions with Business Oregon. The port did not get funds in the past session for dredging the entrance to the Charleston boat basin which is in an unsafe state. SB 361 was slated to provide funds for many Oregon ports to use for dredging. It did not pass. The US Army Corps of Engineers will dredge their portion of the entrance channel (currently happening) but the port has requested a $350,000 loan from Business Oregon’s Port Revolving Fund to pay for dredging their portion of the channel. (The loan had not been finalized at the July port commission meeting). The port is currently working on a new strategic business plan, required by the State. Business Oregon gave them $50,000 to do this. They contracted with a firm in Idaho, Points Consulting, who has been interviewing “key stake holders”. The fee for this work is $73,000. They are holding a noon “town hall” meeting on August 20. The Coos Bay League team requested a meeting and will meet with them on that morning. Neither HB 3580 eelgrass stabilization LWVOR signed letter of support nor HB 3587A Protection of Rocky Habitat LWVOR signed letter of support ( fiscal impact statement ) were funded this session. To help these bills get funded, LWVOR sent an Action Alert . The Governor has vetoed SB 1047 , a bill that would have required Curry County and the Water Resources Department to expedite review of applications for use on specified lands. See veto letter here. Oregon’s offshore wind energy areas are being pulled by the federal government per this article by OPB: “While the decision by BOEM to rescind the two Oregon Wind Energy Areas they identified last year takes the process for offshore wind development back a step, it does not preclude offshore wind indefinitely,” Although Wednesday’s action (July 30) by the Trump administration means there are no federally designated areas where offshore wind development would be allowed, the roadmap is set to be completed by mid-2026. The League signed on to a letter of support for HB 3963 , a bill that extends the timeline for the Dept. of Land Conservation and Development to provide a report on offshore wind conversations from 2025 to 2027. The League signed on to testimony in support. DLCD has a website on this project. OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT The Oregon Coastal Management Program (OCMP), housed within the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD), is hosting a series of virtual workshops to engage communities in the development of management plans for eight newly designated rocky habitats. These plans, informed by coastal communities, will provide a framework to support activities within the designated sites. The sites are located near Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Depoe Bay, Bandon, and Port Orford. To learn more, go to the Rocky Habitat Meetings Page . In February at the Dept. of Land Development and Conservation budget hearing, we asked for funding for a staffer to continue to address rocky habitat, an element of the Territorial Sea Plan which the League has supported. Ocean Policy Advisory Council Meeting, October 29: The OPAC will meet for a virtual meeting of the Council. Meeting information will be made available via the Oregon Ocean Information website closer to the meeting date. Contact: Andy.Lanier@dlcd.oregon.gov DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (DEQ) By Peggy Lynch SB 1154 was filed by the Governor to address potential groundwater/nitrate issues in Oregon. This Oregon Capital Chronicle article helps explain the controversy. The bill does NOT deal with the Morrow/Umatilla Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWNA). This article shares the frustration with the weakness some see in the bill because of lack of clear enforcement mechanisms. The Governor announced signing of this bill and its importance to Oregonians , while also providing a signing letter to clarify the relationship between SB 1154 and the LUBGWMA. The League support ed SB 830 , a bill that modifies provisions of the on-site septic system loan program to allow for grants. It also allows for the program to consider mobile home parks in need of septic upgrades. The bill has been signed by the Governor. The League participated in rulemaking related to onsite septic issues. Staff briefed the Environmental Quality Commission at their July 11 meeting: Onsite Wastewater Management Program 2025 Rulemaking . Adoption is expected at their September meeting. See the Onsite Wastewater Management Program 2025 Rulemaking webpage for details. The League served on an annual rulemaking advisory committee on water quality fee increases. The committee forwarded their recommendation for the allowed annual 3% fee increase to the DEQ Director, who approved the fee increase on July 22nd. You can view the rulemaking web page at: Water Quality Fees 2025 . DEPT. OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL INDUSTRIES (DOGAMI) By Joan Fryxell The League provided testimony on the DOGAMI budget, including support for the Geologic Carbon Sequestration Pilot. On Jan. 28th, the House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment received a presentation on the proposed pilot project on Geologic Carbon Sequestration Potential in Oregon. Follow up materials were provided. The Dept. of State Lands budget ( SB 5539 ) included up to $10 million to be transferred to DOGAMI to begin work on a project in NE Oregon on carbon sequestration. The hope is that it will be on Common School Fund lands and will provide a return on investment over time. The League provided testimony in support of SB 836 , a bill that would significantly increase permit fees for mining related activities. See the agency’s presentation to understand the reasons for these increases. The Governor signed the bill into law. The League continues to follow the Calico Resources proposed Grassy Mountain gold mine near Vale in Malheur County. The Trump Administration listed the Grassy Mountain Gold Mine Project . The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for part of the permitting. Per an article by OPB: The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Friday that the public can provide input on the project’s environmental impact statement on the agency’s website (click the green ‘Participate Now’ button) until Sept. 8. DEPT. OF STATE LANDS By Peggy Lynch The Director of DSL published a proposed increase in permit fees for Removal/Fill program: “ Oregon’s Removal-Fill Law helps protect wetlands and waters by requiring permits to remove or add materials in wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes, and other waters of the state .” A League member served on the rulemaking advisory committee . The new fees may go into effect Jan. 1. DRINKING WATER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DWAC) By Sandra U. Bishop The League has a standing seat on DWAC . July 16 – Salem in-person & via Zoom; approx. 24 people attended. New Member: Craig Harper from the Network of Oregon Watershed Councils is now filling the Watershed Council position on the committee that has been vacant for some time. He is from Medford and sits on the Rogue River Water Council. Background: Oregon Drinking Water Services (DWS) administers and enforces drinking water quality standards for public water systems in the state of Oregon. There are approximately 2,500 federally regulated Public Water Systems (PWS) in Oregon, and approximately 800 state regulated systems. PWSs in the state range in size from large municipal systems like Portland Water Bureau or Eugene Water & Electric Board to very small systems with 4 to 14 connections. The Drinking Water Advisory Committee (DWAC) is a statutory advisory committee of technical, industry and public interest members meeting quarterly with Oregon Health Authority DWS staff for reviews and updates on water quality and compliance issues, public access to timely information and other issues related to the safety of public water systems in Oregon. Points of discussion: Changes at the federal level will result in less funding for water quality, including source water protection. State funding is expected to stay stable for the time being. Three to five years from now no one knows. Regulatory requirements are also changing. PFAS chemical monitoring is ongoing. Federal rules are expected to be finalized at the end of the year. It is expected that the 2027 date for initial monitoring of entry points to water distribution systems will be retained. PFAS detection is rare in Oregon water systems and is closely monitored. Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR) are required to be sent to consumers in any PWS serving over 10,000 people. Changes need to be incorporated to adopt changes made to federal CCR requirements. A CCR is required to be sent to consumers twice a year for large systems. These are the reports on water quality and any violations or threats to drinking water that utilities send to customers. Deep drawdowns of Lookout Point and Green Peter dams in 2023 and 2024 created water quality issues for PWSs. There are concerns with the extreme turbidity and potential disruption to PWS function. DWS staff reported that a process is underway to revise the halt criteria. DWS staff is making recommendations to the Corp. Deep drawdowns of reservoirs in the Willamette Valley hydro system are expected to continue for flood control and under court order since 2023 to improve fish passage of spring Chinook and winter steelhead. Interactive GIS Maps for water system and source water protection have been improved. These maps are available to the public as well as water system operators. One of the main purposes of the maps is to show Oregon Drinking Water Advisories (any advisory for risk to consumers). The interactive maps also show boundaries for Oregon Public Water Systems with automatic wildfire updates showing proximity of fire and evacuation areas. These exciting and useful new maps are maintained by the Oregon DEQ’s Drinking Water Protection group and may be accessed via the DWS website . The next DWAC meeting will be in October 2025. ELLIOTT STATE RESEARCH FOREST (ESRF) SB 147 clarifies that the management of the ESRF is now in the hands of the Dept. of State Lands and sets up a separate fund account for monies received to manage the forest. LFO budget recommendation for SB 147. ESRF website On May 28, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a Record of Decision and the issuance of an Endangered Species Act incidental take permit for the HCP for the next 80 years. The Elliott State Research Forest Board of Directors met virtually July 9. Click here to download the meeting agenda and materials . EMERGENCY SERVICES By Rebecca Gladstone HB 2581 : The League spoke and filed testimony in support of a statute change, substituting the word “seismic” with “hazards”, to coordinate coverage efforts through the State Resiliency Officer. The bill has been signed by the Governor. FORESTRY By Josie Koehne HB 3103 would have required the State Forester to manage and set harvest levels for cutting timber on state forestland at least every 10 years, after conducting a timber inventory. The State Forester would have required funding to carry out these duties. Testimony in opposition voiced concerns about anyone being able to sue ODF for failure to meet timber harvest levels and that timber harvest levels trumped all the other values state forests provide Oregonians. The bill died in Ways and Means. The League provided testimony in opposition. Comments of Climate Change and Carbon Plan Implementation testimony on Jan.4, 2025 HB 2072 Harvest Tax Comments on Feb. 3 2025 HB 3489 Timber Severance Tax with Referral Request on April 21, 2025 HB 3489-1 The timber tax bill we advocated for died in committee after a public hearing on April 24th, 2025 SB 1051 transfers the authority to appoint a State Forester from the State Board of Forestry to the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation. GOVERNANCE HB 3569 , a bill that would require a Chief Sponsor (legislator) of a bill to be a part of a rules advisory committee (RAC) for legislation they had a hand in passing was signed by the Governor; however she also issued a signing letter that addressed some of the issues of concern to the League. The League provided testimony with our concerns and opposition to the bill. We provided testimony in opposition to HB 2692 , a bill that would create complicated and cumbersome processes for agencies to implement legislation with their rulemaking procedures. The bill did not pass. The Governor has provided Rulemaking Guidance to state agencies. See also the Governance section of this Legislative Report. LAND USE & HOUSING By Peggy Lynch On July 1, the new Housing Accountability and Production Office (HAPO) officially opened to assist local governments and developers to meet housing production goals, per this press release . “ The office will bolster Oregon’s housing production by creating a more predictable regulatory environment for builders and supporting local governments in meeting their housing goals, ” says Governor Kotek. Their website . The Governor has announced signing of a number of housing bills, some of which are listed below: HB 2138 , the Governor’s follow up on middle housing bill, has been signed by the Governor. LFO Recommendation The League engaged on elements of this bill over the summer but chose to stay silent due to some of the provisions in the bill. HB 2258 is a bill that authorizes the Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt rules requiring local governments to approve certain land use applications for residential developments using building plans preapproved by the Department of Consumer and Business Services . LFO Recommendation HB 3013 : Details the process by which a permit or zone change that is based on provisions of a comprehensive plan or land use regulation that fail to gain acknowledgment is voided and any resulting improvements or uses are removed or revoked. LWVOR support ed with -1 amendment. The bill did not pass. Infrastructure We also supported Business Oregon’s Infrastructure bill ( Governor’s news release ), HB 3031 A where we were hoping for $100 million in the new Housing Infrastructure Project Fund. SB 5531 includes authorization for $10 million in lottery bond proceeds for deposit into the fund. HB 5006 includes $1.2 million Lottery Funds for program administration and $1 dollar in Other Funds expenditure limitation for expenditures from the fund, with a budget note directing the Oregon Business Development Dept. to report to the Ways and Means Committee during the February 2026 legislative session on program implementation and project recommendations. From Rep. Gomberg: In their annual infrastructure report, the American Society of Engineers (ASCE) details $10.1 billion in total drinking water needs, $8.2 billion in total wastewater needs, 28% of roads are in poor or fair condition, and 170 high-hazard dams. ( ASCE Report Card ) The League provided testimony in support of HB 3939 , a bill that would have provided a list of infrastructure projects to fund for smaller Oregon cities so they can build more housing. Although this bill did not pass, some of the projects listed were funded in HB 5006 or SB 5531. See also the Housing Report in the Social Policy section of this Legislative Report. OREGON DEPT. OF FISH AND WILDLIFE (ODFW) By Melanie Moon The League provided comments to ODFW on their update of Oregon’s State Wildlife Action Plan. ODFW SWAP LWVOR Comments.docx .pdf Download PDF • 84KB ODFW will incorporate public comments and submit a final draft SWAP to the Fish and Wildlife Commission for review and approval at their August 15 meeting in Salem. These documents present updated information for all sections of Oregon’s State Wildlife Action Plan. Website: https://dfw.state.or.us/SWAP-Revision/ Although the Governor signed HB 3932 , a bill that prohibits a person from taking a beaver on waters or watersheds that are classified in a certain manner or on public land that is within the watersheds or within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark of the waters. she provided a signing letter of concern related to the role of Oregon’s Boards and Commissions with a caution to the legislature about these disparate roles. OREGON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT. (OPRD) OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT The League encourages you to participate in a survey to provide input on the potential 2027 budget shortfall for this agency. The Central Oregon Daily provides this article . OREGON WATERSHED ENHANCEMENT BOARD (OWEB) (Lucie La Bonte): Director's Report for the July 22-23 OWEB meeting. This information includes a report on the 2025-27 budget. RECYCLING On Feb. 21, the Dept. of Environmental Quality announced approval of the Producer Responsibility Organization program plan and advanced the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act. The Act was supported by the League which sees this as a major advancement to addressing plastic pollution in Oregon. Expanded options are coming July 1. RECYCLING TIPS Here is a DEQ flyer to help consumers make recycling decisions Update: The Act is being sued by wholesalers per this article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Look for additional information as the lawsuit moves forward. REGIONAL SOLUTIONS OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT The Regional Solutions Program : Within each of the 11 Regions, which are tied to Oregon’s federally designated Economic Development Districts, a Governor-appointed Advisory Committee sets Regional Priorities and a cross-functional Team of state agency staff works together to move projects forward. Regional Coordinators, who are embedded in their communities and represent the Governor in the field, work with Advisory Committees and Teams to ensure effective state government support to local partners and serve as a conduit between the Governor and local communities . If you know anyone who may benefit from these publications, please direct them to this signup page . The public is welcome to attend virtually or in person. Go to the program website and to the region to find the agendas and meeting materials posted a few days before the meetings. Public Comment is usually scheduled. The League supported the 2014 legislation that formally adopted this program—first started as a Governor’s program many years before. Upcoming Regional Solutions Advisory Committee (RSAC) Meetings: • Central (Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties) August 15, 12-2pm • South-Valley/Mid-Coast (Benton, Lane, Lincoln, and Linn Counties) September 17, 1-3pm • Southern (Jackson and Josephine Counties) September 17, 1-3pm • South Coast (Coos, Curry, and Douglas Counties) September 19, 1-3pm • Northeast (Baker, Union, and Wallowa Counties) September 23, 2-4pm • Greater Eastern (Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, and Wheeler Counties) September 25, 1-3pm • Mid-Valley (Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties) October 9, 1:30-3:30pm (Aug. 14 th mtg. was cancelled.) STATE LAND BOARD By Peggy Lynch The State Land Board appointed Kaitlin Lovell of Colton, Ore. as the Oregon Department of State Lands Director during a special 30-minute virtual meeting on July 9 th . Per this Oregon Capital Chronicle article: A scientist and lawyer, Lovell has led habitat protection and restoration efforts for the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services since 2007. Her work includes oversight of environmental regulation, permitting, and land use. Recent focus has included developing a publicly owned and managed mitigation bank in Portland and establishing a financing strategy for critical environmental projects. The Board will also consider appointing Deputy Director Bill Ryan as interim director and setting a bond amount for the position, as required by statute. Appointment confirmed by the Land Board. The new Director is now traveling around the state to learn about issues for which the department has responsibility. She traveled to Corvallis last week and will be at the coast next week. STATE LANDS/WATERWAYS OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT Comment Opportunity: Leases, Licenses, and Registrations on Oregon-owned Waterways: The Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) is seeking comments on proposed changes to administrative rules (OAR 141-082) to achieve sustainable operations in managing waterway authorizations for marinas, ports, docks, floating homes, and more, as well as implement best management practices to protect the health and safety of waterways. The comment period is open from July 1 - August 15, 2025 (closes at 5 p.m. Pacific). Here is the public notice with details of the changes. TAXES There were a number of bills considered related to the Transient Lodging Tax (TLT). Current data . The Oregon Dept. of Revenue did a 2025 comprehensive report for the legislators. Currently, at least 65% of the tax must be spent on tourism. HB 3962 with the -2 amendment would have allowed (not required) local governments to use more of the income for infrastructure and public safety. Conservationists, with HB 2977 and amendments would add a % for conservation programs, anti-poaching efforts, the Wolf Compensation Fund and invasive species control. That additional money would have gone to a special Fund at the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Neither bill passed but we expect to see them again in 2026 or 2027. TRANSPORTATION The Governor has called a special session of the legislature to address funding shortfalls at the Oregon Dept. of Transportation (ODOT) and counties and cities (fund share is 50/30/20) Per this Oregonlive article . Because it raised taxes, HB 2025 needed a 3/5 majority to pass—18 of 30 Senators, 36 of 60 Representatives. Governor’s August 7 transportation funding proposal . Two perspectives on ODOT funding from July 27 Oregonlive editorials: Rep. Christine Drazan and Rep. Susan McLain Since the proposed 2025 Transportation Plan did not pass, it is unclear if this political action committee “No Gas Hikes’ per this OPB article will also object to whatever might be passed in the special session. “ Bills passed by Oregon lawmakers can be referred to voters if organizers collect enough valid signatures within 90 days of the Legislature adjourning. This year, a referendum would require at least 78,115 signatures, equal to 4% of the people who cast a ballot in the 2022 gubernatorial election.” HB 2025 was the comprehensive Transportation ReInvestment Package (TRIP) assigned to the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment . The League signed on to a letter in support of increased transit funding. The Oregon Capital Chronicle provided a view of the fate of the bill. The bill was sent back to committee where the A28 amendment was adopted. The Statesman Journal provided an article . The bill did not have the votes to pass so the Governor tried one last bill to at least try to provide money only to ODOT. (HB 2025 would have shared the revenue: 50% to ODOT, 30% to counties and 20% to cities for transportation expenses.) It did not receive a favorable reception and the bill died. The Governor then authorized a reduction of ODOT staff as of July 7, effective July 31. (ODOT currently has about 4,700 employees.) To be clear, local governments may also be cutting transportation and transit staff due to the failure to pass a comprehensive bill. WATER By Peggy Lynch The League provided our first natural resources area testimony in support of HB 2168 on Jan. 22 nd at the House Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water Committee. The bill requested $5 million for the on-site septic loan program, another $5 million for the Well Water Repair and Replacement Fund and monies to help the Oregon State Extension Service reach out to potential recipients. Although the bill died in Ways and Means, we did see $1 million added to the Well Fund in the end of session bill. SB 830 , that the League also supported , allows for grants in the on-site septic program and extent the opportunities to low-income mobile home parks with failing septic systems. This bill has been signed by the Governor. HB 2803 : Increases certain fees related to water. LWVOR supported. The bill was amended and reduced the fee increase. It was needed to provide current service level staffing at WRD. (See the Governor’s signing letter on this and the WRD budget bill, SB 5543 above.) LWV Deschutes County submitted a letter in support of SB 427 , a water rights transfer bill meant to protect instream water flows. SB 1153 , an alternate bill provided with help from the Governor’s office, had months of work group sessions among the various interests, but, in the end, the bill did not pass . From the July 9 th article of the Capital Press, Governor Kotek is looking to continue to work on this issue: Despite the failure of the bill getting done this session, we do need to stay on this topic. We have to manage our water differently. We have to identify ways to update our water rights transfer process,” she said during a recent roundtable interview. HB 3106 is the Oregon Water Data Portal funding bill for which the League provided testimony in support. The pilot portal is accessible here. The bill did not pass, but the project continues. The League has been engaged for many years around the issue of exempt wells—their allowed water use and lack of measurement of that water, in particular those domestic wells that are allowed to use up to 5,000 gallons of water for personal use and can be used by three dwellings, so the usage can be up to 15,000 gallons! (The average city water user is under 100 gallons/day.) The League provided testimony in support of HB 3372 to study this issue. However, it turns out the bill was yet another of the water bills that were amended and was NOT a study bill. The amendment significantly changed the bill to allow 3,000 gallons of water to be used for commercial gardens. We asked that our testimony be removed from OLIS since it did not reflect the original bill. We learned to wait until after a public hearing to understand the true purpose of water bills this session before providing testimony. HB 3525 is related to tenants’ right to well water testing. The League submitted testimony in support. The bill was amended multiple times and passed. At least we have a beginning policy related to testing of domestic wells on rental properties. The Senate Rules Committee adopted a B 11 amendment that addresses a conflict with SB 1154 , a bill that updates Oregon groundwater regulations by strengthening and modernizing the state’s Groundwater Quality Protection Act . The Governor announced signing of both these bills and their importance to Oregonians. HB 3526 would require well water test reporting in property sales. The League supported this concept in past sessions and did again this session but it did not pass. The Governor added “water” as her environmental priority this session as reported in this Oregon Capital Chronicle article.: “ Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and her natural resources adviser Geoff Huntington consider water quality and availability a top priority this legislative session .” “ Huntington said the governor’s office will back a package of bills that gives state agencies more statutory authority to manage water allocations and regulations in Oregon. The Co-Chairs of the House Committee On Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water worked on a broad package of water-related bills. There is a Water Caucus raising the awareness of the need to address Oregon’s water needs. Oregon's Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS) provides a statewide inter-agency framework for better understanding and meeting Oregon's instream and out-of-stream water needs. Here is the IWRS website . Groundwater issues continue to be a focus in Oregon as much of our surface water is already allocated. This article by ProPublica shares the worldwide concerns regarding our over pumping of groundwater. As the federal government continues to “downsize”, we understand that EPA's Region 10 (located in Washington state, but also serving Oregon) staff is or will soon be down to 60 from 100 employees. SUMMER PREPARATION TIPS League members may want to check the U. S. Drought Monitor , a map that is updated every Thursday. Over 56% of Oregon is in moderate drought (D1), nearly 23% is in severe drought (D2), a small portion of northeastern Oregon is in extreme drought (D3), and the rest of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Governor Kotek has declared a drought in Baker ( Executive Order 25-12 ), Lincoln ( Executive Order 25-13 ) and Douglas, Morrow, and Union counties through Executive Order 25-18 ( here ) . Here is a more complete website about drought in Oregon. We all need to pay attention to the potential for harmful algal blooms (HABs). “When in doubt, stay out.” Visit the Harmful Algae Bloom website or call the Oregon Public Health Division toll-free information line at 877-290-6767 to learn if an advisory has been issued or lifted for a specific water body. Information on current advisories can be found on the OHA’s cyanobacteria bloom webpage at healthoregon.org/hab . The OHA has an online photo gallery to help community members identify signs of potentially harmful blooms. As the summer heats up, be aware of the signs of potentially deadly HABs to your pets as well as humans. WEATHER OregonLive reports a weaker Polar Vortex and more extreme weather according to Extreme Weather Europe, a website that tracks weather patterns around the globe. A weaker polar vortex would mean more snowfall and cold winter days than with a stronger polar vortex. Here’s another long range climate prediction . WETLANDS The League testified in opposition to SB 511 , a perennial salmon tax credit bill that would create a new program to allow private property owners to get a tax credit for salmon habitat on their property if allowed to be used by a developer to destroy wetlands in another area of Coos and Curry County. The bill did not pass. The League participated in a rulemaking on Removal-Fill Program Fees. Proposed rules may take effect Jan. 1, 2026. WILDFIRE By Carolyn Mayers The 2025 Long Session was like Groundhog Day for wildfire funding once again. In spite of much political wrangling and high hopes for meaningful progress, the session ended, yet again, with no long-term solution to the wildfire funding crisis. This, in spite of a Herculean effort by the Governor’s Wildfire Funding Workgroup, which offered 6 potential avenues to provide durable, equitable and feasible funding for this increasingly perilous situation. More about this Workgroup, which came to be known as the “Fire 35”, may be found here . In the face of what is predicted to be another extremely difficult wildfire season, it feels like a “Doomsday Clock” is ticking ever closer to midnight on our state when it comes to addressing wildfire. HB 3940 , the one wildfire funding bill that DID pass, ended up consisting of a tax on some oral nicotine products and using 20% of the interest on the Rainy Day Fund for wildfire mitigation, as well as other components per this article . This bill went through MANY iterations before Legislators landed on this idea. This article by OPB shares the limited funding from HB 3940 : there’s still no dedicated funding to fight large fires like the Cram Fire, which has burned nearly 100,000 acres in Central Oregon. For further details, see this report . Additional funds were provided for various wildfire related assistance in the Christmas tree bill, HB 5006, including: $24 million for ODF wildfire severity in a Special Purpose Appropriation (SPA) to be approved to spend by the Emergency Board on an as-needed basis. There was also $150 million in a SPA for natural disasters. Additionally, ODF received General Fund $20,019,831 as part of their agency budget ( SB 5521 ). The Oregon State Fire Marshal received General Fund $13,014 as part of their agency budget ( SB 5538 ). Other bills passed: SB 1051 , which transfers the power to appoint the State Forester to the Governor from the Board of Forestry. The introduction of this bill came after Cal Mukumoto, the former State Forester, resigned under mounting pressure at the beginning of the session. SB 85 , another bright spot in the session, which directs the State Fire Marshal to establish a neighborhood protection cooperative grant program. Also, the Department of Consumer and Business Services and the Department of the State Fire Marshal, in consultation with the State Forestry Department and the insurance industry, will evaluate and develop recommendations for community-based wildfire risk mitigation to reduce wildfire risks and increase insurance affordability and availability. SB 83 , which repeals the State Wildfire Hazard Map and accompanying statutes related to it. The back-and-forth saga of the ever-unpopular Wildfire Risk/Hazard map, is now over. It appears that immeasurable resources were wasted leading toward this long, involved, failed effort that yielded exactly … seemingly nothing, except ill-will. SB 75 , which removes the wildfire hazard map (since it was repealed) as a guide for allowing ADUs and requiring higher building codes in rural areas. SB 454 , which requires the Department of the State Fire Marshal to create an advisory committee to advise the department on funding options for rural fire protection districts (RFPDs), instructs the committee to develop funding recommendations based on the review and report to the Legislature by December 31, 2026. HB 3349 , which provides Rural Fire Protection Association and equipment funding. SB 494 , which requires the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to study classification and compensation for forestry and wildland fire positions in state government. SB 860 , which allows the State Fire Marshal and an agency to take actions for fire protection and makes changes related to the Governor's Fire Service Policy Council. SB 861 , which includes grant funds, reimbursements, and moneys received from judgements and settlements as funds in the State Fire Marshal Mobilization Fund. Did not pass: HB 3984 A , regarding requiring certain public electric companies to pay any Federal taxes owed by recipients of settlements resulting from wildfires which were alleged to be caused by the utility. In addition, a study would be undertaken by the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to determine what other steps could be taken by utilities to ensure the safety of customers. The -10 amendment was adopted, and the bill passed the House but did not have time to go through the Senate. HB 3666 would have required the PUC to establish standards for wildfire mitigation actions and an accompanying certification for electric utilities in an attempt to standardize their approach. It did not advance. As expected, with the movement of HB 3940 as mentioned above, the following bills did not advance: SB 1177 would have established the Oregon Wildfire Mitigation and Adaptation Fund and redirect the “kicker” to it, one- time, for financing wildfire related expenses, by using the interest earned. A 5% return would have yielded approximately $170-180 million per year, or just over half of the aforementioned projected ongoing costs to fund wildfire mitigation and suppression. (The Governor had expressed interest in using only the amount of kicker that would go to large income earners for wildfire costs.) SJR 11 would have dedicated a fixed, to-be-determined percentage of net proceeds of the State Lottery to a wildfire fund created by the Legislature. Its passage would have meant an amendment to the Oregon Constitution, which would have to go to voters for approval. HB 3489 would have imposed a severance tax on owners of timber harvested from public or private forestland, had a Public Hearing April 24 before House Revenue, where it remains. The League has supported a severance tax in past sessions and provided testimony at the hearing. An update on the devastation of the Rowena Fire in the Gorge near the Dalles: According to an early OSFM report, Wasco County lost 56 homes (mostly manufactured homes with some stick built), 91 outbuildings, 18 vehicles, and 11 RVs. There were further damaged structures. Wasco County Emergency Management estimates that up to 50 percent of lost homes were un/underinsured, citing difficulties in insuring manufactured dwellings. At least two community water systems were impacted by the fire and at least one community septic system – in addition to many individual septic systems. The Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council (WPAC) met July 18. This article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle shares potential changes in the U.S. Forest Service offices where the Portland-based office may close. Oregonians have concerns about both the relocation and potential staffing cuts. Volunteers Needed What is your passion related to Natural Resources? You can help. Volunteers are needed. The long legislative session begins in January of 2025. Natural Resource Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly year-round and need monitoring. If any area of natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, at peggylynchor@gmail.com . Training will be offered. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Revenue , Governance , and Social Policy report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Legislative Report - Week of 2/17 Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley / Sharron Noon • Education: Jean Pierce / Stephanie Engle • Equal Rights for All Ballot Measure: Jean Pierce Kyra Aguon • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Jump to topic: Behavioral Health Child Care Criminal Justice Education Housing Immigration, Refugee, and Asylum Public Safety Behavioral Health By Stephanie Aller On February 10, the House Committee on Education held a work session on HB 2596 (Interstate Licensure Compact for School Psychologists). The Committee voted to move the bill to the floor with a “Do Pass” recommendation. Rep. Neron will be the carrier of the bill on the floor. On February 11, the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care held public hearings on HB 2013 and HB 2041 . HB 2013 would amend ORS 743A.168 to include outpatient treatment clinics that employ certified alcohol and drug counselors (CADCs) as providers for purposes of mental health insurance coverage. Phil Broyles of Teras Intervention and Counseling testified that most private insurers will not reimburse CADCs for doing the same care as other providers. This has limited access to care because CADCs are a significant part of the workforce for substance use disorder treatment. HB 2041 would require insurers to reimburse mental health providers at the same rate as physicians and other medical providers when performing the same services. Representatives from insurance companies testified in opposition to the bill stating that it would drive up costs. The representative from the Oregon Psychological Association (OPA) testified that OPA was neutral on the bill but stated that the problem of low reimbursement rates is the major factor limiting access to care. Due to the low reimbursement rates, behavioral health providers opt out of participating in the insurance networks. HB 3185 was scheduled for a hearing on February 13, but the hearing was cancelled due to the weather. The bill involves a pilot program for students from Portland State University and Eastern Oregon University. The students receive a tuition reduction and placement at a non-profit . HB 3185 would prioritize those students whose studies focus on underserved fields such as behavioral health, housing insecurity, and K-12. On February 11, the Senate Committee on Health Care began a public hearing on SB 140 . At the hearing, behavioral health executives from hospitals testified about their reimbursement rate problems and discussed ways to better coordinate care and streamline processes in the system. The hearing was carried over to February 13, but that was cancelled due to the weather. Child care By Katie Riley The Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education held an informational meeting on Monday, February 10 to review the Oregon Department of Education's (ODE) three reports on the results of the 2024 Legislative session on HB4082 which provided $30 million for 2024 summer learning and set up a task force to plan for the future of summer and after school. They include a Final Report on the task force as well as a report on the process of implementing funding and a participant survey . The ODE review in the legislative committee was glowing about the results of summer school activities; however, the Oregonian reported concerns about inadequate and uneven tracking of goal outcomes. In addition, there was no split between summer school outcomes and after hours care spending and outcomes. Reporting on the use of community-based organizations did not differentiate between care and enrichment organizations, and there was no attempt to look at their effectiveness. Funding is key to providing adequate care during non-school hours. SB896 was heard the previous week. It would allocate funds for after-school care. HB3039 which provides for summer funding has not been heard yet. Neither bill has a funding amount attached at this time although the Governor has proposed $78.5 million for summer funding. ODE’s HB4082 final report included $50 million per year for the next two years. League Testimony supported HB3011 which Establishes the Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Fund and appropriates moneys in the fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to provide funding to community colleges and public universities in this state that offer early childhood education degrees and certificates. No funding was attached to the bill. Potentially, these funds could also support afterschool staff. Criminal Justice By Marge Easley The League submitted supportive testimony on February 13 for HB 2233 , which continues funding for a legal services program at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. The Re*Membering program, established by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, provides legal assistance to adults in custody or those newly released for civil matters that are barriers to successful reentry into the community, such as child custody, divorce, domestic abuse, debt, housing, employment, or property. Education By Jean Pierce Testimony was prepared for two bills which were scheduled for a Public Hearing in the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on February 13. But since all committee meetings were cancelled due to inclement weather, the testimonies will be filed at a later date. HB3182 directs the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide affordable housing support to low-income students. A 2023 survey of Portland Community College students revealed that 56% were dealing with housing insecurity. HB3183 would appropriate money to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for the Open Educational Resources Program which provides no-cost, low-cost textbooks and course materials for higher ed students. A single textbook can cost as much as $600, so a 2022 survey of students at Oregon State University revealed that 61% had not purchased textbooks due to the cost. Open Oregon Educational Resources data collected over six years from Community College students in the state have revealed that “the average materials cost for the two-year Associate of Arts Oregon Transfer degree in 2021 was $1,143.62, a 47% drop since the study began in 2015”. Housing By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona Public hearings have been held on several housing-related bills to address our state’s low homeownership rate. According to Census data, Oregon’s homeownership rate is approximately 64%, ranking Oregon 43rd in the nation [ American Census Survey Homeownership Data ]. In addition, of the 74% of Oregonians who rent, 48% consider achieving homeownership a top priority. These numbers are even higher among younger generations, Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X (81-88%), and Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, and People of Color (96%). Oregon Realtors Statewide Housing Survey . Listed below are housing priorities of the statewide Housing Alliance, of which our League is a member. HB 2090 currently in the House Committee on Revenue is proposing to extend the manufactured dwelling park closure tax credit for displaced residents. The bill would mitigate the cost to manufactured dwelling park households who are forced to move due to market forces, development, or landlord closure. The tax credit sunset would be extended from 2026 to 2032 and allow for a refundable income tax credit of $5,000 for residents of manufactured dwellings who rent space and are displaced when a park closes. HB 3236 is a housing tax credit for lending for affordable homeownership. It expands the Affordable Housing Lender Fund to provide funds for origination and servicing of mortgage loans and related costs for eligible homebuyers. The state Department of Revenue is to allow a tax credit against taxes to a lending institution that makes a qualified loan to the Lender Fund to assist eligible home buyers. HB 3235 The state Housing and Community Services Department would award grants to organizations to support first-time home buyers to purchase residential property to build equity ownership in the residential property through below market interest rates and accelerated loan terms. This program would provide a new resource for homebuyers by blending private bank capital with state funding. HB 2698 sets a goal of attaining a statewide homeownership rate as determined by the American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau. It requires the Housing and Community Services Department to track goal progress as part of the Housing Needs Analysis. It is required to update a publicly available statewide housing production dashboard of progress toward the homeownership goal based on the homeownership rate and in the aggregate, and by race and ethnicity. Immigration By Becky Gladstone We are researching this immigration-related bill, not yet scheduled for a hearing. SB 703 directs DHS to give service providers grants to help noncitizens change their immigration status. Public Safety By Karen Nibler The House Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee scheduled a hearing for HB 3079 , which would require the Department of Human Services and the Housing and Community Services Department to study options for allocating 30 percent of their respective budgets in the 2027-2029 biennium toward reducing the number of youth aging into adult homelessness. Due to cold weather, the February 13 hearing will be rescheduled. The newly-emancipated youth at 18 can rarely afford to pay current rents without family or agency assistance. Those without family support require highly-paid jobs to afford current rent prices. Those in college programs can apply for rental assistance, but those without resources are not able to pay current rents. The Joint Addictions Subcommittee heard testimony on SB 782 on February 12, 2025. This bill is a follow-up on HB 4002 (2024) which provided funds for deflection programs within county mental health programs. However, those who testified reported that the initial funds through the Criminal Justice Commission grants were not sufficient to operate county-wide programs for housing, jail space and behavior health treatment programs. These programs are needed for those charged with alcohol and drug offenses and subsequently supervised by county probation staff and state parolee staff.

