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Back to All Legislative Reports Social Policy Legislative Report - Week of 3/17 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 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 Behavioral Health Education Gun Policy Healthcare Housing Reproductive Health After School and Summer By Katie Riley During the week of March 10 the Joint Committee on Ways & Means on Education heard testimony from the Department of Education regarding their budget requests. The reports included another review of the results of the 2024 HB 4082 summer funding and proposed 2025 funding of $78.5 million (includes funding for 7 ODE positions to collect and analyze data). On March 13th HB 2007 was filed to amend the summer learning grant program to provide specific requirements to increase accountability regarding academic learning. The bill does not differentiate between summer school and after school hours' activities. On March 12 the Senate Committee on Education heard testimony on SB 141 to study methods to increase accountability in education. This bill seems more aspirational in terms of designing accountability for the future. Possibly, there may be some meshing of requirements. It is hoped that separate funding of afterschool and summer after school hours funding can be provided through SB 876 and HB3162. Behavioral Health By Stephanie Aller HB 2059 directs the Oregon Health Authority to create a unit dedicated to building sufficient adult behavioral health facilities in the state. The bill will have a public hearing before the House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care on March 25. HB 3129 establishes the Higher Education Behavioral Health Workforce Expansion Fund. The bill had a public hearing in front of the House Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development on February 25. LWVOR submitted testimony for that hearing. Another public hearing and work session has been scheduled for March 18. SB 527 had a public hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health on March 13. The bill directs OHA to distribute grants to local workforce development boards. The local workforce boards would partner with other entities to conduct behavioral health education and training for high school students. Senator Patterson testified that SB 527 is the only bill this session focused on training workers for entry-level jobs in behavioral health. It is based on a successful pilot program in Marion County. Education By Jean Pierce Recent Advocacy – Removing Cap on Special Education funding HB 2953-A LWVOR submitted testimony supporting HB2953-A, which would remove the percentage cap on the amount of money distributed from the State School Fund to districts for special education students. Eighty-eight percent of school districts throughout Oregon have exceeded the cap, but the waiver which is available to those districts has covered only 30% of the amount of funding which they received for students under the cap. Since public schools are required to accommodate these students’ needs, they must make cuts in other programs. Education Budget Request Reports The Joint Subcommittee on Education is currently hearing from agencies describing how they have used funding and their plans for the future. Resources for the discussion include the powerpoint for this week’s presentations which address provisions of SB5515 . This gives a valuable overview of Department of Education agencies. Presentations are scheduled to continue at least until March 25th. Impact of Federal Actions on Oregon During the past week, the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education was slashed in half. Although shutting down the Department altogether would require a vote from Congress, slashing the staff would achieve a similar result. Just last month, hundreds of millions in research grants funded by USED were cut . According to OPB. ”public records provided by OSU and Portland State University, the grant-funded work that’s been directed to stop varies widely from wildfire research to cybersecurity training to behavioral healthcare studies. The orders originate from a dozen different federal agencies. Among others, PSU has received orders to pause studies funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Energy. OSU received similar directions from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Interior Department.” The University of Oregon is frequently updating this webpage announcing federal executive orders and research activities. Thousands of hearings on discrimination in the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) were cancelled when half of the OCR offices were closed around the country. Oregonians are referred to the Seattle branch of OCR, which remains open. More than 300 employees in the Federal Student Aid office were terminated, as well, slashing more than a quarter of the division in charge of student loans and college tuition grants. Nevertheless, the DOE claims that it will "continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency's purview, including formula funding, student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students, and competitive grantmaking. Unfortunately, no plan has been suggested for how that might happen. The Education Law Center has a helpful tool showing how much federal funding for K-12 education each state is receiving for FY 2025. The total for Oregon is more than $433 Million. This includes close to $200 million for Title 1 (funding for educating low income students) and more than $170 million for IDEA (funding education of students with special needs). While chaos in the Department of Education is capturing the headlines, Congress is also poised to consider S 292, The Educational Choice for Children Act, a $10 billion dollar annual national private school voucher program. Donors would receive tax credits for up to 10% of their adjusted gross income. In Oregon, this could mean initiatives like school vouchers, tax credits, or education savings accounts (ESAs) that would allow parents to use public funds for their child's education at a school of their choice, including private and homeschooling. Many of these private schools are religious. Equally concerning is that the bill prohibits measures of accountability – donors would simply need to claim that the expenses have some connection to education. It is possible that this measure, which is proposing a change in the tax code, will be folded into a large budget reconciliation bill. The bill represents the federal government’s plans to phase out funding of public education. The loss of roughly 10% (or more for some districts) of total funding that comes from the federal government would be devastating to students and schools in public schools in Oregon. Gun Policy By Marge Easley On March 13, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees held a joint informational hearing on gun policy with invited testimony from a wide range of gun violence prevention groups, including the Alliance for a Safe Oregon, OHSU Gun Violence Prevention Research Center, Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions, Portland Police Bureau, Brady United, Giffords Law Center, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Multnomah County Public Health Department. The purpose was to underscore the need for additional gun safety laws and to set the stage for upcoming hearings. HB 3075 , the first gun bill of the session, contains the nuts-and-bolts implementation details for Measure 114 and will be heard in House Judiciary on March 17. Measure 114, strongly supported by the League and passed by voters in 2022, requires a permit to purchase a firearm and bans high-capacity magazines. Since that time it has been held up in the courts on constitutional grounds, but on March 12 a long-awaited verdict from the Oregon Court of Appeals declared it constitutional. A likely appeal will take the case to the Oregon Supreme Court, but passage of HB 3075, along with the -1 amendment , will help to ensure a smooth roll-out of the measure. HB 3076 , which d irects the Department of Justice to study the establishment of a state gun dealer licensing program, has a March 20 hearing date. The aim is to prevent the flow of illegal guns to our communities by way of gun shop thefts and straw purchases. The League will be submitting supportive testimony. Healthcare By Christa Danielson HB 2010 A will continue critical state funding for the Oregon Health Plan by continuing the assessments on health plans, hospitals and the Oregon reinsurance program. The bill has passed through the House and Revenue Committees and will be having the final reading in the Senate on Monday March 17th. The League submitted testimony. HB 2040 would establish a complaint process for providers to submit complaints against health insurers to the Department of Consumer and Business Services or Oregon Health Authority, Still in committee, no hearing as yet. SB 296 would study 1) ways to expedite eligibility for Medicaid for patients leaving the hospital, 2) needed changes to regulations around adult foster homes and residential care facilities and 3) how to expand medical respite programs.This bill was formed from a work group to study discharges from the hospital to relieve bottlenecking and long stays in the hospital. Has passed the Senate. Referred to Ways and Means. HB 3225 stipulates that to have controlling interest in a practice of medicine the physicians must be licensed in this state, be actively involved in managing patient’s care and reside within the state. Public hearing scheduled 3/25. Housing By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona LWVOR submitted a letter in support of HB 2968 -- Delayed schedule fee payment, Municipal Development Protection Fund . This bill, if passed, will reduce development costs for new housing projects and at the same time ensure that local jurisdictions receive the System Development Charge (SDC) payments they need to build the infrastructure needed to support the growth that comes along with new housing. HB 2968 allows local governments to defer SDC payments owed by developers until 180 days after the certificate of occupancy has been issued. Affordable housing developers would have up to one year to pay their fees. Oregon Housing and Community Services would create a Municipal Development Protection Fund to cover the cost of unpaid fees. The Fund would be responsible for collecting unpaid fees from the developers. This program will reduce costs for all housing developers by reducing the need to take on debt in order to cover their fees but will benefit low-income housing developers to an even greater extent. SB 722 is scheduled for a public hearing on March 19 before the Senate Committee on Housing and Development. The bill would prohibit residential landlords from using Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to artificially set rents or occupancy rates. The bill would amend the Landlord-Tenant Act to prohibit the use of price-fixing AI software. This practice is the subject of national attention and concern, and Oregon has joined a federal lawsuit in opposition of this practice. Many local jurisdictions are trying to curtail the use of this tool to protect renters from such rent spikes. It also shortens the new construction exemption for rent stabilization from 15 years to 7 years, protecting Oregonians in newer units from unlimited rent hikes while still promoting development and preventing gentrification-driven displacement. HB 2964 is scheduled for a public hearing by the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on March 19. This bill would require Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to fund predevelopment costs to develop affordable housing for low-income households to rent or own. The Department will also provide technical assistance to nonprofits who receive grants or loans. The bill would establish an Affordable Housing Predevelopment Loan Fund. Money from the General Fund will be allocated to the department to award grants and loans for predevelopment costs of developing housing subject to affordability restrictions to make the properties affordable to low-income households. Reproductive Health By Patricia Garner SB 548, that requires an individual to be age 18 in order to marry passed the Senate with only one Nay vote. It has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. At this time there is no organized opposition against the bill. The League submitted testimony for it. Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Governance , and Natural Resources report sections.

