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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon Republicans say Dems delaying vote on wildfire map repeal to get votes for wildfire funding
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
A bill to repeal the state’s unpopular Wildfire Hazard Map passed the Oregon Senate unanimously in April, signaling it would be one of the least controversial and most bipartisan bills to pass this session.
But that momentum hit unexpected headwinds May 22, when the bill — Senate Bill 83 — landed in the Oregon House’s Committee on Climate, Energy, and Environment, where Democrats opted to send it to the House Rules Committee, rather than to the House floor for a final vote.
The decision to delay a vote on Senate Bill 83 came as a surprise to Republicans on the Committee, who later accused Democrats, House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, and Gov. Tina Kotek of using it as a bargaining chip in negotiations over a wildfire funding proposal that would redirect $1 billion from the state’s “kicker” tax return. That proposal would require a two-thirds supermajority vote in each chamber, meaning at least two Senate Republicans and four House Republicans would need to approve along with all legislative Democrats.
Anca Matica, a Kotek spokesperson, said in an email that “the legislative branch is the custodian of information regarding bills moving through the legislative process, not the Governor’s Office.”
Oregon Republicans have long insisted that the kicker — returned to Oregon taxpayers when personal income taxes collected by the state end up at least 2% higher than budgeted — is not to be spent by the Legislature.
In a news release May 22, Ashley Kuenzi, communications director for the Oregon Senate Republicans, said the “spirit of collaboration has seemingly vanished” between Democrats and Republicans on Senate Bill 83. State Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, who supported its passage in the Senate, said in the release it was a “stunning reversal” and “clear betrayal.”
“Holding rural Oregonians hostage over votes for future wildfire funding is not only obscene, but disgraceful. Put the damn bill on the floor for a vote!” he said.
In a text, Golden said House Democrats’ decision not to move the bill straight to the House floor for a vote is making the repeal of the maps “more complicated than it needed to be.”
“To me, the smartest path from the start was to unite around map repeal and get it to the Governor’s desk to show folks we all put protecting the state ahead of politics,” he said. “That’s what we did in the Senate. Looks like the thinking in the House was different but nobody’s told me what it is.
Controversial wage theft bill passes Oregon House
OPB | By Bryce Dole
Unrepresented construction workers can sue property owners and general contractors for unpaid work under a law that passed through the Oregon state House on Wednesday.
House lawmakers voted 31-26 to pass Senate Bill 426, allowing workers to go to court to recover lost wages not just from the subcontractors who pay them directly, but from the property owners and general contractors “at any tier.” It also allows the state’s Attorney General to file such lawsuits on behalf of unpaid workers.
The vote came at the end of a lengthy debate on the House floor over one of this year’s most contentious construction bills. The bill was amended and heads to the state Senate for another vote.
Backed by some of Oregon’s largest unions, the bill’s supporters say it improves accountability among property owners and general contractors by encouraging them to vet subcontractors and ensure they aren’t hiring bad actors.
The vote followed stiff pushback from Republicans, who attempted to change the bill by excluding property owners from liability and referring it back to a legislative committee for further discussion. In addition, Republicans called for legislation to improve the Bureau of Labor & Industries, which takes wage-related complaints but is hampered by staffing problems and faces a backlog of claims.
Opponents say the bill doesn’t target the criminals and human traffickers who stiff workers, but mainly small business owners who don’t know it’s happening, stifling competition and making it harder for businesses to get up and running.
Oregon slowed enforcement of its clean truck rules. Now federal Republicans could axe the rules entirely
OPB | By Monica Samayoa
For years, Oregon has been working to write and enforce rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial trucks. Now the Trump administration and the U.S. Senate could derail that effort.
Oregon’s clean trucks rules sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from medium- and heavy-duty trucks and to increase sales of electric trucks over the next ten years. But last week Congress voted to revoke a waiver that allowed California to adopt stricter vehicle standards – and that allowed Oregon and other states to follow that lead.
U.S. Trade Court blocks Trump tariffs, siding with Oregon attorney general
Oregon Live | By Matthew Kish
The federal trade court on Wednesday sided with Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, blocking President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs based on a series of emergency declarations.
Rayfield’s office is leading a 12-state lawsuit that argues the president exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by declaring an emergency to justify new tariffs.
The proposed tariffs had been expected to hit Oregon’s trade-dependent economy particularly hard, including its signature footwear and apparel industry, which makes most of its products in Asian nations that would have been subject to steep new import charges. Small businesses feared the the tariffs would cut deeply into their profits, perhaps posing an existential threat.
