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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon Senate approves ban on bump stocks, allows limits on concealed carry
Oregon Live | By Maxine Bernstein
The Oregon Senate on Thursday passed its first major gun control bill this session after a contentious debate and the rejection of an alternative Republican proposal.
Senate Bill 243 will ban rapid-fire devices including switches and bump stocks that turn guns from semi-automatic to fully automatic weapons and allows city, counties and other governing bodies to bar people, including those with concealed gun licenses, from carrying guns in certain public buildings.
But Republican counterparts said many communities don’t have enough police to staff local public meetings.
Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, urged cities and counties to make sure they add metal detectors to buildings to stop “bad guys with guns because you will not have a good guy with a gun to save your life.”
Sen. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, blasted the Democrats for not moving the bump stock ban into a separate bill, which he said he would have supported. He said bump stocks are accessories to guns and subject to regulation.
“The majority party had an opportunity for bipartisan support to ban bump stocks, but they rejected that,” he said.
Pointing out Trump’s position on bump stocks “carries very little weight when you dump that provision into an omnibus bill,” added Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles.
On the Senate floor, Bonham put forward a minority report that would have dropped the bill’s provision restricting concealed handgun license holders from carrying guns in certain public buildings. It also called for repealing current law, which allows such a restriction at the state Capitol and in schools.
The Republican proposal also would have addressed what he and others dubbed a massive “drug decriminalization loophole’’ from earlier legislation in 2017 that changed certain drug possession convictions from felonies to misdemeanors and no longer barred those convicted of the drug possession misdemeanor crime from having a gun.
Under their minority report, those convicted of drug possession would be barred from obtaining a gun until they are drug free for one year.
Bonham said the minority proposal targeted criminals, not lawful gun owners.
“Addiction and instability are major drivers of violence,” Bonham said. “The people who follow the law deserve policies that respect them. People that break the law deserve consequences.”
Oregon Senate passes hotly contested gun bill
OPB | By Bryce Dole
A hotly contested firearm bill passed through the Oregon Senate on Thursday.
In a 17-12 party-line vote, Democrats approved Senate Bill 243 over Republican opposition. The bill would ban rapid-fire devices like bump stocks. It would also give local governments the authority to prohibit people with a concealed handgun license from carrying a gun into buildings where public meetings occur.
The vote came after a debate that underscored the political divide over gun control and how best to prevent mass shootings.
Republicans pushed back, saying the bill does nothing to keep guns from criminals or address the mental health problems that often lead to shootings and suicides, the leading cause of firearm fatality.
“Oregonians are tired of being blamed while the real threats go unaddressed,” said Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee.
As the Senate took up the bill, Republicans put forward a minority report with alternative measures, including proposals to repeal a previous law around gun safes and keep guns out of the hands of people charged with drug-related misdemeanors. Democrats rejected it.
Sen. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said Democrats have repeatedly bucked Republican proposals to make the legislation bipartisan. He also took issue with the proposed penalty for transferring a rapid-fire device, a Class B felony, which can carry a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Had lawmakers voted on the bill’s provision on bump stocks individually, McLane said Republicans may have gotten behind it. He acknowledged that bump stocks can be regulated because they are considered accessories.
“We could have had a bipartisan bill today,” said McLane, who served on the Senate Committee on Judiciary that took up the bill. “But the majority party in this chamber did not want a bipartisan bill today.”
Republicans fear the bill could result in a “patchwork” of rules passed by local governments that could punish responsible gun owners. They said some jurisdictions have limited resources — such as police or metal detectors — to protect public facilities, stating criminals won’t abide by rules that local governments pass.
“I’m fearful for those we leave vulnerable once again,” said State Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise.
Oregon gun bill banning devices like bump stocks OK'd by Senate
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
The Oregon Senate on May 29 approved a gun control bill that would ban rapid-fire gun accessories and allow local governments to bar concealed handgun license holders from carrying firearms in public buildings where official meetings are held.
Senate Bill 243 passed along a party-line vote with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed.
In 2023, Senate Republicans walked out over similar legislation. This time, they used procedural maneuvers to delay the debate, including requiring the bill to be read in full and calling for a roll-call vote. A motion to replace the measure with their own version failed in a 12-17 vote.
The minority report proposal would have repealed parts of a 2021 gun safety law. They aimed to reverse restrictions that prevent individuals with concealed handgun licenses from carrying guns in the state Capitol and airports, and would have scrapped secure firearm storage requirements.
It also sought to prohibit individuals charged with certain drug offenses from possessing firearms and reduce concealed handgun license fees.
"What we're doing here is an infringement upon our rights," Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said of SB 243. "Expanding that infringement is the wrong direction."