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: Behavioral Health Education Gun Policy Housing Legislation Immigration Behavioral Health By Trish Garner HB 2005 - Dash 4, 5 Amendments In this Session the legislature has been working on significant changes about when and how mental health care is provided to those experiencing serious mental health issues. While the resulting bills certainly involve increased funding, there has also been a clear effort to bring a wide array of stakeholders together to examine the practicalities and details of treatment rather than just appropriating funds. There has also been a recognition that there is a need for comprehensive, rather than piecemeal, action to deal with Oregon’s interrelated mental health care systems. The infrastructure set out in this legislation seeks to help people get the help they need and to do so more quickly in order to avoid escalation to higher needs for care and use of resources. Much of this action likely reflects the pressure that US District Judge Adrienne Nelson has exerted on Oregon with her imposition of fines for noncompliance with her order that Oregon take “all reasonable steps” to admit criminal defendants to the state hospital within 7 days of being determined by a court to be unable to “aid and assist” in their defense due to mental incompetence. [ OPB article about court ruling ] These are the patients who currently represent over 95% of patients currently in the Oregon State Hospital. This bottleneck complicates the treatment of those who are or should be civilly, or involuntarily, committed. Judge Nelson set the fines at $500.00 per day per “aid and assist” individual. In a move that is likely related to this pressure from Judge Nelson’s order, two bills relating to mental health treatment were just combined and packaged into one 142-page omnibus bill ( HB 2005 - Dash 4 and 5 Amendments ). One of these bills is HB 2467 - Dash 3 Amendment which addresses civil commitment. HB 2481 - Dash 11 Amendment takes on the “aid and assist” process. HB 2005 also requires local governments to allow licensed residential treatment facilities within an urban growth boundary without requiring a zone change or conditional use permit for certain properties. HB 2005 – Dash 5 Amendment has passed the Joint Ways & Means Committee with a “do pass” recommendation. For more detail, HB 2005 incorporates HB 2467’s definitions of the specific factors that a court can consider when determining whether someone should be civilly committed., i.e. danger to self or others, or being unable to provide for basic personal needs. A person is dangerous to self if their mental disorder resulted or likely will result in “serous” physical harm to self in the “near future.” Dangerousness to others is similarly defined but there is no requirement for the harm to be “serious.” Importantly, “near future” clarifies the current legal standard that the harm be “imminent.” The bill also outlines court procedures for determining incapacity. HB 2481’s contribution to HB 2005 (beginning at p. 92) is an itemization of factors that courts may consider when determining whether defendants are mentally competent to proceed in their defense. 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. It also requires courts to appoint counsel for these defendants and if the defendant is unable to afford counsel, the court will appoint one at state expense. HB 2481 places specific limits of the amount of time a person can be involuntarily committed to a facility such as OSH depending on the nature of the crime and the interface with community treatment. The Judicial Department is also mandated to study the interactions between the state and tribal entities regarding behavioral health treatment and involuntary commitment procedures in these communities. The HB 200A-5 – Amendment appropriates $5,400,000 to the OR Health Authority for payments made to community mental health programs regarding civil commitments and $1,100,000 to the OR Public Defense Commission to provide public defense to financially eligible persons. This appropriation is part of the effort to make a make a greater impact on mental health treatment. Other bills, including HB 2015, 20224, 2059, described below, also add funds to this process. HB 2015A - Dash 4 Amendment seeks to modify current practices in residential treatment facilities such as those relating to early transition programs, nurse staffing and grouping patients who have similar needs for services in the same facilities and thereby optimize care. It passed the full Ways and Means Committee with a “do pass” recommendation and an appropriation of $2,250,000. With one negative vote (Senator Daniel Bonham) the full Ways & Means Committee passed HB 2024A - Dash 6 Amendment with a “do pass” recommendation. The bill establishes a grant program that supports the recruitment and retention of behavioral health workers at treatment facilities. The appropriation was initially set at $45,000,000 but the final bill provided for $7,000,000. The full Ways & Means Committee passed HB 2059A - Dash 4 Amendment with a “do pass” recommendation. It appropriates $65,000,000 to increase access residential health care services. OHA is directed to establish a unit that will develop plans and provide funding for the construction and staffing of these facilities in collaboration with regional partners and practitioners. At the time of this report (6-19-25) HB 3294 - Dash 3 Amendment was passed in the House with only one “nay” vote (Representative Jami Cate) and its First Reading has taken place in the Senate. It proposes changes to previous laws regarding hospital staffing plans and minimum nurse-to-patient ratios. Education By Jean Pierce SB 1098 , the Freedom to Read bill, was signed into law by the Governor. LWVOR provided testimony in support. Senate Bill 5516 is headed to the Governor for a signature. The bill will increase the budget for Oregon’s State School Fund by more than 11% from the last biennium. Unfortunately, this increase is needed simply to keep funding at current service levels. According to the American Institute on Research (AIR), in order to provide adequate funding for education, Oregon would need a 30% increase, with more attention to equitable spending for the education of low income and high needs students. SB 5525 -3, the Higher Education Coordinating Commission budget, was approved by the Senate and received a Do Pass Recommendation from Ways and Means. For the most part, the proposed budget maintains the Current Service Level, (CSL). It is important to note that the Oregon Opportunity Grant and Benefits Navigators would at least be maintained at CSL, but legislators expressed concern that funding for the Outdoor School Program would be cut. The allocation is 6.2% below the last biennium, so this bill does nothing to address the fact that Oregon has been ranked 46th in the nation for state investment in higher education. They recognized that in future sessions, the thinking needs to shift from CSL to setting a higher target. How the Federal Reconciliation Bill May Affect Oregon K-12 School Vouchers: The Senate version of the Reconciliation bill retains the House provision that households earning at or below 300% of a given area's median gross income could receive a $5000 tax credit for private school tuition. The League of Women Voters opposes using public funds for private education. If this federal budget is passed, $20 billion will go to funding tuition credits for private schools and will not be available for public education. According to edtrust.org , the total 2025 Estimated Federal Education Budget for Oregon is over $1.8 Billion. Higher Education – Student Loans: Sameer Gadkaree, president of The Institute for College Access & Success, released the following warning about current provisions of the Reconciliation BIll : “The proposed overhaul of the student loan repayment system would take the unprecedented step of eliminating existing protections for borrowers. It would implement an overly complex plan that departs from decades of precedent by forcing the lowest-income borrowers to make unaffordable payments and extending the repayment term to 30 years. Taken together, this will likely drive many more borrowers into default, which comes with severe penalties, including the seizure of Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit refunds and wage garnishment.” According to the Student Borrower Protection Center , there are currently more than 530,000 Oregonians with federal student loan debt, owing more than $23 billion to the federal government. In January of this year, with a 15% borrower delinquency rate. According to the Attorney General’s office , “ The average Oregon student loan borrower owes over $36,091 by the time they graduate.” Gun Policy By Marge Easley SB 243 C was passed by the Joint Ways and Means Committee on June 20. This newly amended version of the bill will ban rapid-fire devices, allow cities and counties to ban firearms in public buildings, and stipulate March 15, 2026, as the implementation date for Measure 114 (2022). HB 3076 A , which creates an Oregon gun dealer licensing program, was passed out of the Joint Ways and Means Committee on June 20 with a A-5 Amendment. At least two of the votes were “Courtesy Yes-es,” to permit the bill to receive a hearing on the floor. The amendment states that licensing will be required of large-scale gun dealers starting July 1, 2027, and will be expanded to all dealers the following year. It also provides a sliding scale for the licensing fee based on the average annual firearm sales of the dealer during the previous three years. Passage of this bill has become increasingly important with the announcement that the number of federal gun dealer inspectors, under the auspices of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, will soon be slashed by two-thirds. A recent Capital Chronicle article by Daniel Webster, a highly respected researcher at Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, provides strong justification for Oregon to have its own gun dealer licensing program. Housing By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona Bond