New interim superintendent – third in just over a year – named to run Oregon State Hospital
Oregon Live | By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
Jim Diegel, the former head of the St. Charles Health System in central Oregon, has been named interim superintendent of the Oregon State Hospital.
Diegel’s appointment, first reported by The Lund Report, makes him the third interim superintendent of the state’s struggling psychiatric hospital in just over a year.
In the last few years, the population of patients at the hospital has shifted from primarily people civilly committed for their own safety to people facing criminal charges who are not in a state of mind to be able to stand for trial.
State leaders say easing up on workers who restrain kids will help relieve care shortages. Advocates worry it could mask abuse
Oregon Live | By Sami Edge
House Bill 3835, which is under consideration by the Legislature’s House Rules Committee, would amend legal restrictions put in place over the last decade to protect vulnerable children from abuse. Those developments raised the scrutiny on any educator or other child services worker who physically constrained or isolated a child or teen and severely limited the foster care system’s ability to send children beyond state borders for care.
Among other things, the bill would narrow the criteria for when restraining a child qualifies as potential child abuse and allow the Oregon Department of Human Services to send foster youth out of state in some circumstances.
Proponents argue the proposed changes are a course correction to clarify rules that have made it hard to retain staff or secure necessary mental health and addiction care for foster children. They say the bill is urgently needed to expand treatment options and empower frontline workers. Gov. Tina Kotek testified in favor of the bill, a relatively rare step for her, and the plan has bipartisan sponsorship in the House.
Oregon bill streamlining payout process for wrongfully convicted draws support
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Oregonians who have been wrongfully imprisoned can petition the state for tens of thousands of dollars in compensation and an official finding of innocence, a process that criminal justice reform advocates have long complained drags on and shortchanges exonerees.
But a new bill introduced in February, Senate Bill 1007, aims to solve that problem by making it easier and faster to obtain compensation and findings of innocence from the state. The measure’s provisions would set a deadline for an initial written decision on compensation at 180 days and allow the state to consider new evidence that comes to light after previous trials.
“I’m hoping it can be made a priority,” said Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, one of the bill’s two primary authors, in an interview. Far too often, settlements with Oregon’s Department of Justice have actually resulted in “pennies on the dollar” for exonerees, she said. That process, she said, was fueled by “hostile compliance” from former Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.
“They’re not the party who committed the crime and therefore shouldn’t have done the time,” she said. “To execute what was intended is what we’re trying to do now.”
Oregon lawmakers vote to block rising corporate ownership of medical clinic
OPB | By Dirk Vanderhart
Oregon law currently requires licensed physicians to hold at least a 51% ownership stake in many medical practices. The thinking is that health care clinics should be driven by patients’ best interests rather than pure profit.
But proponents of SB 951 say that the law has become increasingly ripe for abuse.
A loophole allows corporations to employ physicians who also serve, on paper, as clinic owners, and so buy the kind of control that’s supposed to be banned. Sometimes that control is exerted through a management services organization, or MSO, a corporate entity brought in to help health care providers complete payroll, accounting, and other back-office tasks.
Vote-by-Mail Foes Pass Key Milestone
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
A 2026 ballot initiative that would end Oregon’s first-in-the-nation vote-by-mail system passed a key milestone May 16, when the Oregon Department of Justice published a certified ballot title, following public input on an earlier draft.
Bill that would require Oregon farmers to report fertilizer usage dies in Senate committee
KGW | By Colten Weekley
A bill in Salem seeking to require fertilizer reporting from large farms in the state in order to combat groundwater contamination died in committee early this year.
Portland appoints longtime bureau director to serve as city’s top public safety official
Oregon Live | By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Zaeem Shaikh
Bob Cozzie, the longtime director of Portland’s 911 system, will become the city’s top official overseeing police, fire and emergency communications next month, officials announced Wednesday.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Former Oregon doctor can plead Fifth in suit by dozens of patients alleging abuse, judge rules
Oregon Live | By Maxine Bernstein
A judge Wednesday refused to compel former West Linn Dr. David B. Farley to answer further deposition questions in a pending civil suit over patient allegations of sexual abuse, finding he lawfully invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Portlanders hold opposing protests over funding parks vs. police
KOIN | By Joelle Jones
Protesters clashed in East Portland Wednesday, as the battle over funding parks versus police continues.
It’s the latest fallout after Portland City Council voted to shift $1.9 million slated for the Portland Police Bureau in Mayor Keith Wilson’s budget to fund Parks and Recreation maintenance instead.
