[5]
Legislative Update
By Oregonians for Food and Shelter [6],
The Oregon Legislature will kick off the 2026 session on Monday morning. Drama around the session is already building. With nearly 300 bills published this week, we have a sense for the major themes and implications for OFS members and the natural resources community.
Transportation, the dominant policy theme for almost a year, will continue to take center stage in February. The Governor and Democrats are expressing a desire to move the recently-certified referral of the transportation taxes to the May ballot [7]. However, to do so, the bill would have to pass by February 25 [8]th [9], giving Republicans (who want the proposed gas-tax increase on the general election ballot) a little more leverage and a powerful tool: the clock. Meanwhile, leadership will continue to look at how to overhaul the state budget in the face of federal law changes and a sluggish state economy. Unions are pressuring Democrats [10] to increase taxes by disallowing several new federal tax deductions on Oregon tax returns. With budget pressures that few sitting legislators have faced, the ever-evolving transportation debate, and a looming election year, it’s sure to be a fascinating 35 days.
OFS and our members will have to continue our day-to-day policy work in the Capitol regardless of the larger politics. Fortunately, after reviewing the bills, we aren’t facing the type of threats we typically see in the longer sessions – no product bans, restrictions or proposed new regulations. In fact, several legislators have drafted bills that would improve permitting processes at state agencies, including a proposal containing a bi-partisan work-around for delayed DEQ permitting in HB 4102 [11].
After several years of major debates over water, this session will bring a relative reprieve from water quality bills as agencies work through new processes. The two primary water bills this session aim to help water right holders through modernization, with bills addressing specific regions. The one for the Harney basin (HB 4049 [12]) will better optimize groundwater use by allowing for voluntary agreements between users to conserve and optimize groundwater used for agriculture in the region. For the mid-Columbia HB 4006 [13] allows for coordination amongst users, and changes to existing practices which will ultimately better protect groundwater.
Unfortunately, there will be a major environmental threat, SB 1541 [14], which creates retroactive liability for carbon emissions as well as a complicated interagency enforcement program. A broad coalition of businesses will oppose this costly proposal.
We hope OFS members will stay engaged during the frenetic 35 day session!