Funds for low-income housing preservation and development The Oregon Housing Alliance is urging the Legislature to dedicate General Obligation bonds in SB 5505 for the following: LIFT Affordable Rental Housing Program: $600 million LIFT Affordable Homeownership Program: $100 million Permanent Supportive Housing Program: $80 million Preservation of existing affordable homes: $100 million Significant effort is being devoted throughout Oregon to moving unsheltered individuals and families into housing. Meeting with success is particularly challenging because of the overwhelming shortage of housing affordable to extremely low-income households. These investments are key to making more permanent housing available to people most in need. Lottery Bonds -- SB 5531 Housing Infrastructure Fund: $100 million Stabilize affordable housing and manufactured home parks: $185 million Low-income housing developers identify the cost of building the infrastructure to support their developments as a barrier to producing more housing units. These lottery bonds would be deposited in the Housing Infrastructure Fund for the purpose of providing grants to support key community infrastructure investments including transportation, water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure that will make feasible development of affordable housing for households with very low, low, or moderate incomes. Lottery bonds would also be used to provide financial assistance to aid in the acquisition, renovation, or maintenance of existing regulated low-income housing undergoing significant recapitalization, to publicly supported housing, or to preserve affordability of manufactured dwelling parks. Homelessness Prevention Funding A recent Oregonian article highlighted concerns about the impact of the significant cut to the Governor’s proposed budget for eviction prevention. According to the article, the cuts would reduce the number of people the program could assist with emergency rent assistance, legal aid, and other services from 27,713 over the last two years to 4,331 in the upcoming biennium --Source: Legislative Fiscal Office. Advocates and providers make the point that shelter beds are much more expensive than providing rent assistance. Maintaining a shelter bed for a year can cost up to $50,000. The article states that in Multnomah County, the average annual cost is more than $21,000. Prevention services, such as rent assistance, cost $11,000 per person served in Multnomah County in the last fiscal year. In addition to the cost, keeping people in their homes avoids trauma and disruption. Bills passed HB 2964 A Enrolled requires OHCS to award loans for the predevelopment costs of affordable housing and a grant to assist nonprofits receiving grants or loans. The bill passed the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on April 15. It was then referred to the Senate Committee on Housing and Development. On June 13, the speaker signed the bill and the Senate president signed it on June 16. It is awaiting the Governor’s signature. LWVOR testimony supported passage of this bill. HB 3054 A Enrolled will limit rent increases and sales constraints by a landlord in a home park or marina, which can threaten residents’ ability to stay in their homes. It creates an exception for certain infrastructure upgrades approved by a vote of the tenants. It will fix at six percent maximum rent increases for rental spaces in larger facilities and will limit to 10 percent the maximum increase in rent paid by the purchaser of a dwelling or home in a facility. It will prohibit a landlord from requiring aesthetic improvements or internal inspections as conditions of sale. The bill passed the House, and the Senate Committee on Housing and Development held a work session on May 19 and recommended passage. On June 16, both the speaker and Senate president signed the bill. It is awaiting the Governor’s signature. LWVOR submitted a letter in support. HB 3521 is now headed to Gov. Kotek’s desk for her signature. It will allow Oregon renters who haven’t signed a lease agreement to have their deposits returned if the home has mold, unsafe electrical wiring, or other defects making it uninhabitable. With so few rentals available for prospective tenants, “hold deposits” can help renters secure a home. However, some landlords have taken advantage of the system to pressure renters to accept residences that do not meet health and safety standards. Landlords will have five days to return deposits or face a fee equivalent to the deposit they charged or more. The bill passed the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on April 17 in a 33-18 vote, and on June 12, it passed the Senate Committee on Housing and Development in a 20-8 vote. When enacted, the bill will apply to deposits received on or after Jan. 1, 2026. Bill Progressing The Joint Committee on Ways and Means held a work session on SB 829 B on June 13 and recommended passage by a 21–0–2 vote with an -A3 amendment. It passed the Senate on June 18 by a 24–5 vote. The third House reading was scheduled for June 20. The bill would require the Department of Consumer and Business Services to establish an Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund to help eligible entities with the costs of paying property insurance or liability insurance premiums for affordable housing, shelters and other facilities. It also requires the department to study the feasibility of creating and operating a state reinsurance program or devising another solution to support price stability in the market for insurance to cover affordable housing. Immigration By Becky Gladstone and Claudia Keith The League is hopeful that it is likely some existing immigrant related agency social service programs will receive additional funding at the end of the session reconciliation bill. Highlights Refugees and Asylum Seekers - American Immigration Council A Trump Executive Order Could Affect Ukrainian Refugees in Iowa - The New York Times 5th asylum seeker detained after immigration hearing in Portland | kgw.com Legislative Bulletin —Wed June 18 , 2025 - National Immigration Forum Oregon Legislature BIPOC Caucus - Social Media Link Oregon Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement Click Scroll Bar on Bottom of Table to View All Columns Bill # Description Policy Committee Status Fiscal M$ Chief Sponsors+ Comments SB 149 A Immigration (support services) JWM waiting for Fiscal Y Sen Jama -3 amendment SB 599A Immig status: discrimination in RealEstate transactions Gov Signed Eff 5/28/2 5 N Sen Campos SB 611 A Food for All Oregonians - for undocumented JWM 8 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. Study Bill, see -7 amend JWM moves 0.6 Rep Valderrama, Nelson , Munoz League Testimony Fiscal -7 Amendment HB 2976 funding for interpretation of indigenous languages. JWM 1.5 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. Gov Signed RepHudson, SenCampos League Testi mony HB 2543 funds for universal representation and gives funds to Oregon State Bar for legal immigration matters HC Jud dead 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 (Prev yr legal rep funds eliminated) JWM WS was 5/29, passed LFO d etails Amendment Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency , Governance , and Natural Resources , and Revenue report sections.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Sine Die - Week of August 11 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: Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package State, Federal and UN News and Reports Climate Lawsuits/Our Children's Trust As of Aug 8th the governor ‘s deadline to veto bills has passed and no Climate related bills were affected. See June 30 CE LR for complete list of all Climate League advocacy legislation. One of many Federal Executive Branch actions affecting policy and Funding that unfavorably affects Oregon Climate Action Plans: The White House took down the nation’s top climate report. You can still find it here - OPB Inside Trump’s campaign to censor climate science - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment - LSE. How Trump Is Transforming the U.S. Government’s Environmental Role - The New York Times The expected Transportation budget special session will start Aug 29. Gov. Tina Kotek calls for special session , delays ODOT layoffs | OPB. The League expects the Transportation Climate Friendly funding issues will be addressed . Additionally, Critical Energy infrastructure, Natural & Working Lands, Environmental Justice, Nuclear Energy Safety, Community Resiliency and other Climate CE failed policy and budget priorities could reappear in the 2026 short session. Find additional Climate legislation in the NR Leg Report. Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Emergency Management Package By Nikki Mandell and Laura Rogers None of the CEI bills which the League supported advanced this session. HB 215 1: LWVOR supported HB 2151’s expansion of the permitted purposes for which monies in the Seismic Risk Mitigation Fund could be spent. Testimony ; HB 2152 would have directed the Department of Energy to create an action plan based on the Energy Security Plan, including strategies to increase geographic diversity of liquid fuel storage by region, strategies to improve statewide liquid fuel reserves, and a prioritized list of locations for expanding storage capacity at existing storage sites or developing storage capacity elsewhere. Testimony ; HB 2949 would have directed the Department of Energy to assess the potential for requiring owners of terminals located in the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub to obtain risk bonds (i.e., financial assurance for costs associated with catastrophic releases after an earthquake) T estimony ; The League submitted comments on HB 3450 , saying LWVOR agreed with the urgent need for a transition plan for the storage of bulk oils and liquid fuels held in the CEI Hub. However, the bill needed amendments to clarify both the objectives of such a plan and the process used to achieve those objectives. For instance, it would help to identify what is meant by “resilience of the energy sector”. Testimony , In July, the Risk Bond Coalition agreed that the current goal is to file and enact a risk bond bill similar to HB 2949 and a forward placement bill similar to HB 2152 in the 2026 legislative session. The group has a strategy and is implementing first steps now. State, Federal, and UN News and Reports Federal Environmental Justice Tracker – Environmental and Energy Law Program | EELP Law Harvard Governor Kotek Releases Statement in Response to Climate Danger Rollback | Gov Kotek Press Release Oregon: 2025 Energy and Climate Policies Recap | 7/16 CETI Oregon’s 2025 Legislative Session: Climate Wins, Losses , and the Road Ahead | 7/3, Climate Solutions, World Court says countries are legally obligated to curb emissions, protect climate | 7/23, UN News New law to bring climate education to classrooms across Oregon | 7/24, OPB Merkley, Senate and House Colleagues Fight for Children's Fundamental Right to a Healthy , Livable Planet | 7/16 , Sen Merkley 2025 Legislative Session Debrief | 7/9, Oregon Environmental Council See How Oregon is Addressing Environmental Justice and Environmental Justice for Farmworkers | EJ State by State .org Youth and DC Lawmakers Rally Behind Climate Rights Resolution | Bloomberg A Fresh Look at Eastern Oregon Issues - Pac/West Lobby Group Detailed Clean Energy and GHG Emission Mitigation Topics The momentum of legislation to advance Oregon’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction programs and goals slowed further in the 2025 regular session. Climate advocates often found themselves “playing defense” to prevent existing beneficial programs or policies from being rolled back or defunded. Some key bills were shelved or weakened. Notably, HB 3477 again failed to advance, as in 2024. This bill would have modernized Oregon’s woefully outdated statutory goals for reducing GHG emissions, updating the 2050 goal and replacing the outdated interim goals with new goals for 2030 and 2040, in line with current science aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The measure became a “sacrificial lamb” in 2024 deliberations and evidently retained that status this year. The trucking industry mounted a concerted campaign to delay, if not kill outright, Oregon’s Clean Truck Rules , which are aimed at incentivizing the shift from production and use of gas- and diesel-powered trucks to cleaner electric- or hydrogen-powered options. The industry-backed HB 3119 sought to delay implementation of the rules by an additional year to 2027. It likely would have passed but became moot when DEQ pledged to use “enforcement discretion” to provide temporary relief to manufacturers that face challenges in meeting their ZEV sales targets . On July 10, the EQC formally voted to delay implementation. The outlook for these rules beyond 2027 is highly uncertain. The trucking industry seems likely to keep seeking to kill the program, especially as the U.S. EPA has revoked the federal waivers that allowed California, Oregon, and other states to implement stricter emissions rules for heavy-duty trucks. HB 2961 would have increased the percentage of electrical service capacity for EV charging that must be installed in parking areas of certain new multifamily and mixed-use buildings in the Portland metro area. The bill died in the Rules Committee. Utility regulation, rate affordability, and transmission issues captured more attention and support. Bills that passed with the support of LWVOR and our advocacy partners included: The FAIR Energy Act (HB 3179 ), limiting how often utilities may raise billing rates, and prohibiting residential rate increases during peak winter months; Performance-Based Regulation of Electrical Utilities (SB 688) , creating tools for the PUC to ensure that utility profits align with actual performance outcomes—wildfire safety, grid reliability, and lower bills for ratepayers; HB 3792 , requiring investor-owned electric utilities to collect at least $40 million per year for low-income electric bill payment and crisis assistance, double the minimum amount in current law; The POWER Act (HB 3546) , signed by the governor, directing the PUC to hold large energy users such as data centers, cryptocurrency, and artificial intelligence facilities accountable for paying for their share of electricity costs; HB 3336 , signed by the governor, requiring investor-owned utilities to file strategic plans with the PUC to use grid-enhancing technologies where cost-effective, reducing the need to build new transmission lines; The Hydrogen Oversight & Public Notice Act (SB 685) , signed by the governor, ensuring that natural gas customers are informed about, and have an opportunity to comment on, a utility’s plans to increase the amount of hydrogen blended with natural gas; HB 2066 , requiring the PUC to establish a regulatory framework for allowing the ownership and deployment of microgrids and community microgrids within electric utilities’ service territories. The gloomier than expected budget outlook stifled advocates’ ambitions for state spending on clean and renewable energy. In addition, the failure of the major Transportation package derailed efforts to invest in clean transportation. Lawmakers authorized no additional funding for existing ODOE programs offering grants and rebates for clean and renewable energy projects. HB 2567 , s igned by the governor, extends the Residential Heat Pump program and fund through 2032, and allows ODOE to provide additional incentives for contractors installing heat pumps in rural or frontier communities, but the final budget contains no additional dollars to support the program. HB 2566 would have made stand-alone energy resilience projects eligible for ODOE's Community Renewable Energy grants, and HB 3081 would have provided support for ODOE to launch One Stop Shop 2.0 to help users navigate the diverse funding sources available to make home energy upgrades more affordable. Both bills died in Joint Ways and Means. These programs are likely to run out of funding soon if they haven’t already, while the Trump administration seeks to gut key climate investments authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Oregon and other states have benefited enormously from federal dollars over the past three years to support clean energy development, electric vehicle infrastructure, rebates for home electrification, and frontline community resilience. Unless the state steps up to fill some of the funding gap, the blow to Oregon’s clean energy transition could be severe. At times, the sheer volume of bills moving through the 2025 legislature threatened to paralyze the system and created confusion as to the most salient legislative priorities. HB 2006 would have addressed this by limiting the number of bills that state agencies and officials, policy committees, and individual lawmakers could ask the Legislative Council to prepare in a session beginning in an odd-numbered year. The measure died in committee. 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 July 11 Updates Another source: Columbia University Law - Sabin Climate DB lists 86 lawsuits , (active and dismissed) mentioning Oregon. July 16, 2025, Congressional Resolution * — Our Children's Trust LWVOR has requested LWV to provide congressional advocacy and approval to LWVOR to lobby Oregon’s Congressional team concerning Congressional * Children's Fundamental Rights to Life and Stable Climate System resolution, supporting the principles underpinning Lighthiser v. Trump , the new case brought by 22 young Americans challenging the Trump administration’s pro-fossil fuel and anti-climate science Executive Orders. The resolution is sponsored by Senator Merkley, Representatives Schakowsky, Jayapal, and Raskin. Find major progress on climate related litigation at Our Children’s Trust website. 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

Jim joined the League of Women Voters of Oregon as Voter Newsletter Editor in 2023. Jim Buck Voter Newsletter Editor Jim joined the League of Women Voters of Oregon as Voter Newsletter Editor in 2023.

/ About / Biennial Reports / Biennial Reports Biennial Report 2021-2023

Stephanie Haycock is a global media and entertainment technology executive with over 18 years of expertise in product strategy, team leadership, and digital transformation. During her tenure at Disney, she orchestrated the launch of Disney+ across 202 countries in 16 languages, architected enterprise content planning systems, and managed multi-million dollar technology portfolios. As a world traveler with experience in 50+ destinations, she brings a unique global perspective to product development, emphasizing customer empathy and cultural inclusion in creating seamless user experiences. Drawing from two decades of Disney magic-making, she recently founded Wonder Works Consulting, a company that transforms technical challenges into compelling narratives for businesses through social media technology, website development, and comprehensive technical services. Her mission is to help every business tell their story brilliantly, creating "wow" experiences that captivate audiences and drive success in today's digital landscape. Stephanie Haycock Issues and Positions Chair Stephanie Haycock is a global media and entertainment technology executive with over 18 years of expertise in product strategy, team leadership, and digital transformation. During her tenure at Disney, she orchestrated the launch of Disney+ across 202 countries in 16 languages, architected enterprise content planning systems, and managed multi-million dollar technology portfolios. As a world traveler with experience in 50+ destinations, she brings a unique global perspective to product development, emphasizing customer empathy and cultural inclusion in creating seamless user experiences. Drawing from two decades of Disney magic-making, she recently founded Wonder Works Consulting, a company that transforms technical challenges into compelling narratives for businesses through social media technology, website development, and comprehensive technical services. Her mission is to help every business tell their story brilliantly, creating "wow" experiences that captivate audiences and drive success in today's digital landscape.