Republicans voiced their opposition during the two-hour debate.
"Oregonians deserve better than a bill that criminalizes their constitutional rights without making anyone safer," said Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee.
Starr said the bill does not address the core issues driving gun violence, such as targeting criminals, investing in mental health or stopping illegal gun trafficking.
‘OPB Politics Now’: The rise, fall and return of cap and trade in Oregon
OPB | By Dirk Vanderhart, Lauren Dake, Anderew Theen
An issue that once prompted a Republican legislative walkout and derailed two legislative sessions is back -- this time with GOP backing. On this week’s “OPB Politics Now,” we’ll discuss why a controversial climate proposal has suddenly reemerged and what happens next.
Republicans intensify opposition to capping bills per session in Oregon
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Republicans on the committee, however, said further limits on the legislative process would continue to shut them out of opportunities to pass legislation in the minority. The new bill revives another limitation effort that popped up after the last time the Oregon Legislature saw a record number of bills introduced — nearly 3,300 in 2001. At that time, lawmakers considered similar restrictions that eventually failed in the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans at the time.
The opposition to the bill doesn’t fall squarely along partisan lines, however. One Democrat has called the bill “capricious” and warned of unintended consequences for lawmakers.
Passing the legislation would make Oregon the 14th state in the nation to put explicit laws on the books that restrict the amount of bills a legislator can introduce. The bill would essentially make the maximum number of bills per session on an odd-year at least 2,850, if each lawmaker, committee, agency, state official and the governor introduced the maximum number of bills they are allowed under the legislation. Because the Joint Committee on Ways and Means is excluded from the legislation, that number is likely an undercount.
Another piece of legislation, Senate Bill 1006 by Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, would limit introductions of bills to committees and legislators, preventing agencies from introducing legislation. It has been parked in the Senate Committee on Rules since March.
Jeff Merkley hasn’t said he’ll step down from the U.S. Senate. But some top Oregon Democrats have registered websites just in case
Oregon Live | By Carlos Fuentes, Sami Edge
Salinas, who represents Oregon’s 6th Congressional District, told The Oregonian/OregonLive Thursday she looks forward to supporting Jeff Merkley, Oregon’s junior U.S. senator, when he runs for reelection next year.
But Salinas and several top Oregon Democrats appear to have staked domain-name claims in case he doesn’t.
Oregon Legislators Introduce Bill to Close OHSU’s 5,000-Monkey Primate Center
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
The bill would prohibit research on monkeys at the primate center starting May 1, 2029. Any studies being done with grants awarded before the bill passes would be allowed to wrap up. (The primate center gets the bulk of its funding from the National Institutes of Health.) The bill marks the latest attempt by animal-rights groups and medical ethicists to close the primate center, which houses more than 5,000 macaques and other monkeys.
The Oregon center is one of seven similar facilities around the country that do research on primates and breed the animals for other laboratories. Oregon’s was the first in the nation, established in 1962. The New England Primate Research Center, run by Harvard University’s medical school, shut in May 2015, sending its 2,000 monkeys to other labs.
OHSU says it plans to fight efforts to close the primate center.
Oregon bill removes time limits for sex abuse lawsuits: ‘Justice for what happened to you should never have an expiration date”
Oregon Live | By Aimee Green
Choked with emotion, the Oregon House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill Thursday that members said would empower future victims of sexual assault to seek justice by eliminating deadlines to file lawsuits against alleged abusers or the institutions that employed them.
The bill would apply no matter how many decades have passed since the alleged abuse happened and whether the victim was an adult or a child.
Lawmakers Hamstrung in Overseeing Travel Oregon’s Spending
Willamette Week | By James Neff
But among those agencies, Travel Oregon, with a $95 million biennial budget, as well as the much smaller Oregon Wine Board enjoy a special status. Their budgets are not subject to approval or modification by the Legislature.
Lawmakers’ limited authority of such quasi-public agencies—all of which depend on a tax of some sort granted to them by the Legislature and the governor—has come into sharp focus since an Oregon Journalism Project investigation of Travel Oregon detailed operational dysfunction and the outsized pay.
OR cannabis: OLCC removes labor agreement rule for cannabis businesses
KOIN | By Michaela Bourgeois
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission is no longer requiring cannabis businesses to enter labor peace agreements in order to obtain or renew a cannabis license, the agency announced Thursday.
Willamette National Forest supervisor named amid staffing, rec issues
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
Robert Sanchez is the new forest supervisor of Willamette National Forest, overseeing 1.6 million acres of one of Oregon’s most iconic and productive forests that has been recently impacted by wildfires and job cuts.