Back to All Legislative Reports Natural Resources Legislative Report - Week of December 1 Natural Resources Team Coordinator: Peggy Lynch Agriculture/Goal 3 Land Use: Sandra U. Bishop Coastal Issues: Christine Moffitt, Peggy Lynch Columbia River Treaty: Philip Thor Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries: Joan Fryxell Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone Forestry: Josie Koehne Elliott State Research Forest: Peggy Lynch Northwest Energy Coalition: Robin Tokmakian Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife: Melanie Moon Oregon Health Authority Drinking Water Advisory Committee: Sandra Bishop Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board: Lucie La Bonte Water: Peggy Lynch Wildfire: Carolyn Mayers Ways and Means Natural Resource Budgets/Revenue: Peggy Lynch Please see Natural Resources Overview here . Jump to a topic: Agriculture Budgets/Revenue Climate Coastal Issues Drinking Water Advisory Committee (DWAC) Elliott State Research Forest (ESRF) Federal Lands Forestry (ODF) Hanford Land Use & Housing Natural Hazards Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. (OPRD) Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) Regional Solutions Smith River State Land Board Transportation Water Weather Wetlands Wildfire AGRICULTURE Proposed rules for the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area: The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is accepting public comments on proposed rules for the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area. Written comments are due by December 22, 2025 , and will be considered before final rules are adopted. Details on how to comment are provided below. December 15, 2025 - In Person and Virtual Options: 5:30-7:00 pm An informational hearing starts at 5:30pm and will be followed by a public comment hearing, both in person and virtually. In person: SAGE Center, 101 Olson Rd NE, Boardman, OR 97301 Hearing link, ID: 274 507 130 739 0, Passcode: wD7nb9dM Meeting call-in number: +1 503-446-4951,,167483367# December 16, 2025 - Virtual Only: 5:30-6:30 pm Hearing link , ID: 282 286 813 697 7, Passcode: cS6jM2Ga Meeting call-in number: +1 503-446-4951,,540814150# Mail: ODA, 635 Capitol Street NE, Salem, Oregon 97301 Email: rulemaking@oda.oregon.gov , Subject line: LUBGWMA Rules Online: https://oda.direct/rulemaking BUDGETS/REVENUE Peggy Lynch Here’s the 2025-27 Budget Summary prepared by the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO). Even a summary is 139 pages long! It describes the budget process and the end-of-session budget numbers. There are also explanations on, what for laypersons, are the mysteries of budget terms. Among those terms is an explanation and statistics on Fiscal Impact Statements. The report notes that fiscal impacts are affected by the volume of bills considered: “ In total, there were 3,466 measures introduced during the 2025 session, which is 496 more than the 2023 session and 689 more than the average of the five previous long legislative sessions. There were 3,271 amendments drafted for those bills, which is 5.5% less than the average of the five previous long legislative sessions. Of the introduced measures, 702, or 20.3%, were voted out by the House and Senate”. The reader should note that, since the budgets were passed, the Governor and Legislative Leadership have asked agencies to cut back on spending, to provide potential cuts lists of up to 5% per agency per revenue source ( General Fund, Lottery Fund, Other Funds) and to provide a list of any new programs that were approved since 2021—all due to reduced revenue forecasts, federal legislation and actions. See the Revenue Section of the Legislative Report for details. Please note that again only 3% of the state resources are allocated to the 14 Natural Resource agencies. Although we expect to see some cuts in the 2026 session, unless the Feb. forecast continues down, we are hopeful that most of the cuts discussed will not be taken. LWVOR is working with the Oregon Conservation Network and others to advocate for these agencies’ work. They address public health and safety for all Oregonians. Here are the meeting materials submitted to LFO by the 14 natural resource agencies. House Speaker Fahey provided a comprehensive list of federal action/potential cuts to Oregon services. The Oregon Capital Chronicle followed up with their Budget Cuts article. Cuts discussed during Legislative Days included potential closure of a state prison, loss of up to 51 Oregon State Police, a 7% increase in university tuition, 10% increase in community college tuition, reduction in Medicaid recipients, etc. ALL state agencies were asked to provide these cuts lists. K-12 schools receive the most revenue in our state budget so the proposed cuts would mean $560 million to the State School Fund. (See other legislative reports for details.) Although many of the cuts may not be accepted due to a better-than-expected revenue forecast, the longer-term revenue expectations may mean greater cuts than we would all like. Working in the natural resource world which is just 3% of the state’s budget, each cut reduces the ability for Oregon to protect our air, land and water. See the Revenue section of this Legislative Report for in depth information. We encourage you to read ALL sections. CLIMATE Claudia Keith and Team Governor Kotek signed Executive Order 25-26 on Oct. 23 to prioritize and increase the pace and scale of adoption of climate resilient strategies into existing state programs to deliver benefits for communities and ecosystems. The League is excited to see the Governor instructing state natural and working lands agencies on the value of wetlands and other important ecosystems for which we have advocated over many years. FAQ OBP reports that Oregon again misses our greenhouse goals. Today (Nov. 19) , Governor Tina Kotek signed Executive Order 25-29 to increase the pace and scale of Oregon’s response to reducing carbon pollution while strengthening grid reliability and energy affordability. The Executive Order targets transportation and building emissions, strengthens grid reliability and energy affordability. See the Climate Emergency section of this Legislative Report. There are overlaps with this Natural Resources Report. We encourage you to read both sections. COASTAL ISSUES Christine Moffitt The Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) heard a presentation on Rocky Habitat Management on Oct. 23 rd . Rocky Habitat makes up 40% of Oregon’s coast. The League has supported this work and has a comprehensive position on coastal issues. See p. 132, Issues for Action . The Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) is opening a Public Access Rulemaking to clarify how local governments will address protection of public access to Oregon beaches. King Tides return at the Oregon Coast: December 4 to 6, and January 1 to 4, 2026. They are the highest high tides of the year. The Blob returns to the Pacific Ocean per a story by KLCC: A massive heat wave is hitting the Pacific Ocean from Kamchatka to California. Water temperatures several degrees above normal span thousands of miles, though they have mostly stopped short of the Pacific Northwest coast. Cool water welling up from the depths is thought to be keeping surface temperatures near the Oregon and Washington coasts closer to normal . So far, this year’s Blob has mostly spared the Pacific Northwest. “It certainly pales in comparison to the really intense event that we had in 2014 into 2016,” according to University of Washington Climatologist, Nick Bond. That long-lasting blob of warm water harmed salmon and shellfish, fueled toxic algae blooms, and killed seabirds by the millions from 2014 to 2016. On Oct. 14, the State Land Board heard a number of presentations on programs involving the Oregon coast. See page 45 of the meeting packet on the Oregon Ocean Science Trust (OOST) , a program the League supported in both creation and funding. There continues to be a partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and OSU helping to keep the Sea Grant program going. California’s Ocean Science Trust received a $10 million endowment a number of years ago. Oregon is part of a West Coast Ocean Science Action Agenda. Our ocean acidification issue is almost twice that of the global rate. Treasurer Steiner requested more information on marine carbon at a subsequent meeting. The link with the Ocean Policy Advisory Council was shared—OOST focuses on science, OPAC does policy. See page 59 of the packet for the annual report on the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve . League members are active with Friends of the South Slough, and the League is a constant supporter of this first-in-the-nation estuarine reserve. The invasive green crabs have become so prevalent that OSU researchers and others are looking to find a market (such as chicken feed) in order to reduce them in the are a. T he Reserve is doing long time research (some 30 years old) so it is important to keep the Reserve solvent. See page 74 of the packet for a report on the Southern Resident Orca Endangered Species Management Plan . The Dept. of State Lands has an important role in assuring wetlands and streams are safe breeding grounds for chinook salmon, the main food source for these special orcas. Oregon Ocean Science Trust website . Contact: Linda.Safina-Massey@dsl.oregon.gov The Dept. of Land Conservation and Development has a website on offshore wind with public meetings continuing. DRINKING WATER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DWAC) Sandra U. Bishop The League has a standing seat on DWAC. Interactive Geographic Information System Maps for water system and source water protection have been improved. These maps are available to the public as well as water system operators and are maintained by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Drinking Water Protection group and may be accessed via the Drinking Water Services website . DWAC met October 15th. Lab sampling protocols were clarified. A question came up about lab sample reporting. It was clarified that Public Water System (PWS) operators know the purpose of a water sample when submitted and are to mark it correctly. There is a process for correcting mistakes in reporting if needed. The labs do not change sample type after testing; labs do not change Routine samples to Special samples. Mandatory reporting requirements do not apply to Special samples. No lead has been reported in Oregon public water systems. The Service Line Inventory mainly geared toward checking for lead in public water systems is wrapping up. So far 97.3% of systems have submitted an inventory. Deep drawdown operations are planned at Green Peter and Lookout Point. Much better communication is expected this year between Drinking Water Services staff and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In previous years drawdowns resulted in disruptively high turbidity at local Public Water Systems. To better assist the smallest drinking water systems in Oregon the responsibility for technical assistance, alerts and regulatory compliance help is being transferred from counties and given to the state. Extensive rulemaking is wrapping up . These are mainly technical changes and corrections. Written comments must be submitted by November 30. During December, comments will be reviewed. Once approved the rules will be effective January 1, 2026. Ideas for future meetings other than technical subjects include emergency response such as to wildfire and cyber-attacks, education on fraudulent backflow devices sold on Amazon, water system consolidation options, and possible funding sources for source water protection and very small water systems. The next DWAC meeting is January 21. ELLIOTT STATE RESEARCH FOREST (ESRF) The Board had a 3-day retreat on Nov. 12-14. FEDERAL LANDS Sen. Broadman’s proposed 2026 legislative concept meant to protect Oregon’s Public Lands: Oregon’s public lands are central to our economy, our outdoor recreation, and our way of life. This bill would prevent state agencies from taking part in any federal effort to sell or transfer national forests, parks, or recreation areas to private interests. The goal is to keep these lands accessible and protected for the communities that depend on them. FORESTRY (ODF) Josie Koehne ODF is reviewing obligations under the Governor’s Executive Order 25-26 related to climate resilience. Public comment period on the proposed rule-making for the Western Oregon Management Plan (FMP) opened on Nov. 1 and will close at midnight on Jan.31st. “The mission of the Western Oregon State Forest Management Plan (FMP) and Implementation Plans (IP) project is to implement the social, economic and environmental values required of state forests. The comment period will include written comments as well as comments collected from Rule-making hearings to be held on Jan. 13 (virtual), Jan.15 (Forest Grove), Jan. 20 (Tillamook), and Jan. 22 (Eugene) at 5:30 p.m. The proposed change to this rule will replace the three current FMPs (Northwest Oregon, Southwest Oregon, and Elliott) with a single FMP for these forest lands. The State Forests Division is pursuing an alternative method for compliance with the federal Endangered Species Act by applying for incidental take permits from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Fisheries. The incidental take permits will require the division to manage Oregon state forest lands in compliance with a habitat conservation plan. After careful review of the rule-making, the LWVOR will be providing comments. The State Forester recruitment was reopened Oct. 13 as the Governor would like a range of 8-10 candidates from which to choose. She hopes to have a selection for Senate confirmation during the February legislation session . The Oregon Dept. of Forestry will be asking for additional fire funding in 2026. Details TBD. HANFORD The Department of Energy appears to have enough money for four weeks of operations during the federal government shutdown, according to state officials at the Oregon Hanford Cleanup Board’s virtual meeting Tuesday. Since little information about the shutdown specific to Hanford has been released to the public by the Department of Energy, officials at the meeting discussed what they had heard or surmised about the nuclear site. After the cleanup board meeting, DOE said in a statement that its “Hanford site is not currently experiencing a lapse in funding and continues to operate in a normal capacity, with staff reporting to work and carrying out the Hanford mission safely.” This according to an Oct. 8 th article in the Tri-City Herald News. LAND USE & HOUSING Peggy Lynch On Oct. 24, the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) approved Housing Rulemaking for HB 2138 and HB 2258 (2025): LCDC Oregon Housing Needs Analysis (OHNA) Rulemaking staff report and presentation : Rules are expected to be adopted during the Dec.4-5 LCDC mtg. as they are statutorily due by Jan. 1, 2026, completing a multi-year effort to reset Oregon’s Goal 10, Housing, responsibilities and each local government’s role as well. These rules are among the most significant changes in Goal 10, Housing, and Goal 14, Urbanization since the program’s inception. LCDC Oct. 24: Approved Rulemaking to clarify and allow housing and other needed development outside of wetlands. The rulemaking would create an optional, alternative compliance pathway for wetlands resources when a city is preparing to annex lands from the urban growth boundary (UGB) to accommodate needed housing and economic development. The 2025-27 Policy Agenda 2025-27 Policy Agenda was approved by LCDC on Oct. 24. There will be seven rulemakings on Housing alone! In response to public feedback, additional clarification on Farm and Forest Modernization Program work plan sequencing has been added to the 2025-2027 Policy Agenda. In response to staff feedback, the Community Green Infrastructure report has been added to the 2025-2027 Policy Agenda . See also the Housing Report in the Social Policy section of this Legislative Report. NATURAL HAZARDS The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) and the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD announce that the 2025-30 Oregon Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) has received approval from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This plan supports ongoing efforts to reduce natural hazard risks across the state. The NHMP outlines strategies to reduce long-term risks from natural hazards such as wildfires, earthquakes, floods, drought, and landslides. OREGON DEPT. OF FISH AND WILDLIFE (ODFW) Melanie Moon Why we don’t want quagga mussels in Oregon and why we support the Aquatic Invasives program per this OPB article . A new state transient lodging tax (TLT), HB 2977 , was introduced in 2025 to ensure regular and robust funding for wildlife conservation programs. The bill passed the House floor, but did not make it out of the Senate. The League expects the bill to return in 2026 where we will consider supporting it. OREGON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT (OPRD) Peggy Lynch OPRD fee increases to help w/$14 million shortfall: A public comment period will take place Dec. 1 to Jan. 15. OPRD is proposing a series of changes that could increase camping fees, change cancellation fees and allow for “dynamic pricing.” Collectively, they're known as the Division 15 Rates and Reservation Policy .T he changes would need approval from the OPRD Commission. If approved, these changes could be implemented as early as March of 2026. (per Statesman Journal) In 2024, the agency approved increased parking and camping fees for the first time in nearly a decade. That increase went into effect in 2025. It was intended to cover a previous shortfall of roughly $15 million, due largely to losing 13% of its Oregon Lottery funding, which was diverted to city, county and special park districts. OREGON WATERSHED ENHANCEMENT BOARD (OWEB ) The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board held a board meeting on October 28-29. The meeting agenda and materials are available on OWEB’s website . REGIONAL SOLUTIONS The Regional Solutions Program : Within each of the 11 Regions, which are tied to Oregon’s federally designated Economic Development Districts, a Governor-appointed Advisory Committee sets Regional Priorities and a cross-functional Team of state agency staff works together to move projects forward. If you know anyone who may benefit from these publications, please direct them to this signup page . The public is welcome to attend virtually or in person. Go to the program website and to the region to find the agendas and meeting materials posted a few days before the meetings. Public Comment is usually scheduled. Upcoming Regional Solutions Advisory Committee (RSAC) Meetings: Regional Solutions: *Central (Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties) December 2nd from 3:30-5:00pm *South Coast (Coos, Curry, and Douglas Counties) December 3rd from 11:00am-1:00pm *North Central (Hood River, Sherman and Wasco Counties) December 3rd from 2:00-4:00pm SMITH RIVER Alyssa Babin The League again supported federal legislation to expand the Smith River Recreation Area. The North Fork of the Smith River has scenic, historic and recreational values. We have supported this effort in the past with approval from LWVUS. STATE LAND BOARD Peggy Lynch The next State Land Board is Dec. 3 rd ( agenda and meeting materials ). The League follows these meetings since the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer comprise the Board membership. TRANSPORTATION HB 3991 , passed on Sept. 29, increases a number of transportation taxes and fees and applies audit requirements to ODOT. It expands the OReGO road usage charge program and repeals the Oregon Transportation Commission toll program. ODOT would receive 50% of the funding, while counties would receive 30% and cities 20%. There is an estimate that the cost to Oregonians would be about $2/month. The Governor signed HB 3991 on Nov. 7. Sen. Starr and Rep. Diehl and others have since gathered signatures under NoTaxOR.com to place the bill on the ballot for Oregonians to consider. The League will follow this effort since it could stop the needed ODOT funding provided in HB 3991. LWVOR asks that you “Think before you Ink” when any volunteers ask for your signature to get an item on the ballot. “ Bills passed by Oregon lawmakers can be referred to voters if organizers collect enough valid signatures within 90 days of the Legislature adjourning. This year, a referendum would require at least 78,115 signatures, equal to 4% of the people who cast a ballot in the 2022 gubernatorial election.” The No Tax group says it has more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The Secretary of State shall review the signatures, but we expect to see the item on the November 2026 ballot. If approved for the ballot, the bill and the taxes to be collected will NOT be collected until the results of the election outcome. We could see an alternate ODOT funding discussion in the Feb. session. WATER Peggy Lynch The Willamette River is the life blood of much of western Oregon. Do you want to learn more and have an opportunity to provide input in its future? Willamette River Symposium Dec. 2-3 @ OSU. Sessions will touch upon several water-related topics, including the connection between land and water, urban and rural water challenges and opportunities, and the importance of water for people and biota. Check out this at-a-glance program overview for more information. Registration is currently open on the Conference Website . Cost $150 but it includes lunch. The Nov. 17 State water report : According to the US Drought Monitor, over 31% of Oregon is experiencing moderate drought (D1), just over 6% is experiencing severe drought (D2), and just under 1% is in extreme drought (D3). Over the last two weeks, D2, D3, and abnormally dry (D0) conditions have been reduced across the state. Snow water equivalent (SWE) in basins across the state is currently measuring well below the historical median (min = 9%; max = 32%). The near-term climate outlook indicates probabilities leaning towards below normal temperatures statewide. The outlook also indicates probabilities leaning towards above normal precipitation for most of the state with western Oregon receiving near normal precipitation. Look for a new version of SB 1153 to return in 2026 or 2027. LWV Deschutes County submitted a letter in support of SB 427 , a water rights transfer bill meant to protect instream water flows. SB 1153 , an alternate bill provided with help from the Governor’s office, had months of work group sessions among the various interests, but, in the end, the bill did not pass. League members may want to check the U. S. Drought Monitor , a map that is updated every Thursday. Governor Kotek has declared a drought in eight counties ( map ) . Here is a more complete website about drought in Oregon. We all need to pay attention to the potential for harmful algal blooms ( HABs) . “When in doubt, stay out.” Visit the Harmful Algae Bloom website or call the Oregon Public Health Division toll-free information line at 877-290-6767 to learn if an advisory has been issued or lifted for a specific water body. Information on current advisories can be found on the OHA’s cyanobacteria bloom webpage at healthoregon.org/hab . The OHA has an online photo gallery to help community members identify signs of potentially harmful blooms. WEATHER A Nov. 28 OregonLive article provided the latest maps on Oregon’s winter weather. In a USA Today article published in the Oct.12 Salem Statesman Journal: “ La Niña has officially arrived, federal forecasters from the Climate Prediction Center announced Oct. 9. La Niña conditions emerged in September 2025, as indicated by the expansion of below-average sea-surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean,” the prediction center said in a statement. A typical La Niña winter in the United States brings cold and snow to the Northwest and unusually dry conditions to most of the southern states, according to the Climate Prediction Center.” In a KGW article : La Niña and 'The Blob' could boost Oregon winter storms "The Blob," a marine heat wave, and La Niña may affect Oregon's winter weather and snow, though long-range climate forecasting is tricky. I think the Northwest will have a stormy winter with above-average mountain snowpack, and a good chance of valley snow. Long-range climate forecasting is tricky stuff, but I can't outweigh the Godzilla-like force of La Niña with a blob of warm water oozing around my feet. ( Author: Matt Zaffino, KGW Weatherman) WETLANDS Peggy Lynch One of the most significant changes in federal rules being considered yet again relates to Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS). On Nov. 18 th , the EPA announced new proposed rules for implementing the Waters of the U.S., reducing 55 million acres of currently assumed wetlands—that protect drinking water and provide flood protection as well as giving a home to a variety of flora and fauna. Key proposed revisions include: Defining key terms like “relatively permanent,” “continuous surface connection,” and “tributary” to appropriately delineate the scope of WOTUS consistent with the Clean Water Act and Supreme Court precedent; Establishing that jurisdictional tributaries must connect to traditional navigable waters either directly or through other features that provide predictable and consistent flow; Reaffirming that wetlands must be indistinguishable from jurisdictional waters through a continuous surface connection, which means that they must touch a jurisdictional water and hold surface water for a requisite duration year after year; Strengthening state and tribal decision-making authority by providing clear regulatory guidelines while recognizing their expertise in local land and water resources; Preserving and clarifying exclusions for certain ditches, prior converted cropland, and waste treatment systems; Adding a new exclusion for groundwater; and Incorporating locally familiar terminology, such as "wet season," to help determine whether a water body qualifies as WOTUS; In addition, the limitation to wetlands that have surface water at least during the wet season and abut a jurisdictional water will further limit the scope of permafrost wetlands that are considered to have a continuous surface connection under the proposed rule. These proposed changes are intended to provide clarity and consistency to the continuous surface connection definition. LCDC on Oct. 24: Approved Rulemaking to clarify and allow housing and other needed development outside of wetlands. The rulemaking would create an optional, alternative compliance pathway for wetlands resources when a city is preparing to annex lands from the urban growth boundary (UGB) to accommodate needed housing and economic development. As a result of the 2025 legislative session, the Dept. of State Lands received additional staffing as did the Dept. of Land Conservation and Development. The League supported these budget allocations. WILDFIRE By Carolyn Mayers The League observed a marked decrease in coverage and discussion around wildfire-related issues at committee meetings during the recent 2025 Legislative Days’ committee meetings compared to 2024. This is likely the result of what many perceive to be a less devastating fire season after all indications had suggested the 2025 season would be very difficult. On Oct. 17, the Oregon Dept. of Forestry announced the end of fire season, reporting that statewide to date, regardless of jurisdiction, there had been 2,965 fires that have burned 338,740 acres. According to Kyle Williams, Deputy Director of Fire Operations at the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF), “From a purely acres burned standpoint, it was significantly less bad than last year. From a community impact and primary residences lost standpoint, it’s actually significantly worse than last summer,” said Kyle Williams, Deputy Director of Fire Operations at the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF). And humans caused most of this year’s fires.”(62%) Read more here in an article from the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Additionally, this Statesman Journal article also reports that while there were significantly less acreage burned (36% of the 10-year average), 64 homes and 141 other structures were lost to wildfires in Oregon during the 2025 season. It is notable that in spite of the fact that there were actually more fires in 2025 (118%) than 2024, ODF was able to keep 94% of the wildfires it responded to confined to 10 acres or less, a testament to a successful focus on “initial attack” and better coordination among agencies. Several issues dominated the discussion during November committee meetings. The House Interim Committee on Emergency Management and Veterans met November 17 and heard about those issues from the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and ODF. Their complete report on the fire season may be found here . Among issues of concern were the very early start to the season, with the Rowena Fire taking off in early June. Close to 200 structures there were lost, including 56 residences. Travis Madema, the Chief Deputy Fire Marshal of the Department of the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) referred to the fact that a wildfire so early in the season was able to take off and do so much damage was “very concerning” and confirms the trend toward longer and more difficult wildfire seasons. He also emphasized that this year’s season saw many more fires starting both farther west in the state, and many more near communities, which obviously means worse effects on populated areas. Finally, the increase in percent of human-caused fires, and trend toward more lightning-caused fires are also troubling trends. November 18 saw a meeting of the Senate Interim Committee on Veterans, Emergency Management, Federal and World Affairs that heard from OFSM and ODF. Following up on previous points about human- and lightning-caused fires, it was noted that there were 360 lightning-caused fires for a total of 4,796 acres burned, and 796 human-caused fires, with 19,992 acres burned. OSFM Chief Mariana Ruiz-Temple relayed the concern that while early in her career, a normal season would involve 2 - 3 urban conflagrations (with local agencies calling in OSFM to assist communities with wildfires involving structures, currently it is trending close to 8 conflagrations per year. This article from Stateline highlights the dire state of homeowners’ insurance premiums in the state of California, and concerns about what that might mean for the future for Oregon in the face of increasing wildfire risks. The recommendations of the Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council outlined in their 2025 Report to the Legislature includes approaches to take proactive measures to avoid the same fate. This report is worth a read for those interested in all things wildfire and what are seen as priorities for funding by the Legislature in future sessions. Finally, of note, as reported by Willamette Week , Pacificorp will pay $150 million to 1,434 people in settlements for losses in the 2020 Labor Day fires. What this will mean for customers’ utility rates, or the ability of Pacific Power to sustain operations in this environment remains to be seen. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Revenue , Governance , and Social Policy report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - September Interim Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: Bill Glassmire Environmental Justice: Nancy Rosenberger Environmental Rights Amendment: Claudia Keith Natural Climate Solution - Forestry: Josie Koehne Community Resilince & Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: Claudia Keith Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources Jump to a topic: Action Alerts Oregon Global Warming Commission (OGWC) Climate County, State, Federal, and Global Lawsuits Climate Lawsuit News Our Children’s Trust Volunteers Needed By Claudia Keith, Climate Emergency Coordinator and team Please consider joining the CE team; we have several critical openings. Contact us through our “Get In Touch” website form for further information about volunteer opportunities. We expect transportation to be a major policy topic during the 2025 long legislative session. Energy Policy: Arlene Sherrett and Greg Martin Environmental Justice: Nancy Rosenberger Natural and Working Lands (NWL) Forestry: Josie Koehne Efficient & Resilient Buildings: Arlene Sherrett Transportation: Vacant NWL Agriculture: Vacant Public Health: Vacant Fossil Fuel (FF) Infrastructure: Vacant Our Children’s Trust and other Climate Lawsuits: Claudia Keith Climate Change Budget/Funding, OEA/Risk disclosure, ESG/FF divestment Treasury: Claudia Keith Action Alerts LWVOR ALERT to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) Climate Protection Program Rulemaking staff and the Environmental Quality Commission . Their Deadline is Oct 13, 2023. The League continues to advocate for strong ODEQ Climate Protection Program (CPP) rules. We have been participating in the CPP rulemaking since its inception in 2021. We cite our own LWVOR public comments from the Oct 5, 2023, CPP rulemaking. The League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) strongly supports the CPP’s primary goals as identified by ODEQ from the beginning of its original rulemaking: Emissions: Achieve significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions Equity: Promote benefits and alleviate burdens for environmental justice communities and impacted communities Costs: Contain costs for businesses and consumers LWVOR & LWV ALERT : Urge Congress to Address the Climate Crisis & Protect Our Youth ! “Do not let future generations inherit the climate crisis. Urge your Members of Congress to cosponsor the Children’s Fundamental Rights and Recovery Resolution to address climate change and protect our youth’s rights and future!”. Learn more by reading: Markey Joins Merkley, Colleagues in Introducing Resolution for Climate Recovery Planning to Stand Up for Children’s Fundamental Right to a Healthy, Livable Planet ’ Oregon Global Warming Commission (OGWC) August 2023 Meeting Notes By Greg Martin Introduction The Oregon Global Warming Commission, created by the 2007 Oregon Legislature through House Bill 3543, is charged with tracking trends in greenhouse gas emissions and recommending ways to coordinate state and local efforts to reduce emissions in Oregon. Opening remarks and commissioner updates. Chair Macdonald introduced new commissioner Rep. Bobby Levy. Megan Decker, OPUC (Oregon Public Utility Commission). HB 2021 requires Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power (PP) to plan to achieve aggressive GHG (greenhouse gas) reductions by 2050 as part of the CPP, Climate Protection Program. The CPP sets a declining cap on GHG emissions from fossil fuels with the goal to dramatically reduce these emissions over the next 30 years. OPUC oversight can guide the utilities toward that goal but regulatory enforcement has its limitations. OPUC requires comprehensive forward planning every two years and is now in the middle of reviewing the utilities’ first plans addressing HB 2021. The next two-year planning phase will begin in 2024 and public engagement is important. The utility websites detail opportunities for engagement. Oregon Renewable Energy Siting Assessment (ORESA) ODOE Facility Siting Division staff presented an overview of the ORESA project . ORESA was funded by a $1.1 million U.S. DOD grant. A key goal is compatibility of renewable energy siting with military facilities. The online mapping/reporting tool, Oregon Explorer , provides layers of comprehensive GIS data for energy development and other purposes, including data on “community [EJ] considerations.” The ORESA project report , a key deliverable for the grant, found that Oregon has enough renewable energy potential to meet its energy and climate goals, though tradeoffs will be needed and challenges related to transmission infrastructure will have to be met. ODOE’s 2022 Biennial Energy Report: Charting a Course for Oregon’s Energy Future ODOE’s Amy Schlusser presented a policy brief overview. Oregon’s electricity demand is projected to increase by 50 to 100% by 2050. We will need to replace existing fossil resources with tens of gigawatts of new renewable resources – a substantial effort under any scenario – while increasing energy efficiency to offset demand growth as much as possible. High costs and land use impacts will be significant challenges. We need to identify optimal pathways to achieve the needed buildout, including determining the future role of natural gas (NG). The demand for NG is projected to drop dramatically, mainly in building and industrial sectors, but some reserve capacity will be needed to ensure grid reliability. The policy brief recommended the state undertake a robust stakeholder process to develop a comprehensive state energy strategy. HB 3630 enacted in 2023 directs ODOE to take on this task and ODOE is in the early stages of planning and contracting. Key questions include costs vs. benefits, how much clean energy we need and how fast can we develop it, how we will protect vulnerable communities, and balance farm and forest land protection against the need for new transmission, etc. Legislative Update from ODOE Christy Splitt presented an overview of ODOE’s 2023 Legislative Report , an excellent summary of background and key provisions of climate-related bills enacted this session (including budget bills), as well as some bills not passed. Helpfully, it breaks out the many disparate topics of the two major Climate Package bills with reference to the bills of origin. The GOP walkout and the large number of new members helped shape the session outcomes, but the main factor that made a difference in climate legislation was the higher-than-expected state budget – e.g., making additional dollars available for energy incentive programs. Major themes:the Resilient Efficient Buildings Task Force Pre-session work paid off, as the highest-profile measures passed as part of the Climate Package. The Building Performance Standard program in HB 3409 was the largest of many tasks added to ODOE’s plate. Resilient communities (resilience hubs and plans, grid resilience, more incentive dollars) were another important focus of response to the 2020 wildfires and 2021 heat dome. Sen. Dembrow called it a “surprisingly positive” session in that we moved forward on issues we’ve been talking about for some time. He plans to bring back the GHG reduction targets (deleted from the Climate Package) in the next session with the goal of setting the targets in statute. Draft OGWC Work Plan presentation and discussion The commission’s draft work plan through 2024 was available for public and agency comment through Friday, September 1. Commission discussion focused on how to rationalize the plan for performing all of the new tasks assigned to ODOE. The next meeting was set for late Sept. or early Oct., topics including the Institute for Natural Resources report on Natural and Working Lands work undertaken during the past year. ----- OGWC Oct 9 Meeting Agenda and Meeting Materials OEA & Security Exchange Commission (SEC): The League Responds to SEC Proposal to Require Climate Risk Disclosure | League of Women Voters.(The June 2022 LWVUS testimony was proposed by LWVOR Action Committee). Related, The League is monitoring the OEA Oregon quarterly economic / revenue forecasts to the Legislature. These reports continue to ignore climate risk disclosure. Related NEWS: Oct 2023, Recent ESG developments point to progress despite polarized US political climate - Thomson Reuters Institute. Oct 2023, What CPAs Need to Know About the SEC Climate-Related Risk Proposal - The CPA Journal. Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Expansion – “Notably absent from the agenda Thursday morning was the proposed GTN Xpress project, which would increase the flow of natural gas through an existing pipeline system in parts of Idaho, Washington state and Oregon.“ “ Yesterday, Oregon Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden urged FERC to deny the project , arguing that it was incompatible with Oregon and Washington’s climate goals. EE Wire : “Oregon senators: Gas pipeline 'not in the public interest'. Note, In 2015 LWV Portland and LWVOR provided public testimonies opposing any major Oregon Fossil Fuel infrastructure expansion. Portland Oil Storage: Newly obtained records show Portland officials’ private interactions with Zenith Energy - Zenith Energy’s fossil fuel storage and transport facility faces criticism for potential environmental dangers, particularly in the event of an earthquake.| Street Roots. State Treasury: Counter to ESG / Climate Risk analysis recommendations the July 2023, Treasury has increased the Fossil Fuel investment portfolio. Multnomah County chose to sue Big Oil and McKinsey for climate damage … and the Oregon Treasury chose to invest in Big Oil and hire McKinsey . The OIC (Oregon Investment Council ) Sept 2023 meeting agenda and report . Oregon Attorney General DOJ Climate work: OFFICE OF THE AG, Spotlight: Warming Climate (list of a number of DOJ actions related to Climate issues) Climate County, State, Federal and Global Lawsuits Numerous lawsuits are challenging Oregon’s DEQ CPP regulations. Gas, oil companies argue against Oregon’s emission deadlines during Court of Appeals hearing -- Several dozen people gathered afterwards to support those rules, which require a 50% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. -– Oregon Capital Chronicle. Here is one example of how to track them. Basically, there are several active state federal lawsuits , (Sept 2023 update) some of which could assist in meeting Oregon's Net Zero GHG Emissions before 2050 targets and other lawsuits, that challenge current Oregon DEQ CPP policy, which would limit the use of fossil fuels, including diesel, natural gas, and propane over time. Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 67 lawsuits , mentioning OREGON. Youth vs Europe: 'Unprecedented' climate trial unfolds at rights court | Reuters. Climate Change in Court: New Trends and Legal Grounds - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP. (GUEST Michael B. Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, Director, Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School) Climate Lawsuit News Montana appeals climate change ruling for youth plaintiffs - Los Angeles Times. Hawaii youth-led climate lawsuit advances in the background of Maui wildfires - As residents of Hawaii work to help their neighbors on Maui recover from the worst fire in the state’s history, young people are demanding more accountability from local leaders. - A group of youth, including many indigenous to Hawaii, are suing the state’s Department of Transportation over climate change. | Wbur : Here & Now Our Children’s Trust October 4, 2023 Human Rights Organizations, Children’s Rights Advocates, Legal Scholars File Amicus Briefs in Support of Utah Youth Climate Case September 20, 2023 Attorneys for Youth Plaintiffs in Natalie R. v. State of Utah Make Case for Constitutional Climate Case to Be Heard in Court September 19, 2023 Announcing “Overturning 1.5°C: Calling for the Science Turn in Rights-Based Climate Litigation” I-5 Portland/Vancouver Bridge: I-5 Bridge Bipartisan group of Washington lawmakers tours I-5 Bridge - Program administrator: It’s important for people to see project urgency, Sept 2023, The Columbian. Recommended Newsletters: Senator Dembrow Senator Golden Rep Pam Marsh Volunteers Needed Request to Local Leagues; please let us know your climate, resilience, or sustainability advocacy actions. Please consider joining the CE portfolio team; we lack volunteers in critical policy science/technology, finance, and law areas. We collaborate with Natural Resource Action members on many Climate Change mitigation and adaptation policy topics. Volunteers are needed: CE Coordinator. Orientation to Legislative and State Agency advocacy processes is available.