Back to All Legislative Reports Climate Emergency Legislative Report - Sine Die 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: 2 023 Highlights C limate Budget Package E nergy Budget Package Clean Energy and Resilient Buildings Environmental Justice O ther Climate Emergency News Climate Emergency By Claudia Keith, Climate Emergency Coordinator and team 2023 Highlights Hottest July ever signals ‘era of global boiling has arrived’ says UN chief | UN News The League worked independently and as a partner with multiple coalitions, contributing to a very productive historical 2023 Legislative session. This session’s historical dynamics included a Republican walkout, an increase of ~$2B in available funding and high federal funding opportunities. (see revenue LR). The session ended a few days early, with all six Climate and Energy priority policy and related funding bills passing in June, bills signed or vetoed by Governor Kotek . “ Climate Resilience Package Investment ( HB 3409 , HB 3630 ): Invests $90 million in community-focused and forward-looking solutions to increase our energy efficiency, keep Oregonians safe from extreme weather, maximizing federal funding opportunities, and build a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable energy system.” The League supported and in some cases provided testimony on many of the following bills. From Rep. Tawna Sanchez’s 6/26/23 newsletter: “Finally, I voted to pass HB 3409 and HB 3630, which together invest $100 million to bring in over $1 billion in federal matching funds to address the rapidly worsening impacts of climate change in Oregon.” “$90 million Climate Budget Framework Invests in Sustainable, Resilient Future for Oregon . Investments to lower utility costs, reduce building emissions, empower landowners to participate in the green economy, incentivize carbon sequestration, and improve disaster resilience.” HB 3409 A Climate Budget Package By Claudia Keith Passed along party lines $61.7M Fiscal . Resilient, Efficient Buildings Policy Package ( SB 868 , 869 , 870 , 871 ) - Leverages federal funding to improve efficiency of homes and buildings; supports healthy, affordable, resilient communities and family-wage job creation across Oregon. League Testimony , sign-on coalition letter and action alert . Community Resilience Hubs ( HB 2990 ) - Funds community resilience hubs and networks across the state to coordinate and provide access to resources and services for vulnerable populations during disasters. Natural Climate Solutions ( SB 530) - Supports cost-sharing to leverage tens of millions in federal investments for Oregon forestland owners, farmers, and ranchers to implement climate-smart land management practices, increasing carbon sequestration and improving the resilience of Oregon communities and natural resource economies . League Testimony , Action Alert , and coalition letter . Oregon Climate Council Modernization ( SB 522 ) - Provides long-overdue staffing and representation on the Oregon Global Warming Commission. League Testimony . Medium and Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle Rebate Program ( HB 2714 ) - Creates a DEQ program that can compete for $1 billion in federal IRA funding for medium- and heavy-duty zero emission vehicle rebates. Trees Restoring Economic and Environmental Stability Act ( HB 3016 ) - Creates a Community Green Infrastructure Grant Program at DLCD to fund communities to develop projects that increase tree canopy, improve livability, and support water quality and Conservation. Siting Renewable Energy ( HB 3181 ) - Directs DLCD in coordination with ODOE to find opportunities and minimize conflicts on siting of solar projects in Oregon through engaging stakeholders in a rulemaking advisory committee process. Climate Protection Program Fee Bill ( HB 3196 ) - Supports DEQ oversight and accountability of Oregon’s cornerstone Climate Protection Program to ensure the Community Climate Investment program achieves its intended climate pollution reduction goals and benefits for communities of color, rural, low-income, Tribal, and other communities across the state. League Testimony . Harmful Algal Blooms ( HB 2647 ) - Protects Oregonians from harmful algal blooms in drinking water, which are likely to occur more often due to shifting precipitation patterns from climate change. (see Natural Resources LR) Woody Biomass for Low-Carbon Fuels ( HB 3590 ) - Directs College of Forestry at Oregon State University to research development of fuel pathways for low carbon fuels derived from woody biomass residues from forestry operations. HB 3630 A Energy Budget Package By Claudia Keith State Energy Strategy ( HB 2534 ) - Directs ODOE to develop a comprehensive state energy strategy that identifies optimized pathways to achieving the state’s energy policies. County Energy Resilience Planning ( HB 3378 ) - Supports counties’ development of energy resilience planning and integration into wildfire mitigation plans. Resilient, Efficient Buildings - ODOE One-Stop-Shop ( HB 3166 ) - Leverages federal funding to improve efficiency of homes and buildings; supports healthy, affordable, resilient communities and family-wage job creation across Oregon. Environmental Justice and Tribal Navigator ( SB 852 ) - Establishes a program within ODOE to provide information about state and federal funding opportunities and other technical assistance to rural, Tribal, and other environmental justice communities as they work to develop energy projects or build energy-related capacity. Solar + Storage Rebate Program Extension ( HB 3418 ) - Extends sunset on solar and storage project rebates for residential customers and low-income service providers, extending the program through January 2029, enabling the program to potentially receive and distribute tens of millions in federal funding from EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. These rebates facilitate low- and moderate-income Oregonians to save on electric bills and retain power during outages. Residential Heat Pump Program Extension ( HB 3056) - Supports implementation of ODOE’s Residential and Community Heat Pump Deployment Programs established by the 2021 legislature to bring much-needed heat relief to Oregon communities. Community Renewable Energy Grant Program - Provides funding for ODOE’s Community Renewable Energy Grant Program, established by the legislature in 2021, to support planning and developing community renewable energy and energy resilience projects. CE insights from Senator Dembrow recent newsletter: -The benefit of these package bills was that we could pass sections of the package that we would not have been able to as a stand alone bill. Although they were done related to the walkout, this may become part of future legislation. -He's planning on bringing back the GHG targets that didn't pass in 2023--in 2024. -He expects the state public bank to return in 2024. With conversation w/Gov about, if not Biz OR, what agency should run the Task Force. -2025 will be the year of transportation...another BIG package. Including gas tax replacement, final on I-5 Bridge, multimodal projects/funding. Look at HB 2017 (2017) for guidance. The League is disappointed. At this time Oregon will not be added to this EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) list of U.S. states that have meaningful binding economy-wide climate target statutes . We are hopeful the Governor, the new Climate Action Commission, and legislative leadership will address this issue in 2024. Clean Energy and Resilient Buildings By Arlene Sherrett and Greg Martin HB 3409 and HB 3630 , climate and energy omnibus bills supported by the League, won final passage at the last minute after a hard-fought effort to get absent legislators executing an orchestrated walkout, back to the Senate floor. Each bill aggregated climate bills waiting in committee for the walkout to end. See highlights of some bills of the two omnibus bills. Resilient, Efficient Buildings Policy Package —( SB 868 , 869 , 870 , 871 ) - These bills leverage federal funding to improve energy efficiency of homes and buildings and support healthy, affordable, resilient communities and family-wage job creation across Oregon. The bills reduce emissions by reducing energy consumption, thus making the most of energy efficiency. SB 868 , Healthy Heating and Cooling for All, paves the way for state and federal funding to provide heat pumps to Oregonians. SB 869 , Build Smart from the Start, aligns building codes with state climate targets. SB 870 , Building Performance Standards, formulates a program to transition buildings off fossil fuels. SB 871 , Smart State Buildings, clears the way for all state buildings, whether owned or leased, to be retrofitted for energy efficiency. Oregon Climate Council Modernization ( SB 522 ) provides long-overdue staffing and representation on the Oregon Global Warming Commission, changing the name to Oregon Climate Action Commission. However, the omnibus package removed a provision updating Oregon’s GHG emissions reduction targets. HB 3056 extends the residential heat pump fund created by SB 1536 (2022), part of a cooling package in response to the Oregon 2021 heat dome event. League Testimony . HB 3166 establishes the whole-home energy savings program (HOMES) and the high-efficiency electric home rebate program (HEEHR.) Both are based on federal energy residential buildings efficiency programs. A widely celebrated bill feature is a one-stop information and technical assistance center for those wanting to make their home more energy efficient. League Testimony . Environmental Justice By Claudia Keith The League joined the Worker Advocate Coalition Follow-Up . SB 907 ‘Right to refuse dangerous work’ Testimony . Other CE Bills we worked on By Claudia Keith, Arlene Sherrett and Greg Martin HB 2763 Enrolled passed in June and moved to the governor; creates a State Public Bank Task Force, League Testimony . Like the 2022 session RB task force, a 19-member Task Force is required to recommend no later than September 2024. “ The report must include a recommendation for a governing structure for a public bank.” The Governor vetoed this bill; see the Governor's letter explaining her decision . Read our response . Senator Dembow expects legislation for the state public bank to return in 2024, with conversation w/Gov about, if not Biz OR, and what agency should run the Task Force. HB 3179 Enrolled , Renewable Energy Permitting Process, passed, Governor signed 7/18. On June 23 the House concurred with a Senate amendment to the A-Engrossed bill. To issue a land use permit for a larger solar power facility as authorized