Teachers’ Union President Rebukes City Councilor for His Police Budget Advocacy
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers, wrote a lengthy email to City Councilor Dan Ryan on May 24, rebuking him for a newsletter his office sent out the day before. In that newsletter, Ryan chastened his council colleagues for passing a budget amendment that reroutes $2 million of new police funding to backfill cuts to outdoor parks maintenance.
Ryan wrote in his newsletter that the police vote “undermines public safety progress and ignores what most working families, small businesses, and seniors want: a safer, more livable city.”
Bonilla’s email is remarkable for a number of reasons, including how infrequent it is for a teachers’ union president to wade into a city budget dispute that only indirectly touches schools.
Fentanyl dealer who killed assailant during shakedown takes deal to avoid federal prosecution
Oregon Live | By Zane Sparling
A fentanyl dealer who killed a man who was trying to rob him last year has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Multnomah County commissioners propose new cuts to save school mental health, homeless services
Oregon Live | By Austin de Dios
Commissioners have proposed amendments that would restore staff in the county’s longstanding school mental health program, provide funding for the District Attorney’s retail and auto theft task forces and restore homeless services – while scaling back sustainability program staffing and administrative roles.
ECONOMY
Oregon’s fishing industry faces demand challenges at home and trade barriers abroad
OPB | By Krya Buckley
On Wednesday, the International Trade Court ruled the bulk of Trump’s tariffs illegal after Oregon and 11 other states sued the administration over the import tax. On Thursday, Trump officials petitioned the court to allow the tariffs to continue as the administration mounts its appeal. Many economists say the back and forth on tariffs has already done lasting damage to U.S. industries.
HOUSING
Average mortgage rate rises to highest level since early February
Associated Press
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. rose this week to its highest level since early February, further pushing up borrowing costs for homebuyers.
The rate increased to 6.89% from 6.86% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 7.03%.
Four (pretty cheap) ways lawyers can keep people housed that Multnomah County might stop funding
Oregon Live | By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
Del Monte works for Portland’s Metropolitan Public Defender in a program funded by Multnomah County to expunge criminal records that are creating barriers to housing. It’s one of several legal services programs aimed at helping people who are either homeless or teetering on the edge of it that are slated to be cut in Multnomah County’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
Eliminating or deeply cutting the various programs will save about $2.8 million in the coming fiscal year’s $4 billion budget, according to county records. Last year, the programs helped more than 5,000 people expunge old criminal records, fight evictions, clear debt from fees and fines and get better access to services while working their way through the justice system.
EDUCATION
Lawmakers clear way for $11.36 billion for schools — plus more accountability
Oregon Live | By Julia Silverman
On Wednesday, lawmakers on a key education budget subcommittee endorsed the likely answer: $11.36 billion. That’s how much is currently on the table for the state school fund, the primary source of money for schools in the next two academic years.
Senate Bill 5516 is a 10.5% boost from the current level and in line with the budget originally proposed by Gov. Tina Kotek back in December, though school districts may see further slight reductions due to a projected drop in local property tax revenue.
Under Senate Bill 141, the Oregon Board of Education would be tasked with developing statewide growth targets and metrics for a series of academic outcomes, including third grade reading proficiency, eighth grade math achievement and chronic absenteeism among the state’s youngest elementary schoolers.
All of Oregon’s 197 school districts would be required to develop their own achievement targets, track student progress via regular check-in tests and report the results at school board meetings or other public forums.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
Oregon’s fishing industry faces demand challenges at home and trade barriers abroad
OPB | By Kyra Buckley
On Wednesday, the International Trade Court ruled the bulk of Trump’s tariffs illegal after Oregon and 11 other states sued the administration over the import tax. On Thursday, Trump officials petitioned the court to allow the tariffs to continue as the administration mounts its appeal. Many economists say the back and forth on tariffs has already done lasting damage to U.S. industries.
The fishing industry, like many others, relies on global trade. Oregon exported nearly $50 million worth of seafood to global markets last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Division accessed via wisertrade.org. In the same period of time, $102 million worth of imported seafood flowed through Oregon.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
New toxic cyanobacteria in Columbia River prompts health alert following two dog deaths
OPB | By Sukhjot Sal
Outbreaks of cyanobacteria and other forms of life in waterways can “bloom” in large numbers and produce toxins that make people and animals sick. In recent years, the Columbia River has become increasingly prone to blooms of cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae.
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