Back to Legislative Report Education Legislative Report - Week of 3/27 Education By Anne Nesse Legislative action this week centers on information bringing more equity and quality in education to all students throughout our state. In this month's Oregonian, the Director of Reform Portland Public Schools, a funding advocacy group, published this article . SB 1045 -2, from the Governor’s Office on the quality of statewide education, was introduced 3/23, in Senate Education. It is a follow up from the Secretary of State’s audit on how we oversee educational quality throughout our state. Itl is designed to find out how best to collect data from school districts on course grades and specific credits attained by students in grades 6-12. Melissa Goff, the Governor’s advisor on education, spoke at the public hearing. These changes will attempt to balance local school board control with state control and the techniques of teaching and tutoring that are known to have a positive track record nationally, and perhaps in the world. Textbook adoption will be among the standards that will be evaluated statewide. Sen. Lew Frederick stated he was looking forward to a broader understanding of our students, not just talking about 3rd grade reading levels, but rather talking about an individual student’s success based on his or her individual developmental path. Melissa Goff states that we will be moving ODE to a more proactive organization, including classifying districts which are not in compliance with state quality standards, to nonstandard classifications. This will be a passive alert and parents will not be notified. Timelines for compliance have been removed, to give school districts 180 days to respond to noncompliance, unless the situation is an emergency, such as child endangerment, or a similar situation. Morgan Allen of COSA, and OSBA, both expressed continued collaboration on this bill. No one has had time to study the -2 amendment fully, and this is a large change being undertaking. They both encouraged some caution as we proceed. Sen. Dembrow closed the hearing on a positive note. He stated that parents often put any blame on their child’s education on the State Legislature and not on the local school board. This bill is therefore a chance to share the burdens equally of providing the best possible research driven education we can possibly accomplish, to every single school district in our state. SB 416 was also introduced on 3/23 to assist with a long term problem: the need to increase our state funding of post-secondary education, by increasing the salaries of part-time faculty. Testimony included the injustice of “balancing the books of education, on the backs of part-time adjunct faculty.” In addition, a significant Oregonian article this month concerne sexual violence at colleges and universities in our state, and HB 3456 . This bill requires Oregon’s public and private colleges and universities to survey students on any sexual misconduct, and provides an amnesty policy for students who report it. It is designed to interrupt this cycle and to support victims. It was reported that bill sponsor Rep. Hartman gave some tearful testimony. On 3/20 in House Education, HB 3584 was introduced to provide notification for parents when a lockdown occurs at their student’s school. HB 3236 was introduced by Rep. Cramer, for a $2.5 M one time request, to provide increased CTE (career and technical education), at Willamette Career Academy. She and those testifying stated how important this was as a motivator for their education. It was noted that Gresham has a similar program. HB 2751 , a task force to study school start times, was positively voted out of committee and will go to the floor. On 3/21 in Senate Education, Sen. Lew Frederick introduced SB 633 , a regional program designed for students who experience disabilities that exceed what can be addressed within the capabilities of the average public school. The proposal is for 3 Centers designed for the entire state, based on the Serendipity School model. This model school has a waiting list, is a transition place for many students, and deals with behaviors and communication problems that are not easily solved in the average public school. As Sen. Frederick reminds us, too many public schools are over burdened with special needs students and are not able to adequately meet those student’s needs. There was mixed testimony. Some research supports inclusion of students with disabilities within their local schools. Also being too far away from home can be an issue. However it was pointed out that Serendipity School only includes students who have failed to adjust to the public system at all. Sen.Taylor presented 3 Bills in one public hearing, about serving the needs of talented and gifted students. SB 595 , requires ODE to transfer 1% funds from the State School Fund into the Talented and Gifted Education Account. She reminded the committee that talented students actually are documented to come from all socioeconomic groups and all ethnicities. A work group formed in the past with no program funding. SB 596 -2 requires all school districts to report data to ODE, on their students identified as talented and gifted. This would include the total number and percentage of talented and gifted students, their general intellectual ability, unusual academic ability in mathematics, unusual academic ability in language arts, creative ability, leadership ability and ability in visual or performing arts, as well as ethnicity and several other criteria. Sen. Gelser Blouin also introduced SB 756 -1, to assure classified staff have access to records for special education students they have educational responsibilities for. Morgan Allen of COSA, and OSEA were in general support, excepting some disagreement for the -1 amendment, requiring classified attendance at parent teacher conferences on educational plans. On 3/22, in House Education, Rep. Walters introduced HB 2767 -2, a bill that former Rep. Prusak and Sen. Wagner had initiated. This addresses the research driven method of educating students recovering from addiction, together with other students experiencing the same issue. The example of Harmony Academy was presented, with the plan to make this type of schooling financially stable, at under 50 students in a school setting. It was agreed that State oversight of this program by ODE would not affect its flexibility for the students and the communities this will serve. Rep. McLain introduced HB 3595 -1, a Juvenile Justice Fund Bill, essential to assure stable funding for youth in their education. A HB 2753 A work session was held on 3/23, allowing school districts to give modest stipends for school board members’ work, if they decide to. This passed and was sent to the floor. Continuing the 3/23 Senate Education LR, there was a work session on SB 48 -2, a task force to study successful methods of addressing chronic absenteeism from school (truancy). This passed and will go to the floor. SB 275 was introduced, a study to bring agencies of TSPC and Educator Advancement Council together within the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). SB 768 -1 was introduced requiring ODE to study the feasibility of collecting data on the grades of students, in grades 6-12, statewide by Sept. 15, 2024. Sen. Frederick reminded us that already the best predictor of success was not testing, but grades. Many post-secondary and university systems were already allowing students to enter, simply based on grades, a much better predictor of student success. This bill may require ODE to institute a more standardized method of grading students. So they asked Dan Farley, ODE research department, if there were a way to make this more standardized and he stated that there was a way, thus giving us some potential data on our many school district’s differences and trying to give us a better way to see which districts need increased funding for staffing.