by the bill, the county must require the applicant to provide a decommissioning plan, bonded or otherwise secured, to restore the site to a "useful, nonhazardous condition." The Senate on June 23 passed HB 3550 by a vote of 18-6-6. The bill requires a state agency that buys or leases a light-duty vehicle on or after 1/1/2025 to buy only a ZEV unless the agency finds that a ZEV is not feasible for the specified use, in which case the vehicle bought or leased must be able to operate with an environmentally acceptable alternate fuel or as a low-emission vehicle. To the maximum extent economically feasible, DAS must use biofuels or biofuel-derived electricity instead of diesel for facilities or machinery the department acquires, designs, builds, completes, maintains, or operates as stationary or backup generation for heat and power systems. The bill was not amended, passed and signed by Gov Kotek 7/31. State Agency and other Budget Bills SB 5018 DEQ Budget Bill League testimony SB 5016 ODOE Budget Bill League Testimony End of Session Full JWM Budget Reconciliation (Xmas Tree ) Bill, SB 5506 A list of Climate related line items in SB 5506 : - Oregon Worker Relief Climate Change Fund $1M Section 309 - OSU Climate Services. $250K Section 64 HECC - DLCD Climate Friendly. & Equitable Community $3.0 M Section 148 and 149 - DOE Hydrogen Hub, cooling study, and energy development position $951.6K. sect: 176 - DOE Staff to support administration of new energy programs $513K sect: 177 - Renewable and Solar $60M (sections 172 - 175) - City of Milwaukee $375K solar project - Streetcar System - Salem. $250K (Cherriots -Study the feasibility of developing a rail streetcar system in the City of Salem) vetoed by the Governor on Aug 4 Climate related Education bills in the Education LR : SB 854 , stated that each of our 197 school districts could develop a plan for teaching climate change, across all subject areas, in grades K-12 by June 1, 2026; died in Senate ED. HB 2601 requires State Treasurer to exit from certain carbon-intensive investments, subject to fiduciary duties, develop a plan to protect state investments from risks related to climate, League Testimony . The bill ended the session in the Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans Committees. Other Related Climate News Americans’ views of climate change in 8 charts | Pew Research Center, Most Americans Disapprove of Biden’s Handling of Climate Change, Poll Shows - Inside Climate News, Climate politics has entered a new phase | Financial Times, Ocean currents vital for distributing heat could collapse by midcentury , study says | AP News, Clean energy can fuel the future — and make the world healthier | Nature, Industry Plaintiffs Drop Lawsuit Challenging Washington State’s Climate-Friendly Building Codes – Earthjustice, It’s time for buildings to stop using a third of U .S. Energy, Washington and Oregon say - The Columbian, Oregon Counties Take on Heat Mapping to Keep Residents Safe | Governing.com , Work on an OSU-led wave energy test facility will be visible from shore – OPB, Climate Change | Brookings Climate County, State and Federal Lawsuits Biden is campaigning as the most pro-climate president while his DOJ works to block a landmark climate trial | CNN Politics Aug 2023 Updates to the Climate Case Chart | Sabin Center for Climate Change Law Columbia University Hawaii's youth-led climate change lawsuit is going to trial next summer | Grist Why Multnomah County's lawsuit over heat dome is different | kgw.com Oregon Treasury, Office of Economic Analysis, ESG investing and SEC Climate Risk Disclosure Oregon Pension Fund Takes More Risk Than It Discloses, Financial Sleuth Tells New York Times| Willamette Week Private equity investments , climate change and fossil-free portfolios | IEEFA SEC.gov | Climate-Related Disclosures/ESG Investing July 2023 SEC.gov | Remarks before the Financial Stability Oversight Council: Climate Risk Disclosure 7/28/23 Oregon Revised Statutes (2017) Chapter 750, Section 163 authorizes the Office of Economic Analysis (OEA), with substantial assistance from the Department of Environmental Quality, to assess the availability of fossil and alternative fuels to Oregon. OEA 2023 Fuels Forecast (Clean and Dirty) , Sustainability: Energy is the fundamental systemic risk | top1000funds, Opportunity to follow policy topics or if you prefer just follow and testify on one bill. Volunteers Needed Please consider joining the CE portfolio team; we lack volunteers in these critical policy areas: · Natural and Working lands, specifically Agriculture/ODA · Transportation and ODOT state agency · Climate Related Lawsuits/Our Children’s Trust · Public Health Climate Adaptation (OHA) · Regional Solutions / Infrastructure (with NR team) · State Procurement Practices (DAS: Dept. of Admin. Services) · CE Portfolio State Agency and Commission Budgets · Oregon Treasury: ESG investing/Fossil Fuel divestment We collaborate with Natural Resource Action members on many Climate Change mitigation and adaptation policy topics. Volunteers are needed: Orientation to Legislative and State Agency advocacy processes is available.

Back to All Legislative Reports Natural Resources Legislative Report - Week of October 13 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: Budgets/Revenue Climate Coastal Issues Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ ) Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI ) Dept. of State Lands (DSL) Drinking Water Advisory Committee (DWAC) Forestry (ODF) Hanford Land Use & Housing Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept. (OPRD ) Revenue Regional Solutions Smith River State Land Board Tips for the Public Transportation Water Weather Wetlands Wildfire BUDGETS/REVENUE By Peggy Lynch Impacts of Fefderal Actions on Oregon: The House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee (Sept. 29 agenda and meeting materials ) had a great cost/loss general presentation as did the Oregon Dept. of Energy, the Dept. of Environmental Quality and the State Support Center. There are discussions on the Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept.’s budget crisis that the Oregon Coast Alliance is leading. 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. CLIMATE By Claudia Keith and Team Governor Kotek signed Executive Order 25-25 on Oct. 6 to accelerate the pace of renewable wind and solar project development in the state of Oregon before the clock runs out on critical federal clean energy tax credits. 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 Christine Moffitt Ocean Policy Advisory Council Meeting: The Territorial Sea Plan Offshore Wind Working Group will meet on October 15 from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. Meeting Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/R1or3GLBTGCSXovWbiRYZQ Contact: Andy.Lanier@dlcd.oregon.gov Ocean Policy Advisory Council Meeting: The OPAC will meet on October 29 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 Ripple effects from Redfish Rocks Marine Reserve: New economic analysis reveals job and income generation. The League supports the marine reserve program so having a study showing the economic value of these reserves to both Oregon and the coastal area is great news: S upported an estimated total economic impact of approximately $982k and 20 jobs. A reminder related to the Port of Coos Bay bonds: HB 5006 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 Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, or a private entity engaged in a public private partnership with the port, has closed on a Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan through the Build America Bureau within the United States Department of Transportation in the amount of at least $1 billion or has secured equivalent levels of alternative funding through other federal grants or loans. See this press release . There have been presentations on this project and the potential rail improvements needed. The Coos County League will hold another presentation on Nov. 19. Their Part 1 presentation was recorded. The Dept. of Land Conservation and Development has a website on offshore wind with public meetings continuing. DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (DEQ) By Peggy Lynch In a Press Release from Sept. 19, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality submitted formal comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fiercely opposing its proposal to revoke the Endangerment Finding and weaken motor vehicle emission standards. LWVUS comments. The League was pleased to see the Environmental Quality Commission adopted rules to implement important legislation from the 2023 legislative session related to accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and sewer availability through Senate Bills 835 and 931 . The League supported SB 835 and participated in the rules advisory committee that developed these rules. The League will again serve on an annual rulemaking advisory committee on water quality fee increases. DEPT. OF GEOLOGY AND MINERAL INDUSTRIES (DOGAMI) By Joan Fryxell 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 as having a potential completion of federal action by the end of March 2026. But the state has permit authority, too. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for part of the permitting. Here is a link to the agency’s website . DEPT. OF STATE LANDS By Peggy Lynch The agency has a role in addressing abandoned and derelict vessels in Oregon’s waters. OPB has a great article on the issue. DRINKING WATER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (DWAC) By Sandra U. Bishop The League has a standing seat on DWAC. Interactive Geographic Information System (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 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 . The next DWAC meeting will be in October 2025. FORESTRY By Josie Koehne Last year the Board of Forestry met for a special meeting to decide on criteria for a computer model to test run different forest management scenarios for timber management on state forest lands. ECO Northwest was hired to evaluate the model under these four different objectives. In July of this year, the final report of Economic Analysis of ODF Western Oregon Forest Management Plan Scenarios was published. The model projected outcomes over a 30-year period assuming that the approved Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) is in place. The intent of modeling of various scenarios is to show examples of the trade-offs between resources and outcomes under different implementation approaches. The model provides a scientific basis for management decisions, and the chosen plan will be incorporated into the Western Oregon Forest Management Plan (FMP) which is due to be approved by the Board by the end of this year. Each of the four scenarios modeled projects the outcomes to be expected for harvest intensity, rotation age, and revenue optimization: 30-Year Volume Target: Maintains a steady harvest volume for the first 30 years, followed by a non-declining even flow. Long Rotations: Emphasizes longer tree rotations that supports a balanced distribution of age classes across managed acres by year 70. Maximize Volume: Prioritizes harvest volume to maximize productivity over the long term, with fluctuations over time. Maximize Net Present Value (NPV): Focuses on generating the highest economic return using a 4% discount rate. Each scenario results in different patterns of timber products, harvest costs, harvest volume, revenue distribution, employment, and ecosystem services over the analysis period. The analysis discusses socioeconomic outcomes for both the 70-year permit term of the HCP and the long-term implications over a 150-year modeling timeframe. The report summarizes Key Findings for each of the categories above, but the report did not include a summary of their conclusions nor recommendations. Policy decisions will be left to the Board of Forestry. The newest member to the Board of Forestry is Alexi Lovechio of Ashland who joined in March. She serves as Forests and Ecosystem Services Program Manager with Ecotrust. On July 16, The Board of Forestry met in a special meeting to review the status of the recruitment of a new State Forester. In the interim, Kate Skinner has served as Interim State Forester since January following the resignation of Cal Mukamoto. The responsibility for the selection of the State Forester changed from the Board of Forestry to the Governor’s office with the passage of SB 1051 at the close of the session on June 27th . The Governor’s selection process is headed up by Chandra Ferrari, Governor Kotek’s Natural Resources Advisor, who served previously on the Board. Senior Natural Resource Policy Advisor Geoff Huntington kicked off the discussion and outlined the proposed recruitment process. They have hired a recruitment firm to rank the 6-8 candidates who will be reviewed and interviewed by the Governor starting October 6-13. The planned date for the Senate to confirm the Governor’s choice for State Forester is November 17. The Board can provide input on the recruitment process and reach out directly to potential candidates. The selection criteria are outlined in SB 1051 : “The State Forester must have organizational management experience and either of the following: (A) Executive experience and expertise overseeing forest and wildfire management on western forestlands; or (B) Operational experience and expertise overseeing forest and wildfire management on western forestlands.” The Board of Forestry expressed concerns about their role and authority once the Governor’s office has appointed the State Forester. They expressed concerns over having responsibility without authority, including the purpose of Board-developed performance measures related to the State Forester performance measures if the Board does not have the same authority, and having to trust the Governor’s Office to follow through with addressing the Board’s interests and concerns. On a separate note, here is an OPB article explaining that the Secure Rural Schools federal funding continues to be missing from the federal budget, creating a funding crisis in our former timber counties. HANFORD The League is concerned about potential changes to the Hanford nuclear cleanup per this article in the Oregon Capital Chronicle. LAND USE & HOUSING By Sandra U. Bishop/Peggy Lynch Oregon Housing Needs Analysis ( OHNA ) work: Draft rules were sent to the Sec of State Oct. 1 st . The last planned OHNA RAC is set for Oct. 29 th . Adoption of the rules should occur during the Dec.4-5 LCDC mtg. as they are statutorily due by Jan. 1, 2026. Public comments are due by November 7. press release . The League has been engaged in elements of this process since inception. We encourage individual League members to review the rules and provide personal comments. These rules are among the most significant changes in Goal 10, Housing, and Goal 14, Urbanization since the program’s inception. The Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) met Sept. 25-26. Here is the meeting agenda and meeting materials . The Dept. of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) has a YouTube Channel that provides videos of a variety of DLCD meetings and LCDC meetings. The DLCD Director announced a new interagency group (SHIP—State Housing Interagency Partnership) to work on housing and the agencies will be signing a Memorandum of Agreement in Oct. The Gov has instructed all agencies to cut back on travel (LCDC mtgs. will be back in Salem). DLCD will be using vacancy savings—rolling vacancies so they aren’t targeted by Ways and Means in the future--and slowing hiring. DLCD may comment to the federal government on the short timeline of only Oct. 6 th for local gov’ts. to comment on the Federal EIS on the Flood program. Public hearing on the 2025-27 Policy Agenda: There will be seven rulemakings on Housing alone! The League has not provided comments because the items on the agenda reflect our legislative work, with the exception that we have supported the Farm and Forest Modernization work that had been approved back in March. Most of the public testimony reflected a request to continue that work which included 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 project. Rulemaking Webpage One other issue was brought up during general public comment: Public Comment on items not on the agenda at LCDC meetings is now scheduled at the end of their meetings. There was a request that the public comment period be moved back to the beginning of the mtg. Sept. 5 th Community Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC) meeting: There is a video from the CIAC where on Sept. 5th they were given a presentation on the Draft Policy Agenda: https://youtu.be/sLcdV3jLjQI . The video is about 3 hours long, but the Draft Policy Agenda presentation begins at 1:15 and ends about 1:51. Local Officials Advisory Committee met Sept. 15 and received the same presentation. Other parts of the meeting included: SB 504 (coastal 2025), HB 2001 (2023--OHNA), HB 2258 (site development plans 2025) and HB 2138 (middle housing--legislation LWVOR worked on prior to session 2025). Afterward, they even did a presentation on the proposed wetlands rulemaking (related to addressing wetlands in proposed UGBs). That, too, was interesting. LWVOR supported DSL getting additional staff and funding to work on this issue and DLCD got $500k. The Senate Housing and Development Committee met: agenda . There was a presentation on the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis and an Urban Reserves presentation . House Housing had a presentation on implementation of SB 1537 (2024) related to the one-time Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion portion of the bill. Three cities are considering it as of now: Bend (where the process is almost done!), Eagle Point and Bay City. Some presenters expressed concern with the narrow criteria. The League worked on this bill and supports the sideboards in the bill as this expansion opportunity was meant to sidestep larger acreage requests but was NOT meant to supersede the current UGB expansion process. However, some committee members expressed an interest in bringing legislation to the 2026 session that might sidestep the intent of SB 1537 so the League may need to engage. 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 . Their website . See also the Housing Report in the Social Policy section of this Legislative Report. OREGON DEPT. OF FISH AND WILDLIFE (ODFW) By Melanie Moon ODFW SWAP adopted August 15- see news release : The Commission approved a revised State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) today, a plan that serves as a roadmap for protecting Oregon's at-risk species and their habitats. The Plan incorporates the latest available information on species and presents recommended conservation actions to inform and prioritize conservation work for community members, private landowners, organizations, and agencies alike. The revision adds pollution as a new Key Conservation Issue, completes integration of the Oregon Nearshore Strategy, enhances information provided in the Conservation Toolbox to make conservation accessible to all Oregonians, and adds information on species newly identified as being at-risk. The Plan is meant to be used by natural resource partners and will eventually be fully web-enabled and accessible online to ensure that content is navigable . The League provided comments on the SWAP. Significant underfunding has severely impacted Oregon's State Wildlife Action Plan leading to a scaled-back conservation initiative, reduced monitoring of at-risk species, and an over-reliance on declining revenue from hunting and fishing licenses. ODFW has acknowledged this funding gap even as it adopted a revised SWAP. The present administration in Washington DC is proposing more cuts. 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. Here is more information on 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 2977 would have added a separate percentage to the TLT focused on conservation. OREGON PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT (OPRD) By Peggy Lynch Director Lisa Sumption was recognized by the National Assn. of State Park Directors and her staff did a video congratulations. We are working with her and others to address OPRD’s revenue shortfall and maintenance needs. OPRD provided a budget one-pager and information on asset needs as we work to assure our Parks are open and maintained over time. 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. 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: Add latest mtgs. See July 2 nd LR for info) • Mid-Valley (Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties) October 9, 1:30-3:30pm (Aug. 14 th mtg. was cancelled.) *Central (Crook, Deschutes, and Jefferson Counties) October 10th from 2:00-4:00pm *Northeast (Baker, Union, and Wallowa Counties) October 14th from 2:00-4:00pm *South Coast (Coos, Curry, and Douglas Counties) December 3rd from 11:00am-1:00pm *North Coast (Clatsop, Columbia, and Tillamook Counties) December 10th from 3:00-5:00pm REVENUE By Peggy Lynch The House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee (See Sept. 29 agenda and meeting materials ) had a great cost/loss general presentation as did the Oregon Dept. of Energy, the Dept. of Environmental Quality and the State Support Center. There are discussions on the Oregon Parks and Recreation Dept.’s budget crisis that the Oregon Coast Alliance is leading. See the Revenue section of this Legislative Report for in depth information. We encourage you to read both sections. SMITH RIVER By 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 By Peggy Lynch The next State Land Board is Oct. 14 ( agenda ). The meeting will consider many topics the League follows: Elliott State Research Forest, Common School Fund Report, South Slough and Oregon Ocean Science Trust. They are hybrid meetings with physical location at the Dept. of State Lands in Salem. The League follows these meetings since the Governor, Secretary of State and State Treasurer comprise the Board membership. TRANSPORTATION The Governor announced that a Special Session would happen starting August 29 and continuing Sept. 1 “ for lawmakers to take up legislation to pay for basic road maintenance and operations at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), as well as address funding needs for local governments and transit districts.” HB 3991 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 will receive 50% of the funding, counties will receive 30%, and cities 20%. There is an estimate that the cost to each Oregonian would be about $2/month. HB 3992 appropriates $800,000 General Fund, reduces the Emergency Fund by a corresponding amount, and increases Other Funds expenditure limitation by $204.9 million. Other funds for the Secretary of State’s office (SOS) are sourced from assessments charged to state agencies for services and from revenues generated through HB 3991 . Since HB 3991 would raise taxes, it takes 18 Senators and 36 House members to vote yes. The House passed the bills on Sept. 1, with one Democrat voting no and one Republican voting yes. Since Senate Republicans were opposed to the bill and Sen. Chris Gorsek had a health emergency, the final vote in the Senate didn’t happen until Sept. 29 when the session ended—after both bills passed. See ODOT bills pass Senate per this press release . The bills were meant to be a stop gap measure so the 2026 Session may again try to pass a more comprehensive transportation plan. ODOT had about 200 employees leave or retire during all the chaos, and they are months behind in hiring winter temporary workers. Once the Governor signs HB 3991, Sen. Starr and Rep. Diehl have said they want to gather signatures 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. It is unclear if this political action committee , “No Gas Hikes’, formed after the 2025 regular legislative session, will move forward and try to put the special session legislation (HB 3991) on the ballot. The League would hope that the slimmed down bill will be allowed to stand. 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.” WATER By Peggy Lynch 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 . 2025 Integrated Water Resources Strategy adopted ! Addressing Oregon’s water challenges is an all-hands endeavor – Oregonians are best served when agencies are working toward common goals. Those goals are articulated in the 2025 Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS). Earlier this month, the Oregon Water Resources Commission adopted the 2025 IWRS, a roadmap for numerous agencies interacting with water to address these issues head-on through coordinated action. You can view the plan online at owrd.info/iwrs . The League again engaged in this Strategy and helped form the final document. Oregon State University continues to provide important information on water supply. Measuring mountain snowpack at strategically selected hotspots consistently outperforms broader basin-wide mapping in predicting water supply in the western United States, a new study found. Update: 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. 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. TIPS FOR THE PUBLIC League members may want to check the U. S. Drought Monitor , a map that is updated every Thursday. Over 42% of Oregon is in moderate drought (D1) and over 6% is in severe drought (D2) with the rest of the state experiencing abnormally dry condition. Here is a more complete website about drought in Oregon and a long range climate prediction . 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 The National Weather Service issued a La Niña watch, raising hopes the coming winter will fight stubborn drought conditions in the Northwest. The weather service’s Climate Prediction Center reported Aug. 14 that the odds slightly favor a La Niña forming by November and sticking around for December and January. A La Niña increases expectations that snow will accumulate in the mountains and melt into rivers for the irrigation season. La Niñas sometimes fizzle. A La Niña formed last winter, but the Washington snowpack was disappointing. Still, it’s the main guide for seasonal forecasts. Read more in this HillsboroNewsTimes article. KLCC also covered this important weather story. 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 On Jan. 1 st , the fees for removal/fill permits will increase so that, within 5 years, the new fees will cover 80% of the cost, relieving the Common School Fund from most of those costs. A League member participated in the rulemaking related to this decision. The current fees paid by developers, property owners, and other permit applicants cover just 21%. On average, it costs $2.8 million every year to cover the remaining removal-fill permitting costs. WILDFIRE By Carolyn Mayers From the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee: The Oregon Dept. of Forestry reported an average number of wildfires and significantly fewer acres burned. (Current gross costs $127 million, but net--after reimbursements--of $54 million—if the federal government pays their costs.) Fire Marshal Chief Ruiz Temple emphasized how community wildfire preparedness, coupled with the rapid responses and landscape treatments, made all the difference in how they were able to have almost all the threatened structures in the Flat Fire saved from the fire. The Fire Marshal’s office was thrilled with that response. There have, to date, been no injuries to any ODF firefighters. The bill to establish mitigation protocols for utilities is going to come back in the short session. Several speakers expressed concerns about it being a “get out of jail free” card for utilities and that, if they get the certification, they won’t be held legally liable for damages. This legislation will be worked on to the point where it passes so utilities can standardize their practices. Fire season isn’t over. On Sept. 30, the Governor invoked yet another Emergency Conflagration—this time for the Moon Complex in Curry County. This marks the eighth time the Emergency Conflagration Act has been invoked by Governor Kotek in the 2025 wildfire season. The Governor’s Wildfire Programs Advisory Council (WPAC) met July 18 and will meet again Oct. 17. 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.

PAIGE AXNESS (she/her) PAIGE AXNESS (she/her) Out-of-State Young Voter Registration Ambassador Paige is the LWVOR Out-of-State Young Voter Registration Ambassador who is passionate about reproductive justice and our legal system. Paige attends the University of San Francisco and is double majoring in Politics and Sociology with a double minor in Legal Studies and Dance. She has later plans to attend law school and attain a master's in Social Work. She joins the Youth Council to build effective civic engagement in Oregon and California communities. Paige is a former lead volunteer for YouthLine a Lines of Life peer support crisis line. She is also a member of the 2023 We the People and the Constitution team, placing second in nationals. She served as the former Associated Student Body President and President of Period Club, an organization dedicated to destigmatizing periods and advocating for menstruator product access. Her Period Club chapter pushed forward the Menstrual Dignity Act of 2021, requiring Oregon schools to provide free menstrual products. She is actively involved in the Planned Parenthood: Columbia Willamette Teen Council, a peer education and leadership program where members learn medically accurate and inclusive sexual health information, lead classroom presentations, and organize events in schools and their communities around sexual health awareness. She also conducted similar outreach in middle schools through Oregon’s Department of Human Services. Paige is a former lead volunteer for YouthLine a Lines of Life peer support crisis line. She is also a member of the 2023 We the People and the Constitution team, placing second in nationals. She served as the former Associated Student Body President and President of Period Club, an organization dedicated to destigmatizing periods and advocating for menstruator product access. Her Period Club chapter pushed forward the Menstrual Dignity Act of 2021, requiring Oregon schools to provide free menstrual products. She is actively involved in the Planned Parenthood: Columbia Willamette Teen Council, a peer education and leadership program where members learn medically accurate and inclusive sexual health information, lead classroom presentations, and organize events in schools and their communities around sexual health awareness. She also conducts similar outreach in middle schools through Oregon’s Department of Human Services. youthoutreach@lwvor.org

NIVEDITA GIANI (she, her) NIVEDITA GIANI (she, her) Youth Advocacy Chair Nivedita Giani is attending Sunset High School and is a member of the League of Women Voters of Portland. She is passionate about advocating for climate justice, reproductive rights, and workplace equity. She is currently the national delegate for Sunrise PDX, an organization committed to combating climate change. She is actively involved in a local campaign as well as a national campaign to help make public transportation more accessible and widespread. She is a staunch advocate for the Green New Deal due to the prospect of decarbonization and sustainable good paying union jobs for all. Nivi hopes to go to university and then law school to become a human rights lawyer. She is excited to be part of the League of Women Voters of Oregon Youth Council to build effective civic engagement in Oregon communities, get youth involved in politics, and share the importance of making your voice heard. youthadvocacy@lwvor.org

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