Back to Legislative Report Education Legislative Report - Week of 5/15 Education By Anne Nesse On May 8 Senate President Rob Wagner spoke representing that the mission statement of public schooling ‘is to provide equity, diversity, and inclusion, based on each individual students needs, with written and informed consent by its parents,’ during the public hearing on SB 819A with -13 amendments, concerning abbreviated school days for children with disabilities. President Wagner supports this bill along with Senate leader Knopp, in a bipartisan effort. Parental rights were also discussed, and Rep. McIntire brought up the potential increased costs to our fiscal budget. Rep. Hudson assured there were some creative solutions school districts could use, and the enforcement of this law is already possible through TSPC, with a potential removal of the superintendent for non-compliant districts. Susan Allen from Oregon Classified Employees expressed some concerns over staffing shortages Kendall Mason of OEA, expressed the need for increased training and the need for the full funding of at least $10.3 Billion into our biennium school budget. May 16, the school budget was under analysis in J W&M Education, LFO recommendations. Another amendment was added on May 16 so that it could be voted out of Committee to JW&Ms. However the amount is still under funding requested initially by the Governor, and under what a number of advocates would like . Final decisions awaited the May 17 budget forecast. 5/9 in Senate Education, Sen. Dembrow pointed out there is state statute, that if a bill appears unreadable, this problem goes to a certain committee for solutions, not solved by a walk out, as some might have misunderstood. Several Bills you might be interested in were referred to the Senate floor for passage: HB 2753 A , providing rules for an optional stipend for school board members. HB 2280 clarifies terms of consent for school district sexual harassment. HB 2905 , Social studies curriculum extension to include Jewish descent, as well as already listed African, Asian, Pacific Island, Chicano, Latino, [or] Middle Eastern or Jewish descent; (iii) are women; (iv) have disabilities;(v) are immigrants or refugees; or (vi) are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. (C) involve teachers and other educators, parents of students and other citizens and shall provide ample opportunity for public comment. 5/11 Senate Education passed a number of Bills to the floor, of interest for passage: HB 3227 A , removing barriers to filling custodial services vacancies in education. HB 2618 A , determining workload requirements of speech pathologists as soon as possible for the institution during the next school year. HB 2281 A , appointing civil rights coordinator for school districts, to adequately deal with discrimination. HB 2504 A , removing barriers to enter Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) from international sources. HB 3178 A , modifies professional scholarships by HECC to include diverse teacher candidates that reflect our population.

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Legislative Report - November Interim Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley / Sharron Noon • Education: Jean Pierce / Stephanie Engle • Equal Rights for All Ballot Measure: Jean Pierce Kyra Aguon • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Jump to topic: Behavioral Health and Public Safety Housing and Homelessness Immigration Behavioral Health and Public Safety By Karen Nibler The Joint Interim Addiction and Community Response Committee held an in-depth discussion on the controlled substance crimes of unlawful possession, manufacture or delivery of illegal drugs during November interim legislative days. Felony and misdemeanor crimes were reviewed, and Class E possession of small amounts of drugs were explained under BM 110. Sentencing for Class E violations (BM 110) could draw a fine of $45 to $100. Screening or treatment cancels the citation. Failure to respond draws no consequence. The police and sheriff representatives held that addiction and mental illness are health issues and they have no tools to abate. They need places to take drug users for services and need tools to shut down public use and open markets. City and county law enforcement requested that the legislature consider new legal options for diversion and drug treatment. The BM 110 providers are not connected with law enforcement. The Court system has diversion and treatment options but the inadequate availability of public defenders continues to be problematic. Expect these issues to be examined in the 2024 legislative session. Public Defense Services Commission The Ways and Means Public Safety Subcommittee heard reports on PDSC salary plan increases and classification changes. In January new members will join the commission and the agency will move under Governor’s Office oversight. Current court system actions are to reduce the number of filings, speed up case disposition, hire additional attorneys, and increase the capacity of attorneys in the system. The Criminal Justice Commission staff are monitoring district plans and implementation now. House Judiciary heard a progress report on a Restorative Justice Grant that serves crime victims in 7 areas for one year. The grant was set up and is monitored by the Criminal Justice Commission. The Mental Health Courts Workgroup is scheduled to report to the 2025 session on the civil commitment procedures and assisted outpatient treatment in the state court system. Statistics submitted showed 8,000 cases in 2022 with only 6% committed to the hospital, 15% in diversion programs, 29% dismissed after investigations, and 61% dismissed prior to investigation. The Oregon State Hospital has been at capacity due to Aid and Assist evaluations resulting in efforts to treat locally. Community Mental Health Programs in counties bear the responsibility for patients discharged from the state hospital who need housing or secure facilities. State funding is needed for these services as well as case management. Marion County District Attorney commented on the numbers of homeless persons released from the OSH. Many of these patients are currently unserved in the Salem community without follow-up care after leaving the hospital. It was estimated that Marion County bears a $2 million cost for released patients. School Based Health Center supporters testified in the House Behavioral Health Committee on the preventive services offered by nurses in school based health centers on public school campuses. The nurses managed chronic conditions, preventive options, mental health and physical health referrals. Continued funding for nurses is requested for school clinics. Housing and Homelessness By Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan The Oregon Housing Alliance is gearing up to propose its 2024 legislative priorities and concepts. On 11/16 it held its annual membership meeting in Salem. Representing the League of Women Voters, a member of the Housing Alliance, were Nancy Donovan, LWV of Oregon and Beth Jacobi, LWV of Deschutes County. The following guest speakers provided overviews of the 2024 legislative session: · Representative Maxine Dexter, Chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, · Policy staff from Governor Kotek’s Office on Housing and Homelessness: Housing and Homeless Initiative Director, Taylor Smiley Wolfe, and Housing Advisor, Matthew Tschabold. · Christopher Allanach from the Legislative Revenue Office reviewed the newly released 11/15 quarterly state revenue forecast. The Housing Alliance presented their proposed 2024 legislative priorities and strategies below for the 2024 short session. The Housing Alliance did not ask meeting members to vote at this early juncture. Homeownership 1. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs): $10-12 million from the general fund to provide Individual Development Accounts and financial education for additional 600-700 households statewide. 2. Housing Production: $7-15 million from the general fund, to be paired with the state’s Local Innovation and Fast Tract (LIFT) bonds to build new homes for first-time buyers in the state. 3. Mortgages for homebuyers with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) to remove barriers to mortgage lending for borrowers to use their ITIN numbers to establish their identity. Affordable Housing Preservation 1. $125 million to keep Oregonians housed by acquiring and or renovating buildings, including those with expiring affordability restrictions. 2. $2 million for tenant outreach, education, and resource navigation. Grants would enable community-based organizations to help residents in buildings that are scheduled to lose their affordability restrictions. Homeless Prevention and Shelter Operations 1. (TBD) million to keep Oregonians housed by providing emergency rent assistance. Due to the high cost of rent, over 80% of evictions are for non-payment. 2. (TBD) million to maintain homeless shelter operations in Bend, Cottage Grove, Eugene, Medford, and Salem, which were established using American Rescue Plan Act money. The Senate and House interim committees on housing and homelessness met during the Legislative Committee Days in early November. The topics below provide a preview of possible hot topics to be considered during the upcoming short session. Interim committees are authorized by the Legislative Assembly to study subjects between sessions. The House Interim Committee on Housing and Homelessness held an interim informational meeting on 11/17. The housing and homeless topics presented by organizations are below. · Medicaid 1115 Waiver Housing Component Implementation · Homelessness Response Strategies · Regional Homeless Services Coordination · Land Readiness and Infrastructure in Cities · Manufactured Housing: Stability and Affordability for Residents · Urban Unincorporated Areas in Metro Counties Workgroup The Senate Interim Committee on Housing and Development met on 11/6/2023. The following housing topics were discussed during the meeting. · Statewide Eviction Landscape · Joint Task Force on Addressing Racial Disparity in Homeownership · Land Availability within the Faith Communities Immigration/Refugee/Asylum By Claudia Keith There continues to be growth in Oregon Immigration and Refugee populations that will affect a number of state agencies. This policy topic will likely not be addressed in 2024 however given the favorable revenue forecast additional funding may be added during the 2024 short session. LWVUS Joins Letter Urging President to Finalize Rule on Health Coverage for DACA Recipients | League of Women Voters Oregon has $3.6 million in grants to help refugees from Afghanistan – Oregon Capital Chronicle, Immigrants' Rights | ACLU of Oregon, Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by State | The Administration for Children and Families

OLIVIA HAN (she/her) OLIVIA HAN (she/her) Youth Vote Strategist Olivia is a junior at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. She is part of the International Internship Program for Advocacy through Leadership Initiatives, she is the Youth Voter Strategist for the League of Women Voters Youth Council Oregon, she was a two time international conference qualifier for her school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), received a Scholastic Arts and Writing silver key award for poetry and photography, is a published poet, has a blog about systemic injustice, wrote a published research paper about art and political discourse, is in the Carnegie Institute youth scholar program, and is Education Co-Lead on the National Student Advisory Council for Work2BeWell (Providence Healthcare). She is excited to see what junior year will bring her and is especially excited to participate in the IB Diploma Program. Outside of her academic pursuits, Olivia is an avid supporter of voter education and awareness, she strives to elevate others and express the importance of voting. She has written numerous speeches, papers, and studies about voter suppression in the United States and hopes to one day create steps towards equality in voting. This is Olivia’s first year participating in LWVOR Youth Council, and she has her eye on making civic participation a smoother experience for everyone. Through leading workshops and registering young voters, she hopes to make her community (and the world) a better place. She is excited to advocate for voters across Oregon as a member of the LWVOR Youth Council and can be contacted at youthoutreach@lwvor.org . youthoutreach@lwvor.org

League 'plug and play' talking points. / Plug and Play Talking Points / Plug and Play Talking Points Jump to Talking Point Topics Plug and Play Talking Points LWVOR Communications Team has launched a new project we’ve nicknamed Plug & Play. Research shows people respond best to information from their own communities. With that in mind, Plug & Play was created as an optional tool to help you serve your communities more easily. We know League members are volunteers, often juggling many demands. Even when we want to do more for the League and our communities, time is limited. Every efficient shortcut helps. The Communications Team will periodically send ready-to-use content—talking points and social media posts —centered on one timely issue, developed with input from the Action Committee. These talking points can be submitted as Letters-to-the-Editor, or adapted for your local context, or even expanded into Op-Eds. Social media posts (with graphics) are also included for easy sharing. How it Works Our first set, on Executive Overreach and Orders, was sent only to leaders. We received several requests to share with all members. However, only League leaders may speak for the League. That’s how we maintain our strong, unified voice. The solution? Two versions: one set for leaders (referencing the League), and one focused purely on the issue for members. If you are not a designated spokesperson, please refrain from using the leaders’ materials. Remember: this project is optional. We hope it helps strengthen your outreach and makes your work more effective and convenient—while keeping us united in purpose and voice. View our topics list below. States' Rights, the 2nd Amendment, and Military Deployment to Cities Plug and Play Talking Points: Toolkit Including LTEs and Social Media Book Bans Plug and Play Talking Points: Book Bans and the Freedom to Read Social Media Toolkit: Book Bans and the Freedom to Read Medicaid Plug and Play Talking Points: Medicaid Social Media Toolkit: Medicaid Immigration and Due Process Plug and Play Talking Points: Immigration and Due Process Social Media Toolkit: Immigration and Due Process Our Plug and Play Talking Points are also linked in the Member Resources Knowledge Base.

Back to All Legislative Reports Governance Internships Legislative Report - Sine Die 2024 Governance Team Coordinator: Becky Gladstone and Chris Cobey Artificial Intelligence: Lindsey Washburn Campaign Finance Reform: Norman Turrill Conflicts of Interest/Legislative Ethics: Chris Cobey CEI - Critical Energy Infrastructure : Nikki Mandell and Laura Rogers Cybersecurity Privacy, Election Issues, Electronic Portal Advisory Board: Becky Gladstone Election Systems: Barbara Klein Emergency Preparedness: Cate Arnold Immigration, Refugee, and Asylum: Claudia Keith Redistricting: Norman Turrill, Chris Cobey State Audit Working Group: Sheila Golden Voting Rights of Incarcerated People: Marge Easley Jump to a topic: Access Campaign Finance Redistricting Other Governance Bills Privacy & AI, Elections, & In Memoriam for Alice Bartelt Access By Paula Krane Since this was a short session things seemed to move quickly. In the beginning there seemed to be adequate notice on hearings and bills to be heard, changing as the session progressed. This was a more civil session. Members worked together, the public was involved with the process and welcomed to participate. League members had access to their Legislators as well as other Legislators. Because of Covid and the building being closed for updates, virtual access has been expanded; it has become very easy to observe and be part of the Legislative process remotely. There were very few access concerns this session: some members had problems with the pertaining clauses not telling them what the subject of the bill was (misinformation). In the past we put a lot of time and effort into making sure we all have access to the legislative political process and we continue to benefit from those efforts. Campaign Finance An amazingly historic thing happened with campaign finance reform as explained here in the Capital Chronicle. The League initially opposed HB 4024 ; see the League’s written testimony . After over a week of private negotiations, a new -5 amendment and then an -8 amendment were posted for the Wednesday 3/6 House Rules work session . The good government groups were able to negotiate some 20 major changes to the proposed bill, enough to make the bill acceptable and to avoid a huge ballot measure fight at the November election. The bill has something to please and displease everyone, reflected in the final floor discourse and votes. The bill represents decades of grassroots work. The agreement included IP 9 (Honest Elections, including a LWVOR chief petitioner) and IP 42 (unions) being withdrawn and HB 4024 not being referred to the ballot. The bill quickly passed the House floor, a Senate Rules hearing and work session, and the Senate floor on the last day of the session after a suspension of Senate rules. Gov. Kotek signed the bill March 20. We should be clear: Campaign finance reform is not finished in Oregon. The next E-board will be asked to allocate funding for the Secretary of State to draft administrative rules for the bill’s 2027 effective date. There will undoubtedly be adjustments attempted in the 2025 long legislative session. Rep. Fahey is forming a work group to consider changes. The contributions limits in HB 2024 are way too high, and the disclosure of donors and dark money that pay for advertising, needs more work. And we still need public funding of campaigns as in other states. Redistricting People Not Politicians announced that it is pausing the initiative signature campaign for IP 14 and will refile an initiative for the 2028 general election. The campaign did not have enough money to be successful by the July 5 deadline. However, the Oregon Court of Appeals decided March 27 in favor of PNP that IP 14 does not include two subjects; this will be important for future versions of the initiative; the case may yet be appealed to the Oregon Supreme Court. Other Governance Bills HB 4026 Enrolled, was passed to retroactively prohibit the use of a referendum on any urban growth boundary expansion. This was intended to block a referendum in the City of North Plains in Washington County. The LWVOR submitted written testimony opposing the bill and saying it is likely unconstitutional and may invite a lawsuit. However, a Washington County judge granted a temporary restraining order that allows the North Plains referendum, Measure 34-327, to remain on the ballot this May. Whether the referendum is defeated or not, then the whole matter will end up the courts again. HB 4031 Enrolled was amended in House Revenue to protect any local government tax payer information from disclosure. HB 4117 Enrolled, which authorizes the Oregon Government Ethics Commission to issue advisory opinions on the application of the public meetings law, and which is a correction to a bill passed in 2023 session, passed both legislative chambers immediately and unanimously. SB 1502 Enrolled requires public schools and college boards to live stream their meetings and post the meeting recordings on their websites and social media sites. It allows remote testimony for most school and college board meetings. SB 1538 Enrolled is an election law clean-up bill that makes many changes. SB 1577 A , automatic voter registration for higher ed students through the Dept of Revenue, was amended to require the Legislative Policy and Research Director to study its viability, benefits and challenges. It was still in Joint W&Ms as the session ended. Privacy & AI, Elections, & In Memoriam for Alice Bartelt SB 1571 Enrolled The Senate concurred with House amendments passing the bill on partisan lines. We look forward to pressing for attention to protect our elections and for other cybersecurity and privacy concerns. SB 1533 Enrolled increases the number of languages into which the secretary must translate voters' pamphlets. The Senate Memorial Commemoration for Alice Bartelt, SCR 203 Enrolled , passed unanimously in both houses and has been filed with the Secretary of State. RIP, Alice.

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley / Sharron Noon • Education: Jean Pierce / Stephanie Engle • Equal Rights for All Ballot Measure: Jean Pierce Kyra Aguon • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Note: Education reports after January, 2024, are included in Social policy reports. Education reports prior to February, 2024, can be found HERE . Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2025 Social Policy bills . Jump to topic: After School and Summer Age-Related Issues Behavioral Health Education Gun Policy Housing Legislation Immigration Public Safety After School and Summer By Katie Riley This past week was extremely busy. HB 3039 which would have appropriated moneys from the General Fund to the Department of Education and would have required the Department of Education to study methods for increasing the availability of summer and after-school academic and enrichment programs was dropped. HB 2007 which would modify requirements for the summer learning program to emphasize literacy and accountability was amended to HB 2007-A and heard in the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education, and the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education where it was passed. The accompanying funding bill HB 5047-A was also heard at the same time and passed. HB 5047 provides $35 million for summer 2025 and $47 million in 2026 and 27. It also provides for a special summer learning grant fund outside the general fund; thereby, establishing a sustainable funding source that allows for advance planning. The Oregonian published an article about the swift action on these bills that is a good description of the process. It is disappointing that the funding that has been passed for HB 2007 will be tightly focused on literacy and testing and will not go to all districts; however, it is encouraging that funding will be provided for summer learning, the funding is being established in a separate fund outside the general fund, and it will be provided over three years to allow for advance planning. It is hoped this bill will set a precedent for future allocations that will include specific funding for after school hours care with enriched programming that allows more opportunity for children to enjoy their time outside regular school hours while being inspired to pursue academics toward interesting career paths. HB 3941 which was introduced to allocate $4,990,000 for a grant program to establish up to 5 community schools at $170,000 per year in matching funds was scheduled for a a work session on April 7th but it was removed from the schedule. It is now dead. SB 1127 which would have provided for grants to develop and provide educational activities during recess, lunch or after school for Title I elementary schools was voted down in the Senate Committee on Education. It was noted that school foundations might be a better source of funding for these activities. It appears that some legislators are introducing amendments to bills to clarify that bills cannot “discriminate” against certain groups of people. They appear to be motivated by the federal administration’s desire to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts that prioritize groups that have been underserved. Since the bills are largely neutral and not specifying DEI activities, most of the amendments were not passed. However, HB 3008 was amended to include wording that allocations “will be based on merit and without discrimination or preferential treatment on the basis of race or ethnicity.” The bill would allocate funds to different agencies for investment in the child care workforce, including $9 million from the General Fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) in the 2025-27 biennium for distribution to Portland State University to fund recruitment and retention payments to childcare providers working in Oregon through the Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education. The measure also includes a one-time appropriation of $6.5 million from the General Fund to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) in the 2025-27 biennium for distribution to childcare workforce training programs. The bill has been referred to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. HB 3011 , which establishes the Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Fund and appropriates moneys for community colleges and public universities in this state that offer early childhood education degrees and certificates had a work session on April 8th in the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. Testimon y was submitted earlier in support of this bill. The bill received a Do Pass recommendation for a House floor vote. HB 2593 which would direct the Department of Early Learning and Care to study the impact on student parents and working parents who are on the Employment Related Day Care subsidy waitlist (currently over 10,000) had a work session on April 8th in the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services. It was sent to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Age-Related Issues By Patricia Garner HB 3497A Amendment 1 requires 14-plus State agencies to consider the effects of their actions on older adult populations. It passed unanimously (with one excusal) in the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services and was referred to Ways & Means. The portion of HB 3187A that authorized employees to present evidence of disparities in salary, length of service and pension/retirement status in order to prove a workplace age discrimination case has been eliminated, leaving only the language that prohibited employers from asking about an applicant’s date of birth or graduation date, unless a conditional offer of employment had already been made or age was an intrinsic feature of the job (i.e, a bartender). On a party line vote, the House Labor and Work Standards Committee passed the amended bill (HB 3187 A – Amendment 1) with a “do pass” recommendation. Behavioral Health By Stephanie Aller and Patricia Garner On April 8th the House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee unanimously passed HB 2015 Amendment 3 with a “do pass” recommendation and a referral to Ways & Means. This wide-ranging bill addresses regulatory barriers in building and operating secure residential treatment facilities (SRTF’s), residential treatment facilities (RTF’s) and residential treatment homes (RTH’s) in Oregon. It directs the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to study nursing requirements in SRTF’s and to assess alternative methodologies for reimbursement. At the present time federal reimbursement rates are much higher when a bed is actually occupied by a patient. This seems to make sense until one appreciates that there are situations where, for example, a temporary leave is appropriate to foster a good placement. The current reimbursement system incentivizes these facilities to keep individuals continually and for longer periods than might be necessary. HB 2467 Amendment 3 passed unanimously in the House Judiciary Committee with a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. The last-minute referral to Ways and Means was unexpected and may reflect some opposition that hasn’t surfaced to date. If it passes, HB 2467 Amendment 3 will likely have a significant state-wide impact because it clarifies the standard by which someone is considered sufficiently dangerous to self and others such that civil commitment is warranted. HB 2480 Amendment 1 passed unanimously without recommendation in the House Judiciary Committee and was referred to the Joint Committee Addiction and Community Safety Response. The bill itemizes factors that courts may consider when determining whether a defendant is mentally competent to proceed, or “aid and assist” in their defense, in a criminal proceeding. These include, for example, prior evaluations, evidence of a prior diagnosis by a certified evaluator or qualified mental health practitioner, prior commitments, and/or the defendant’s conduct as observed in court. HB 2480 Amendment 1 also authorizes the Oregon Public Guardian and Conservator to provide guardianship services for criminals whose criminal proceedings have been suspended because of a lack of mental competency. A temporary guardian may also be appointed. Two bills ( HB 3835 - Amendment 1 and 2 and SB 1113 ) were filed at the beginning of the Session. Both addressed restraints and seclusions in schools and health care agencies, as well as out-of-state placements. Senator Sara Gelser Blouin sponsored the Senate bill. Representative Nosse is the Chief Sponsor for HB 3835. The Senate bill used a more restrictive standard in allowing restraints and seclusions, but a scheduled Work Session was removed from the Senate Human Services Committee’s calendar and so will not be proceeding. The House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services unanimously adopted HB 3835 Amendment 3 , with two excused, but without recommendation as to passage. It was referred to Rules. At the conclusion of the hearing the Committee Chair Representative Nosse gave a strong statement that this bill was not being sent to Rules to die but that were still some items to discuss and he anticipated the bill’s passage. HB 2202 Amendment 1 (coordinated care organizations) passed the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee with a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. The vote was on party lines, with Democrats voting in favor. The bill looks like a work study bill and the OHA is directed to report its progress to the legislature by September 15, 2026, but there are a number of other more substantive provisions. As an example, it adds standards and requirements for CCO annual reports and requires OHA to convene an accreditation advisory committee annually rather than as needed. Funding bills – A number of bills relating to behavioral health matters were passed in Committee and referred for further budgetary consideration, including: HB 2024 Amendment 3 - unanimous, $20 million OHA to develop and implement incentive payments which are designed to increase the wages of residential, out-patient, outreach and medically assisted treatment providers so they are competitive with for-profit and hospital providers; $20 million in grants to behavioral health care providers for defined services, $5 million for the purpose of establishing a program designed to enhance training, education and apprenticeship programs HB 2056A Amendment 1 – unanimous, $64,890 appropriation to OHA for distribution to community mental health programs HB 2059 Amendment 3 – unanimous, $90 million appropriation for building residential treatment facilities. League testimony HB 2729A Amendment 6 – party line vote with Democrats voting aye, $7 million appropriation for OHA to develop and implement grant programs for school districts, education services districts and entities that provide physical or behavioral health services to be used to increase and improve school-based mental health services and substance abuse prevention SB 920 was sponsored by Senator Daniel Bonham (Republican). It directs the Oregon State University Extension Service to accelerate the promotion of behavioral health in Oregon by convening local communities to develop plans that promote behavioral health and facilitate community conversations about mental health and substance abuse. All members of the Senate Early Childhood and Behavioral Health Committee voted for the bill except for Representative Diane Linthicum (Republican) who did not state her reasons for voting against it. Education By Jean Pierce Bills of interest receiving Do Pass Recommendations: HB2009 A / SB141 A are identical bills, both of which received Do Pass recommendations from their respective Education Committees, with subsequent referral to Ways and Means.. They require the Department of Education to study the adequacy of public education in Oregon. SB 315 A would require the Oregon Department of Education to review and make recommendations for recording student absences by school districts as well as school districts' responses to student absences that exceed10 days. (Senate Education) HB 2251A would require school district boards to adopt policies for the use of personal electronic devices by students (excluding laptops) that prohibit the use of personal electronic devices by students during instructional time. It requires policies to provide for the use of devices if medically necessary or part of a student's individualized education program or Section 504 plan.(House Education) Two bills of interest received Do Pass recommendations with referrals to Ways and Means from the House Education Committee. Currently, LWVOR has no K-12 position addressing the need for Attracting and Supporting Well-Qualified Teachers. This is one of the positions being proposed for Concurrence at our state convention. HB 3200 A would provide scholarships for teacher candidates who have experience with diverse populations. HB 3040 A would provide grants for professional development for early literacy coaching for schools and districts for students with the highest needs in 3rd grade proficiency. Impact of Federal Actions on Oregon Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Title I Funding On April 10th, Oregon’s director of education, Charlene Williams responded to a US Department of Education letter requiring states to end programs supporting DEI or lose millions in Title I funding. Dr. Williams reported that Oregon is refusing to sign a letter which would have confirmed compliance with the edict. Oregon receives close to $134 million in Title I funds, which go to 40% of the state’s schools and serve over 200,000 students from low-income families. Lawsuit Concerning Cuts in Funding for Math and Literacy Project: Last week’s Legislative Report noted that the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) had lost millions of dollars in federal funding for literacy and math programs. On April 10th, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield joined with 15 other Attorneys General to sue the Trump administration for suspending the funding. Math Instructional Framework - Development of a math instructional framework to ensure students across the state are receiving the highest quality math instruction to support their learning and boost their outcomes. Oregon Literacy Practitioners Network - Establishment of a network of Oregon literacy ambassadors sharing best practices among educators to improve the quality of literacy instruction students receive around the state. Oregon Adolescent Literacy Framework Professional Learning Resources - Development of training modules, a collection of research and other literacy resources, as well as practical tools to support educators implementing the newly released Oregon Adolescent Literacy Framework for grades 6-12 in their classroom instruction. Instructional Framework - Development (including research and engagement) of a statewide instructional framework so that regardless of zip code Oregon students can count on excellent instruction. Regional In-Person Training For Educators - In partnership with Oregon’s Education Service Districts, provide five summits throughout the state (along with a communication campaign) for teams to use the new instructional resources in Early and Adolescent Literacy and prepare to bring this learning into their schools and classrooms. ODE detailed the cuts as follows: $1.5 million for a series of different instructional frameworks and the resources to accompany them, $1.2 million for educator development opportunities, $745,000 toward communications and technical assistance. Oregon Battle of the Books (OBOB) An executive order calling for the end of the Institute for Museum and Library Services has led to the termination of grant programs including the Oregon Battle of the Books. OBOB is a statewide initiative, which invites students in grades 3-12 to compete in teams to answer questions about a variety of books. Congress had approved funding for the program, which brought $26,000 to the state for this popular program. Gun Policy By Marge Easley There was mostly good news on the progress of gun policy bills as the Judiciary Committees reached their deadline for first chamber bills. On the House side, two of the most evidenced-based bills, HB 3075 and HB 3076 , were amended and passed House Judiciary on a 5-3 vote with a do pass recommendation and referred to Ways and Means. HB 3075, containing implementation details for Measure 114 (2022), requires permits to purchase a firearm and bans high-capacity magazines. HB 3076 creates a gun dealer licensing program. However, a big disappointment was the cancellation of the hearing for HB 3074 -1, which would have increased the use of Extreme Risk Protection orders with the goal of lowering Oregon’s high rate of suicide. Hopefully this bill will resurface in 2026. Also cancelled was HB 3884 , which would have facilitated the ability of gun dealers to temporarily store firearms for those at risk of suicide. On the Senate side, two key wins were the passage out of committee of SB 1015 and SB 243 . SB 1015, authorizing funding for community violence Intervention and prevention program, unanimously received a do pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means. SB 243, an omnibus bill that originally combined four previous bills, passed out of committee on a 4-2 vote with a Do Pass referral. Although the age restriction of 21 to purchase a firearm was stripped from the bill, it still contains a 72-hour waiting period for a firearm purchase, a ban on rapid fire devices, and a watered-down expansion of the ability of public spaces to be declared “gun free zones.” Housing By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona Long-term rent assistance for youth On April 16, the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness will hold a hearing on SB 814 A . This bill, administered by Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) would expand eligibility criteria for its existing Long-Term Rent Assistance Program. Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) youth under the age of 25 would have an opportunity to access long-term rental assistance to achieve a greater level of housing security. Youth assisted would be those exiting a childcare center or youth correctional facility. This measure also requires OHCS to consult with the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), among other stakeholders. At least 14% of youth who were committed to OYA since October 2022 have already experienced some period of homelessness. Studies indicate that housing instability increases the risk for recidivism. Achieving success for youth following involvement with the juvenile justice system is challenging at best. Many of these youth have experienced trauma and instability in their childhood and young adult life. Finding suitable housing with a criminal record and no rental experience poses additional hurdles. This bill will assist youth by providing a safe and stable home so they can devote their attention to employment, education, and family. Investing in the success of youth can help them achieve long term stability and success. Also, stable housing can offer a solid foundation for growth and opportunity. The League wrote in testimony in support of this important bill. Immigration By Becky Gladstone and Claudia Keith Bill # Description Policy Committee Status Fiscal M$ Chief Sponsors+ Comments SB 149 Immigration Study JWM waiting for Fiscal Y Sen Jama -3 amendment SB 599A Immig status: discrimnation in RealEstate transactions H Judiciary Sen Campos SB 611 Food for All Oregonians - for undocumented SC HS - JWM Work Sess 4/8 Y Sen Campos Rep Ruiz amendment -1 SB 703 a bipartisan immigration status update funding bill JWM 6 Sen Reynolds, Rep Neron, Ruiz, Smith G Testimony HB 2548 Agricultural Workforce Labor Standards Board. H Rules Rep Valderrama, Nelson , Munoz League Testimony HB 2976 funding for interpretation of indigenous languages. JWM Rep Hartman HB2788 funding to nonprofits to assist w lawful permanent resident status / legal aid - HC ECHS - JWM dead Rep Neron, Ruiz, Sen Reynolds * likely end of session Reconcilation Bill HB 2586 A nonresident tuition exemption for asylum seekers. Sen Ed RepHudson, SenCampos HB 2543 fundsfor universal representation and gives funds to Oregon State Bar for legal immigration matters HC Jud ? 15 Rep Valderrama, Sen Manning Jr, Rep Walters, Andersen, McLain, Sen Campos DAS - see sb 703 HB3193A Farm Worker Relief Fund JWM 10 Rep Marsh, SenPham, RepValderrama OHA HB 5002 Oregon Worker Relief Fund JCWM-GG ? 7 Das Public Safety By Karen Nibler HB 2677 on the expunction process for juvenile court records was tweaked again this session. The expunction laws for law violations by youth under 18 have been revised in the more recent sessions. The court can grant expunction within 60 days of application if there were no felonies or misdemeanors involving violence. So this should be the final revision. The bill was passed with Amendment 7 and sent to Ways and Means. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Governance , and Natural Resources report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Legislative Report - Week of 5/29 Social Policy Team Coordinator: Jean Pierce • After School and Summer Care: Katie Riley • Behavioral Health: Trish Garner • Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice: Marge Easley / Sharron Noon • Education: Jean Pierce / Stephanie Engle • Equal Rights for All Ballot Measure: Jean Pierce Kyra Aguon • Gender-Related Concerns, Reproductive Health, Age Discrimination: Trish Garner • Gun Safety & Gun Issues, Rights for Incarcerated People: Marge Easley • Hate and Bias Crimes: Claudia Keith/ Becky Gladstone /rhyen enger • Health Care: Christa Danielsen • Housing: Debbie Aiona and Nancy Donovan Jump to topic: Housing Criminal Justice Gun Safety Housing By Debbie Aiona, Nancy Donovan, Debbie Wallace, Penny York The continued Republican walkout has prevented 17 floor sessions from being held, with 150 bills waiting to be worked on by the Senate after significant effort and gaining bipartisan support. Unfortunately, due to the walkout, the Senate can recommend passage, but is unable to vote on key bills. It is unlikely that the bills will be voted on before the session ends. SB 892 A will amend housing statutes and laws of the Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Housing Stability Council to add federally recognized tribes as community development corporations to allow access, and to administer housing funds. The House held a third reading and the bill passed on May 25. SB 225 will address a problem with how private activity bond resources are used to fund low-income housing. The bill addresses a barrier, which would allow Oregon Housing and Community Services to move forward on affordable housing developments to avoid construction delays and cost increases. The House passed the bill on May 25. HB 2680 A would strengthen and clarify legislation passed in 2019 related to screening fees charged for rental applications. The bill requires the landlord to refund screening fees within 14 days if the apartment is filled before screening the applicant or if the application is withdrawn before the screening takes place. The Senate Committee on Housing and Development recommended a do pass on May 30. A second reading will be held May 31, and a third reading will be held on 6/1. HB 3151 would limit improvements landlords of manufactured home parks can require of tenants. It also will extend the sunset date on a landlord/tenant dispute resolution program. Senate Housing and Development recommended a do pass on May 30. A second reading will be held on May 31, and a third reading on 6/1. HB 3462 would ensure that individuals covered by federal, and state fair housing laws are eligible for emergency housing when an emergency declaration is made. This extends to people regardless of their immigration status. Senate Housing and Development recommended a do pass on May 30. A second reading will be held on May 31, and a third reading on 6/1. SB 611 B would modify the maximum annual residential rent increase for affected units to the lesser of 10%, or 7% plus the consumer price index one-year change. It applies the rent increase limit to units from which a tenant was evicted. The bill is awaiting a second reading by the Senate on 5/31 and a third reading on June 1. Criminal Justice By Marge Easley and Karen Nibler A May 31 press release issued by House and Senate Democrats announced a $4 Billion Public Safety and Accountability Budget Framework to emphasize strong support for Oregon’s crisis response network that includes the Oregon Department of Justice ($813 million), Oregon State Police ($611 million), Department of Corrections ($2.2 billion), Oregon Judicial Department ($750 million), Department of Public Safety and Safety Standards and Training ($83 million), and the State Fire Marshal ($73.9 million). Many of the framework’s details are contained in the following criminal justice bills passed by the J W&Ms in recent days. On May 26, W&Ms passed SB 344 to continue Justice Reinvestment programs, SB 1034 to allocate federal funding for at risk youth, HB 5012 to fund district attorney expenses, HB 5022 to fund the Governor’s Office administration, HB 5055 to fund the Criminal Justice Commission, SB 5513 relating to judicial conduct, SB 5514 on child support in the Department of Justice Budget, HB 5515 to fund the Bureau of Labor and Industries, HB 5535 to fund the Racing Commission, and HB 5541 to fund the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA). The latter bill drew the most comments and 3 nays by Sen. Hansell, Rep. Lewis, and Rep. Breese-Iverson. OYA has a high number of staff positions (990) and behavioral residential beds (328) funded. There was a reduction in the number of beds with a higher rate per bed noted. Most discussion focused on Behavioral Residential Services and mental health needs for youth. The agency has scheduled an upgrade of the Juvenile Justice Information System, which is used by County Juvenile staff and OYA staff. The Subcommittee on Public Safety approved several bills on May 30, which will soon be voted on in full W&Ms: HB 5017 funds the Department of Emergency Management, SB 900 A establishes the Organized Retail Theft Grant Program, HB 2320 A establishes the Juvenile Justice Policy Commission, and HB 2772 A defines terms related to domestic terrorism. On the May 31 docket for the full W&Ms are SB 5512 to fund the Judicial Department, HB 2225 to increase fees for court transcripts, HB 2316 A to expand the number of intoxicants included in the driving under the influence statute, and HB 2645 B to increase penalties for fentanyl possession. Gun Safety By Marge Easley The Republican walkout continues to stall the passage of gun safety bills HB 2005 and SB 348. However, we will be closely monitoring the five-day federal trial on Measure 114 that starts June 5 with U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut presiding. According to a May 30 th Oregonian article , The City of Portland recently submitted a court brief in support of the measure, particularly the ban on large capacity magazines, citing the city’s record number of 101 homicides and 1,306 shootings in 2022, on the heels of the 92 homicides and 1,315 shootings in 2021.

Support the Advocacy Fund of the League of Women Voters of Oregon. / Advocacy / Support the Advocacy Fund / Support the Advocacy Fund About the LWVOR Advocacy Fund The League of Women Voters of Oregon Advocacy Fund (LWVORAF) is a 501(c)(4) grassroots political organization that is run through the generosity of our donors and the hard work of volunteers. It allows us to support petitioning, ballot measures and other campaigns that are not allowed for the 501(c)(3) LWVOR organization. Donations made to the LWVORAF are not tax deductible. Donate

Back to All Legislative Reports Governance Internships Legislative Report - Sine Die - Week of 8/11 Governance Team Coordinator: Becky Gladstone and Chris Cobey Artificial Intelligence: Lindsey Washburn Campaign Finance Reform: Norman Turrill Conflicts of Interest/Legislative Ethics: Chris Cobey CEI - Critical Energy Infrastructure : Nikki Mandell and Laura Rogers Cybersecurity Privacy, Election Issues, Electronic Portal Advisory Board: Becky Gladstone Election Systems: Barbara Klein Emergency Preparedness: Cate Arnold Immigration, Refugee, and Asylum: Claudia Keith Redistricting: Norman Turrill, Chris Cobey State Audit Working Group: Sheila Golden Voting Rights of Incarcerated People: Marge Easley Please see Governance Overview here . Jump to a topic: Campaign Finance General Governance, Privacy, and Consumer Protection Elections Artificial Intelligence Other Governance Bills Campaign Finance By Norman Turrill In the last few days of the legislative session, we saw extraordinary machinations on campaign finance reform. We have been saying for months that HB 4024 (2024) needed some technical fixes to complete the historic deal that was made during the last session among Honest Elections, legislative leaders, business leaders and union leaders. It was said that HB 3392 was the bill that would be stuffed with these technical fixes. However, a last-minute deal was apparently made behind the scenes to allow Minority Leader Drazan to propose a -5 amendment to HB 3392 to delay implementation of HB 4024 by four years! House Rules held a public hearing on the amendment 6/25 . The Secretary of State sent a six-page letter and testified for half an hour that the delay was necessary and that Oregon has a history of failed large computer projects. (HB 4024 required extensive changes to ORESTAR.) All other in-person testifiers (including the League) and all 96 written testimonies were against the delay. For the House Rules meeting, the League and several other organizations had issued action alerts. Several news outlets also wrote about the situation including OPB , Oregon Capital Chronicle , and Oregon Live . House Rules had scheduled a work session on the bill for the same meeting, but they adjourned without opening the work session. We then saw House Rules reschedule the work session five times(!) that day and then cancel the work session all together. The bill and its amendment were dead for the session. It is clear that we dodged a bullet on CFR and that powerful political interest groups do not want CFR in Oregon. However, HB 4024 is still part of Oregon statutes because Oregonians demanded it. It will still take effect in part on January 1, 2027. Some technical fixes will still be needed and could perhaps be adopted by rule by the Secretary of State or during next year’s short legislative session. Cybersecurity, National Guard, ethics, privacy and safety, partner agency budget By Becky Gladstone HB 3954 , for the Adjutant General to prevent the Oregon National Guard from being called to active service except in certain circumstances, was the only bill pending in this portfolio in the final week of the 2025 session. HB 3954 had passed from the House on a 31 to 16 vote. Senate Rules stopped shy of holding a public hearing despite League testimony in support . It was revived for a first (late date) hearing and work session, after a League letter was sent. This bill became more relevant with the California National Guard being called to action by the President in Los Angeles, overriding the Mayor and California Governor. One letter in opposition to HB 3954 believed that passing the bill would put Oregon in a position to lose critical federal funding for the Oregon National Guard. The issue turned from National Guard activation to hinge on support of the President. The bill remained in committee at the end of the session. Republicans block attempt to prevent federal overreach with Oregon’s National Guard , Oregon Live, June 30, 2025. HB 3569 , a bill that would require a chief sponsor (legislator) of a bill to be a part of a rules advisory committee (RAC) for legislation they had a hand in passing was signed by the Governor; however she also issued a signing letter that addressed some of the issues of concern to the League. League testimony with our concerns and opposition to the bill. HB 2581 ( emergency services) : The League spoke and filed testimony in support of a statute change, substituting the word “seismic” with “hazards”, to coordinate coverage efforts through the State Resiliency Officer. The bill has been signed by the Governor. HB 2930 Enrolled has the Governor’s signature, for conflict of interest of public officials’ household members. League testimony supported this bill brought by the Oregon Ethics Commission. SB 224 Enrolled , has the Governor’s signature, to keep from posting campaign committee addresses on the SoS website, with League testimony in support. This is sadly more relevant with the recent killing of a senior Minnesota legislator and her husband . Minn. legislator killed in ‘politically motivated‘ shooting, Washington Post, June 14, 2025. HB 5017 Enrolled , has the Governor’s signature, for the State Library budget. League testimony remained the only one filed, supporting our partnership for League Voter Service information. They share our Voters’ Guides in the Talking Books and Braille Library . Elections By Barbara Klein SB 580 Enrolled , signed into law (with an effective date of 9/26/2025), provides more timely transparency to voters showing online declarations of candidacy – or withdrawals – of candidates. (Concessions were made for the differences between various counties, big and small, rural and urban; and it exempted precinct committeepersons.) League’s testimony in support. HB 5017 Enrolled , signed into law (with an effective date of 7/1/2025). appropriates monies from the General Fund to the State Library for biennial management expenses (budget increases primarily inflationary only); analysis provided by Legislative Fiscal Office. League’s testimony in support. HB 3687 Enrolled , signed into law, establishes that cities cannot demand a supermajority vote to change their charter (most do not). To best allow local government to function for the people, only simple majorities to a CHARTER change would be possible, not including any ballot measure on taxes, fees, or fines. Communities will more easily be able to adopt new election systems with the majority vote. HB 3908 enrolled , signed into law, increases the percentage of state voters from 5 to 10 percent required for a party to obtain major political party status. Filed at the request of the Independent Party of Oregon (IPO); other minor parties wrote in support. The League did not testify on this measure. Failed Bills The following bills have failed via one process or another. Generally listed as “in committee upon adjournment,” indicating the matter is dead for the session. SB 210 may have been an effort to repeal vote-by-mail (VBM), although sponsors explained it as a ballot measure to have voters “reaffirm” their wishes. It included other requirements for voters as well, such as a valid government ID. Testimony (heated at times) received an extraordinary amount of testimony. League’s testimony in opposition. HB 3390 A . Bill would have allowed a joint legislative committee to create ballot title and explanatory statements for constitutional amendments during the 2025 session. League’s testimony opposing bill. SB 44 was election related. The amended bill, SB 44-4 would have changed statutes to establish rules for vote recounts, tallying or write-in votes when using Ranked Choice Voting, currently used in four Oregon jurisdictions. Another amendment changed language of voter registration “cards” to “applications.” League’s Testimony in support of SB 44-4. SB 1054 , would have required “ each county clerk in this state to provide a live video feed to be made available to the public through the Internet of rooms in which ballots are tallied and official ballot drop sites. ” League’s testimony was a comment, neutral to the bill, describing our interest in transparency but concern for costs, especially in smaller or rural counties. HB 3166-2 promoted an open-primaries system. While the LWVOR strongly supported its original form and had been active in working on that language (somewhat based on the Alaska model), the amended bill contained points we have historically opposed (specifically a top-two election system). Despite our strong support for a “unified” primary, due to the changes in the bill, the League’s testimony submitted a neutral comment. Artificial Intelligence By Lindsey Washburn HB 3936 Enrolled : Prohibits any hardware, software or service that uses artificial intelligence from being installed or downloaded onto or used or accessed by state information technology assets if the artificial intelligence is developed or owned by a covered vendor. Will go into effect as law on January 1, 2026.The League filed testimony opposing the bill. HB 3592 A : Establishes the Oregon Commission on Artificial Intelligence to serve as a central resource to monitor the use of artificial intelligence technologies and systems in this state and report on long-term policy implications. Was not passed and ended in Ways and Means upon adjournment. The League filed testimony in support of the bill. HB 2299 Enrolled : Modifies the crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image to include the disclosure of digitally created, manipulated or altered images. Will go into effect as law on January 1, 2026. HB 3228 A : Directs the Oregon Cybersecurity Advisory Council to conduct assessments to address the reasons why public bodies in this state are unable to meet cybersecurity insurance coverage requirements. Was not passed and ended in Ways and Means upon adjournment. The League filed testimony in support of the bill. Other Governance Bills By Chris Cobey and Peggy Lynch HB 2341 Enrolled (cybersecurity): Adds a uniformed service member's or veteran's e-mail address to the information that the Director of Human Services, Early Learning System Director, Director of Transportation and Director of the Oregon Health Authority are required to provide to the Director of Veterans' Affairs. League testimony supporting. Failed bills HB 2250 (prison gerrymandering): Would have directed the Department of Corrections to determine the last-known address of adults in custody, if the address is readily known or available to an adult in custody, and submit information to the Portland State University Population Research Center. League testimony supporting. HB 2710 (cybersecurity): Related to participant eligibility in the Address Confidentiality Program. League testimony supporting. HB 2727 (ethics): Would have expanded restrictions on post-legislative service activities to prohibit receiving money or other consideration for advocacy on behalf of a public or private entity for changes in policy or funding for public or private sector programs or entities. League testimony supporting. HB 2692 was a bill that would create complicated and cumbersome processes for agencies to implement legislation with their rulemaking procedures. League testimony in opposition. The bill did not pass. The Governor has provided Rulemaking Guidance to state agencies. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Revenue , Natural Resources , and Social Policy report sections.

Back to Legislative Report Revenue Legislative Report - Week of December 1 Revenue Team Coordinator: Peggy Lynch Please see Governance Overview here . Jump to a topic: Revenue Updates Revenue Updates By Peggy Lynch On Nov. 19, legislators received the latest Revenue Forecast . (An in-depth version is here .) Oregonlive covered the forecast helpfully. They provide an in-depth Revenue Outlook . The Oregon Capital Insider also provided a good article . However, we still have two economies: One for the wealthy and one for low-income Oregonians—the “k” economy. A Nov. 24 th Salem Reporter story provides more insights. Here is the Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) website . With concern about not only this biennium, but the next two biennia forecasted as less than needed to provide Oregonians with the services they need, the Oregon Revenue Coalition has revived. The League has participated in the past and is attending weekly meetings. For now, it is an informal group with a focus on addressing the revenue needed for services to Oregonians. We have signed on to a one-pager created by the “Protect Oregon Now” group—part of the Revenue Coalition. H.R. 1 , the federal “reconciliation” bill, was signed by the President on July 4 th , just a few days AFTER Oregon’s legislative session adjourned. Because Oregon currently “connects” to the federal tax system, the tax reductions in H.R. 1 will also reduce revenue for Oregon . A disconnect bill ( HB 2092 ) passed the Oregon House in 2025, but was not taken up in the Senate. The new Revenue Coalition and legislators are having conversations around options to increase revenue, including targeting disconnect provisions and other ideas that may be politically easier than a full disconnect. One of our partners, the Oregon Center for Public Policy, provides a YouTube video to help explain. The Legislature COULD delay the April 15 filing date should they decide to address the disconnect in the 2026 session. They have taken that action in the past. At a mtg. on Oct. 9 with the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, League learned that agencies are being asked to provide a 5% cuts list by each fund type....so 5% General Fund (GF), 5% Lottery Funds (LF), 5% Other Funds (OF)!!! And in 2.5% increments. The 1% the Gov asked for earlier can be counted as part of that 5% number. And they are to provide a list of NEW PROGRAMS created/funded from 2025. During an OWEB mtg. on Oct. 17, we learned the New Programs list each agency is to provide are ones created from July 2021 forward. So not just the last couple of years. The Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) is looking to see any nexus to Covid/federal programs that were created with one-time money, for instance. Some of these programs were already not funded in 2025. Oregon’s Full Ways and Means Co-Chairs have written an opinion piece about the challenges facing Oregon. The League will need to be actively engaged in helping solve these problems. See other sections of the Legislative Report about the cuts in each area and what’s being considered to address the revenue shortfall. A March 5, 2025 report by the Common Sense Institute, including former state economist Mark McMullen, provides interesting statistics on Oregon budget since 2001. As Oregon has reduced its reliance on the General Fund (income taxes), both Federal and Other Funds have grown. Yes, in spite of the revenue shortfall, Oregon still has the “kicker”. Here’s what you can expect . Remember that you can donate the kicker on your 2024 Oregon tax return. On Nov. 13, Multnomah County provided an economic forecast reported by Willamette Week. On Nov. 17, the Senate Finance & Revenue Committee received an Overview of Wealth Transfer Taxes: Estate, Inheritance and Gift. Review of Past Legislative Discussions on Tax Reform: Meeting Materials Video of meeting Learn more about Oregon’s Reserve Funds in an article by the Oregon Capital Chronicle. Oregon is better suited to address a significant downturn in the economy than the last major downturn because of Oregon’s Rainy Day and Education Stability Funds. But there are criteria that must be addressed in order to access those funds. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Governance , Natural Resources , and Social Policy report sections.

The LWVOR Board adopted this completed restudy on February 10th, 2023. You can find the downloadable copy of the study here.  Election Methods Study Update 2023 About the Study The LWVOR Board adopted this completed restudy on February 10th, 2023. You can find the downloadable copy of the study here. At Convention 2021, LWV of Portland proposed a restudy of LWVOR's 2016 Election Methods Study. It would examine the STAR voting system and would last one year or less. The goal would be to inform League members about the benefits and limitations of the STAR voting option that is being promoted by a group of advocates. It would also be to determine whether or not the League could support or should oppose the adoption of STAR voting in Oregon. The LWVOR Board adopted this completed restudy on February 10th, 2023. You can find the downloadable copy of the study here . In May 2023, LWVOR issued a statement regarding STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting. Election Methods Position - Adopted 2017 The League of Women Voters of Oregon recognizes that election methods affect how voters participate in our democracy, who can run for office, and who can get elected. Therefore, the League supports election methods that: Encourage voter participation and voter engagement. Encourage those with minority opinions to participate. Are easy to use. Are verifiable and auditable. Promote access to voting. Promote competitive elections. Promote sincere voting over strategic voting. Discourage negative campaigning. Prevent political manipulation (e.g. Gerrymandering). Are compatible with vote-by-mail elections. The League of Women Voters of Oregon does not believe that plurality voting is the best method for promoting democratic choice in all circumstances. For single-winner systems, the League supports ranked-choice voting; we do not support range or approval voting. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports election systems that elect policy-making bodies–legislatures, councils, commissions, and boards–that proportionally reflect the people they represent. We support systems that promote stable government, but we do not support systems that protect the two-party system. The League of Women Voters of Oregon supports enabling legislation to allow local jurisdictions to explore alternative election methods. If an alternative election method is adopted, then funding for startup and voter education should be available. The League of Women Voters of Oregon does not support nonpartisan elections for state legislators. (Previous position) Adopted 2009 The League of Women Voters of Oregon believes that any election method should be evaluated on its ability to: Promote voter participation. Be simple and easy for voters to understand. Be verifiable and auditable. Promote access to voting. Promote competitive elections. Prevent political manipulation. Be compatible with vote-by-mail elections. The League supports enabling legislation to allow local jurisdictions to explore alternative election methods, e.g. instant runoff or fusion voting. If a local jurisdiction adopts an alternative election method, that jurisdiction should bear the costs of startup and voter education. Only after experience and evaluation at the local level should the state consider alternative election methods for statewide adoption. The League does not support nonpartisan elections for state legislators. Election Methods Study Update Election Methods Study Update , PDF, 52 pages Links Positions From Other Leagues – Election Methods Update (7 pgs; pdf) 2008 – Election Methods Executive Summary (3 pgs; pdf) Previous Next

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Week of 6/2 Climate Emergency Team Coordinator: Claudia Keith Efficient and Resilient Buildings: Bill Glassmire Environmental Justice: Nancy Rosenberger Environmental Rights Amendment: Claudia Keith Natural Climate Solution - Forestry: Josie Koehne Community Resilince & Emergency Management: Rebecca Gladstone Transportation: Claudia Keith Joint Ways and Means - Budgets, Lawsuits, Green/Public Banking, Divestment/ESG: Claudia Keith Find additional Climate Change Advocacy volunteers in Natural Resources Please see Climate Emergency Overview here. Jump to a topic: Federal Oregon Current Week CE Action Joint Ways and Means CE Funding Topics Environmental Justice Bills Natural and Working Lands Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package Update Environmental Rights Constitutional Amendment Oregon Treasury Other Climate Bills Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust Highlights of House and Senate Policy Committee Chamber Votes The League joined many other organizations this past week to oppose the Transportation Budget Cap and Trade proposal. The League is open to the idea that a west coast cap and trade solution may be viable in the future; however, the details related to this idea and how it affects CPP Climate Protection Plan, still need a robust public process. Refer to last week's CE LR and the sign on letter for details. We understand that there will be further discussion about this topic after the session ends. It will likely come up during legislature interim days. See also Transportation in the Natural Resources Legislative Reports. Federal While the primary focus of the LWVOR Action Committee is on Legislation in Oregon, what is happening at the federal level is likely to affect budgeting and other decisions in our state. These climate/energy-related Trump admin policy and budget related executive orders if implemented would drastically affect global UN COP efforts in all fifty states, including Oregon’s climate-related legislation (policy and budget), state agencies, and community climate action plans/state statutes/ targeted outcomes. Federal Register: Withdrawal of National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change Supreme Court curbs scope of environmental reviews required by NEPA - The Washington Post Science policy this week : May 26, 2025 - AIP.ORG (American Institute of Physics AIP.ORG ) 
 How the Five Pillars of U.S. Climate Policy are Threatened – Environmental and Energy Law Program | Harvard On ‘Laudato Si’ anniversary, Trump policies threaten progress on climate change | America Magazine Oregon In May 2025, Oregon's climate policy is undergoing significant discussions and adjustments. Specifically, lawmakers are considering transitioning from the state's current Climate Protection Program (CPP) to a cap-and-trade system, potentially linking it with other West Coast states. There's also an ongoing debate about the Clean Truck Rules, with enforcement delays and potential federal interference. Additionally, the state is actively working on climate justice initiatives and addressing rising utility bills. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ] Here's a more detailed look at the key aspects of Oregon's climate policy in May 2025: 1. Transitioning to a Cap-and-Trade System: Lawmakers are exploring replacing the CPP, which currently funds projects reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with a cap-and-trade system. [ 1 , 1 ] This new system would likely be linked with other states, potentially including Washington and California, according to Oregon Capital Chronicle. [ 2 ] The CPP, which sets a declining cap on emissions from fossil fuels, is designed to reduce emissions by 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050. [ 7 , 7 ] The current CPP revenues are invested in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. [ 1 , 1 ] 2. Clean Truck Rules and Federal Interference: The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently announced a two-year delay in enforcing its Advanced Clean Trucks Rules, which require manufacturers to increase sales of zero-emission vehicles. [ 3 , 4 ] This delay came after the Trump administration signed an executive order that could hinder state and local efforts to enforce climate laws. [ 8 ] Some Oregon lawmakers, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, fear that federal Republicans could further derail these efforts, potentially axing the rules altogether. [ 4 ] 3. Climate Justice and Utility Bills: The state is actively working on climate justice initiatives, including addressing rising utility bills and supporting community resilience. [ 5 , 5 , 6 , 6 ] The Oregon Environmental Council, according to its website https://oeconline.org/our-work/policy/ , is pushing for policies that boost community resilience, speed up clean energy adoption, and enhance the state's economy. [ 9 , 10 ] There are also ongoing efforts to ensure utilities can't pass certain costs, like advertising or political spending, onto ratepayers, according to the Sierra Club. [ 11 , 11 ] 4. Other Notable Climate Policy Discussions: The Sierra Club reports on various bills related to energy efficiency, utility rates, and renewable energy. [ 11 ] The Oregon Environmental Council is advocating for stronger climate policies, including removing barriers to clean energy and expanding clean energy infrastructure. [ 9 ] The state is also working on a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, due in December 2025, to identify more opportunities to reduce climate pollution. [ 12 ] 5. Ongoing Challenges and Opportunities: Oregon's climate policy is facing challenges from federal actions and fossil fuel industry pressure. [ 4 , 13 ] Despite these challenges, the state is committed to continuing its climate action efforts and transitioning to a clean energy economy. [ 8 , 13 ] The state is also exploring ways to leverage federal funds to support climate initiatives but recognizes the need for ongoing state funding to ensure their sustainability. [ 5 , 9 ] [1] https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/22/oregon-lawmakers-cap-and-trade-salem-pollution-greenhouse-gas-emissions-bridge/ [2] https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/05/22/oregon-lawmakers-look-to-reshape-cap-and-trade-program-to-pay-for-transportation-needs/ [3] https://oregonbusinessindustry.com/may-19-2025-capitol-connect/ [4] https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/28/oregon-clean-truck-rules-environment-trump-republicans/ [5] https://www.climatesolutions.org/article/2025-01/climate-solutions-2025-oregon-legislative-agenda [6] https://www.olcv.org/tell-oregon-lawmakers-we-need-a-strong-climate-justice-budget-in-2025/ [7] https://www.oregon.gov/deq/ghgp/cpp/pages/default.aspx [8] https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/10/trump-oregon-climate-laws-executive-order/ [9] https://oeconline.org/our-work/policy/ [10] https://oeconline.org/our-work/policy/ [11] https://www.sierraclub.org/oregon/blog/2025/05/may-update-2025-legislative-session [12] https://www.oregon.gov/deq/ghgp/pages/climate-pollution-reduction-planning-grant.aspx [13] https://www.climatesolutions.org/article/2025-05/midpoint-momentum-climate-progress-update-oregons-2025-legislative-session Oregon Citizens Utility B oard : ‘ CUB Goes to Washington , D.C. | Latest News | News | Oregon CUB | posted 5/20/25 ‘Calling In: Tell Oregon lawmakers to invest in our transportation future TODAY!‘ | Climate Solutions | posted 5/30/25 COIN: Consolidated Oregon Indivisible - CEE Legislation 5/30 update Our energy grid needs help fast . Contact your legislator today! | Climate Solutions. 5/30/25 Current Week CE Action The League joined two sign-on letters this week: ( support) A Bipartisan microgrid package ( clean energy and community resilience) HB 2065 and HB 2066 . ( oppose) the Transportation Budget Cap and Trade Joint Ways and Means CE Funding Topics Transportation Package Priorities The League supports OCN and other statewide NGO budget priorities: Increase funding above 2017 levels for public transit
 
 Increase funding above 2017 levels for a safe, complete multimodal system (i.e. GreatStreets, Safe Routes to School, Oregon Community Paths, and bike/ped both on-street and trails, etc.) 
 
 Dedicated or increased revenue for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicle incentives, including for charging and purchasing of ZEVs (🡪 See NR LR for additional details) 
 
 News release: Report: Oregon Department of Transportation plagued by delays, staff turnover, cost overruns - OPB Please see Natural Resources Legislative Report on Transportation Energy Affordability and Utility Accountability The League joined a coalition sign-on letter in April requesting funding to support building resilience. The goal is to use affordable measures to protect people from extreme weather. One Stop Shop 2.0/Energy Efficiency Navigation ( HB 3081 ): This bill would create a navigation program at ODOE to help Oregonians access federal, state, local, and utility energy efficiency incentives all in one place Get the Junk Out of Rates ( SB 88 ): This bill would stop utilities from charging certain expenses like lobbying, advertising, association fees to customers. Protecting Oregonians with Energy Responsibility (POWER Act) ( HB 3546 ): This bill ensures Oregon households are not unfairly burdened by large energy users with grid and transmission costs. Full Funding for Climate Resilience programs Reinvesting the same amount as last biennium in three programs: 
 Rental Home Heat Pump Program (ODOE), $30m 
 
 Community Heat Pump Deployment Program (ODOE), $15m 
 
 Community Resilience Hubs (OREM), $10m ( House Bill 3170 ) 
 
 Environmental Justice Bills. (disadvantaged communities) HB 3170 : Community Resilience Hubs and networks : Fiscal $10M Work Session 3/4, passed to JWM, DHS, Sponsors, Rep. Marsh, Sen Pham and Rep Tan. League testimony 
 
 
 
 HB2548 : new 5/23 amendment and new SMS now. An agriculture workforce labor standards study,HR PH was 5/29. New -7 amendment changing the bill to a study with $616K fiscal. League Testimony . House LWS Work Session was held 4/9 , with no amendments, no recommendation . Natural and Working Lands HB 3489 Timber Severance Tax. House Committee on Revenue. League Testimony for original bill and for -1 Amendment . 
 
 
 
 HB 5039 financial administration of the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board; JWM NR SC, League testimony 


 
 HB 3103A – work session was 3/31. Moved to JWM, Overweight Timber Harvest , League Testimony , new adopted -5 amendment . 
 
 
 
 Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package Update By Claudia Keith HB 215 1: Testimony ; appears dead 
 
 
 
 HB 2152 : Testimony ; work session held 4/8 , passed, moved to Joint Ways and Means (JWM) -2 amendments , Staff Measure Summar y (SMS). $1M+ fiscal 
 
 
 
 HB 2949 : T estimony ; work session held 4/8 , passed to JWM w -5 amendment new SMS. Fiscal is not available, will be completed if the bill gets a hearing in JWM NR SC. 
 
 
 
 HB 3450 A Testimony , work session held, 4/8 passed adopted amendment -1 . fisca l >1M$. referred to JWM 4/11 
 
 
 
 See CEI Hub Seismic Risk Analysis (The study, Impacts of Fuel Releases from the CEI Hub, is intended to characterize and quantify the anticipated damages from the CEI Hub in the event of the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) Earthquake.) See Climate Emergency April 28: CEI emergency management package update. The Bigger Picture: ASCE's ( American Society of Civil Engineers , founded in 1852), Oregon received a C- grade Infrastructure Report Card . Environmental Rights Constitutional Amendment At this point in the session, it is doubtful SJR 28 has enough support to move out of Sen Rules. SJR 28 proposed -1 amendment , Environmental Rights Constitutional amendment (ERA) S enate Joint Resolution - with referral to the 2026 ballot, public hearing was 3/26 . The League provided support with comments testimony . The bill is in Senate Rules , so the Legislative first chamber deadlines are not applicable. A Work Session is not yet scheduled. The -1 a mendment is a partial rewrite and may address the League’s concerns. The OCERA coalition appears to be planning a ballot initiative campaign. ‘ Supporters of Oregon Green Amendment rally at the Oregon State Capitol ‘ | Salem Statesman Journal. Oregon Treasury: Oregon Divest/ Environmental, Social, and Governance Updates By Claudia Keith HB 2081A : Senate Finance and Revenue WS 6/2. Directs the Oregon Investment Council and the State Treasurer to take certain actions to manage the risks of climate change to the Public Employees Retirement Fund. Passed House along party lines. WS Senate Finance & Rev is 5/28. At the request of; (no sponsor: at the request of House Interim Committee on Revenue for Representative Nancy Nathanson) 
 
 HB 2200 -1 , House work session was 4/8, bill was requested by previous Treasury Sec Tobias and supported by Treasurer Steiner, related to ESG investing , identified as the compromise bill. League chose not to comment. 

 Refer: Divest Oregon The Pause Act would enact a 5-year moratorium on new Public Employees Retirement Fund (PER investments in new private fossil fuel funds. 
 March 2025 Fund Performance - Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund and graphics 
 Published by Divest Oregon: 

 Executive Summary and Praise for Report 

 (see SB 681) Addressing the Risk of Climate Change: 

 A Comparison of US Pension Funds' Net Zero Plans – Jan 2025 
 Oregon Public Financing/BANK HB 2966 A: Establishes the State Public Financing / public bank Task Force, Work Session 3/6/2025 passed to Joint Ways and Means (JWM), fiscal: $1.3M , League Testimony , Rep Gamba, Senator, Golden, Frederick, Rep Andersen, Evans .

 
 Historically, since 2009 Public banking policy topic has been included in many Leg sessions, (go here and then use Control F to search for ‘bank’. ) 22 bills mentioning Public and Bank have died in committee over the past 16 years. Other Climate Bills HB 3963 Offshore Wind: House Rules WS was 5/29, passed. Extends the deadline from Sept 1, 2025, to Jan 1, 2027, for the DLCD to draft and submit a report to the Legislative Assembly on the department's activities to develop an Offshore Wind Roadmap and its assessment of enforceable state policies related to offshore wind energy development off the Oregon coast. HB 2566 A : Stand-alone Energy resilience Projects , Work Session was 3/20, moved to JWM, Rep Gamba was the only nay. At the request of Governor Tina Kotek (H CEE), DOE presentation 


 HB 3365 B: climate change instruction /curriculum in public schools, 4/21 moved to Sen Ed, PH 5/7, WS was 5/21 passed, awaiting transfer. League Testimony , NO Fiscal noted , Chief Sponsors: Rep Fragala, Rep McDonald 


 SB 688 A: -5 , Public Utility Commission performance-based regulation of electric utilities, PH 3/12,& 3/19, work session was 3/24, updated $ 974K fiscal , moved to JWM , Sub Cmt Natural Resources. League testimony , Sen. Golden, Sen. Pham SB 827A : Solar and Storage Rebate , SEE Work session 2/17, Gov. Kotek & DOE, Senate voted 21-7, moved to House 3/4, House passed, 5/20. Governor signed 5/28 HB 3546AB , -3 the POWER Act , in Sen E&E , PH 4/30, 5/5, P WS was 5/14, moved with due pass. Sen 2nd reading, carried over. 6/2. The bill requires the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to create a new rate class for the largest energy users in the state. (data centers and other high-volume users). These regulations would only apply to customers in the for-profit utility's service areas of PGE, Pacific Power, and Idaho Power. NO Fiscal, on its way to the floor. The League has approved being listed on a coalition sign on advocacy letter . 

 HB 3189 in JWM . Oregon lawmakers introduce legislation to rein in utility bills | KPTV , Citizens Utility Board CUB presentation here . 
 
 
 SB 1143A : -3 , moved to JWM, with bipartisan vote, PH was 3/19, Work session was 4/7 SEE, PUC established a pilot program that allows each natural gas Co to develop a utility-scale thermal energy network (TEN) pilot project to provide heating and cooling services to customers. Senator Lieber, Sollman, Representative Levy B, Senator Smith DB, Representative Andersen, Marsh. Example: Introduction to the MIT Thermal Energy Networks (MITTEN) Plan for Rapid and Cost-Effective Campus Decarbonization. 
 
 
 HB 3609 work session 4/8, moved to JWM. The measure requires electric companies to develop and file with the Oregon Public Utility Commission a distributed power plant program for the procurement of grid services from customers of the electric company who enroll in the program. H CEE, PH 3/11 


 HB 3653 in Sen E&E, PH 4/28, WS was 5/5, 6-0 vote. House vote was 51 - 9. Senate 5/15 vote passed, waiting for Gov signature. Allows authorized state agencies to enter into energy performance contracts without requiring a competitive procurement if the authorized state agency follows rules that the Attorney General adopts, negotiates a performance guarantee, and enters into the contract with a qualified energy service company that the ODOE prequalifies and approves. 
 
 

 Climate Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust Here is one example of how to track ODEQ Climate Protection Program cases. Basically, there are a number of active federal lawsuits , Climate Litigation May 30 Updates Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 85 lawsuits , (active and dismissed) mentioning Oregon. Our Children’s Trust. ‘ 22 Youth Sue Donald Trump Over Executive Orders That Escalate Climate Crisis ’ 5/29 Press Release Media Coverage: May 29, 2025 - E&E News Youth sue Trump admin over efforts to ‘unleash’ American fossil fuels May 29, 2025 - Montana Right Now Youth-led lawsuit challenges Trump's energy policies in new case May 29, 2025 - Bloomberg Law Youth Launch New Climate Lawsuit Against Trump’s Energy Orders May 29, 2025 - Barron’s Youths Sue Trump Over US Climate Orders May 29, 2025 - Common Dreams Youth Sue Over Trump Executive Orders That 'Escalate' Climate Crisis May 29, 2025 - Montana Public Radio Young people sue Trump administration over climate change May 29, 2025 - The New York Times Youth Climate Activists Sue Trump Administration Over Executive Orders May 29, 2025 - The Guardian Trump violating right to life with anti-environment orders, youth lawsuit says Highlights of House and Senate Policy Committee and Chamber Votes 5/28 Senate E&E Information Meeting The meeting focused on two topics, first Rep. Gamba’s HB 3609 , now in Joint W&M after being reported out favorably by House CE&E. It would require each investor-owned electric utility to develop a distributed power plant (DPP) program for procuring grid services from distributed energy resources—small-scale generation and storage systems located on the consumer’s side of the meter that connect to the electric grid, such as rooftop solar photovoltaic units, smart thermostats and water heaters, and battery storage. A utility customer could enroll in the utility’s DPP program directly or through a third party, and the utility could recover in rates any prudently incurred costs. The PUC would have to develop and adopt five-year procurement targets and performance incentives for utilities to meet the targets. The bill carries an estimated fiscal impact to PUC of $993,015 in Other Funds and 3 positions (2.63 FTE) in the 2025- 27 biennium, and $839,946 in Other Funds and 3 positions (3.00 FTE) in 2027-29. The measure may have an as yet undetermined fiscal impact on special districts. If LFO receives requested information, it will issue a revised fiscal impact statement. Gamba said the coming "load avalanche” will require us to develop multiple solutions before new transmission lines and power sources can be up and running. Rolling blackouts due to excessive peak loads could come as soon as this summer. This bill would aggregate many behind-the-meter sources that can “shave” those peak loads. An OSSIA rep said scaling up DPPs will let utilities use existing energy devices that customers have already invested in to address issues with the power grid. This is the cheapest energy on the market. The bill would not require massive new investment, but would require statutory directives and timelines for DPP deployment. Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) oppose the bill, saying their demand-response programs, compensating customers who adjust their usage patterns, have succeeded in shifting electricity usage away from peak hours, and they don't need a mandatory program directed by PUC. Second topic was a Climate Protection Program update. DEQ's Collin McConnaha and Nicole Singh covered the familiar background of the CPP since 2020, leading to the 2024 rulemaking in response to the program's temporary shutdown. The first 2 years of program experience saw significant reductions in GHG emissions from fossil fuel use, largely due to replacement by biofuels and electricity. DEQ's 2024 rulemaking drew more than 10,000 public comments and more input from industry through the RAC. Industry contributed greatly to the rulemaking and were responsible for many program changes, notably more flexible compliance options and protections for Emission-Intensive Trade-Exposed Industries, which will have no compliance obligations in the first 3 years. DEQ will also collaborate with PUC in tracking the impact of the CPP on natural gas rates. The Community Climate Investment (CCI) program has been retained as a cornerstone with improved accountability and transparency. During Q&A, Sens. Brock Smith and Robinson grilled DEQ on the meaning of "equitable" in the context of the CE transition, nuts and bolts of the CCI program, compliance instrument prices, and overall CPP cost projections. Robinson put his climate change denial on record again and expressed skepticism that the CPP's public health benefits could possibly balance the costs to consumers and industry as projected in DEQ's fiscal impact statement. The topic of the "cap and pave" mechanism being developed in Joint Transportation did not come up. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED : What is your passion related to Climate Emergency ? You can help. V olunteers are needed. The short legislative session begins in January of 2026. Many State Agency Boards and Commissions meet regularly year-round and need monitoring. If any area of climate or natural resources is of interest to you, please contact Peggy Lynch, Natural Resources Coordinator, or Claudia Keith Climate Emergency at peggylynchor@gmail.com Or climatepolicy@lwvor.org . Training will be offered. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Governance , Revenue , Natural Resources , and Social Policy report section

NABILA KHAN (she/her) NABILA KHAN (she/her) Youth Advocacy Co Director youthadvocacy@lwvor.org