Sanchez replaces interim supervisor Duane Bishop and former supervisor Dave Warnack, who oversaw the Willamette during the 2020 Labor Day Fires that burned an unprecedented amount of acres. Places such as Opal Creek, Waldo Lake and areas around Detroit Lake remain closed due to wildfire damage.
‘More uncertainty’: Contested tariff ruling brings little relief for Oregon businesses
Oregon Live | By Matthew Kish
Late Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade agreed with arguments made by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and blocked many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.
Bill Oram: Booed for winning a state title, this Oregon teen now just wants a safe place to run
Oregon Live | By Bill Oram
But at some point, likely before next school year, she and her mother, Carolyn, will move to British Columbia. Carolyn was raised in Toronto and holds dual citizenship. They believe it will be safer for a transgender teenager in Canada.
There, perhaps, it might not become a source of national controversy each time Ada runs.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Salem man sentenced to 9 years for trafficking fentanyl, meth, and heroin
KATU | By Bobby Corser
A Salem man has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for possessing and trafficking more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.
ECONOMY
Oregon hunting, fishing license fees could increase 26%
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
The price of fishing and hunting licenses would increase 26-28% over the next five years and some wildlife programs would be cut under the proposed $607 million budget for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife that is working its way through the Oregon Legislature.
Agency officials cited skyrocketing inflation and costs, combined with flat revenue, in the need to raise prices.
‘More uncertainty’: Contested tariff ruling brings little relief for Oregon businesses
Oregon Live | By Matthew Kish
Late Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade agreed with arguments made by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and blocked many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs.
Oregon’s coffee industry the latest to point out damage from federal tariffs
OPB | By Kyra Buckley
About a dozen members from Oregon’s coffee industry told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici the import taxes shouldn’t be levied on things like coffee beans that can’t be replaced domestically.
EDUCATION
Lawmakers Call for Oregon to Stick to Its Education Accountability Commitment
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
SB 141 is part of Gov. Tina Kotek’s effort this session to improve the state’s dismal education outcomes. The bill gives more power to the Oregon Department of Education to intervene and coach in struggling school districts, and establishes more metrics to track, specifically around early chronic absenteeism and eighth grade mathematics. It will also streamline grant reporting processes for school districts and improve ODE’s data transparency.
Most of the legislators expressed optimism that Kotek’s bill was a step in the right direction to build a system of shared accountability between school districts and the state for student outcomes, which are at the bottom nationwide in both reading and mathematics.
But many of them emphasized that the bill must be implemented properly. Sen. Suzanne Weber (R-Tillamook) said Oregon tends to fall for “shiny tricks,” where legislators are attracted to new policies but fail to follow through. “If we start this program, we have to commit to it,” she said.
Sen. Lew Frederick (D-Portland) added that until everyone in the education system and the broader community all put in the work to make student outcomes a priority, the bill’s text is just “rhetorical posturing.” He says it’s the conversation this bill will spark that may be its most powerful effect.
“I’m hoping that what will happen as a result of this is that people will begin to actually step forward and say ‘Alright, what do I need to do?’” Frederick says. “I don’t want to see yet another document that tells me we believe in education but we aren’t actually getting everyone involved in making changes. I hope this begins a process of accountability not just for the schools…but for everybody."
Asylum seekers in Oregon can now qualify for in-state tuition
OPB | By Tifanny Camhi
Oregon asylum seekers now join other people classified as U.S. non-citizens who have been eligible for resident tuition in the state since 2021. This group includes refugees with humanitarian visas, such as a Special Immigrant Visa, or people with Temporary Protected Status.
Refugee advocates say the new law will make obtaining a higher education in Oregon more affordable and equitable for asylum seekers.
Oregon colleges, universities monitor impact of policy to revoke visas of Chinese students
KATU
The U.S. government says it will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those it says have connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in “critical fields.”
Groups Say Bill to Improve Early Literacy Initiative May Widen Disparities
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Oregon Kids Read, an advocacy network calling for the state to improve how it supports young readers, warns that a bill this session intended to improve Oregon’s 2023 early literacy initiative may have unintended effects.
In a May 27 letter to the leaders of the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittee on Education, the groups write that the bill must prioritize schools with the lowest rates of proficiency in reading and ensure tracking of how spending influences student outcomes.
They write that the Oregon Department of Education must rethink how it currently prioritizes schools for funding; right now, the state allows money to be prioritized to any school that has literacy proficiency rates that have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
‘A big gut punch’: Oregon universities lose millions in federal science funding
Oregon Live | By Eddy Binford-Ross
The National Science Foundation grant terminations were among a litany of research funding cuts at Oregon universities from various federal agencies.
HOUSING
Portland housing crisis: LendingTree ranks Portland worst for housing outlook
KOIN | By Michaela Bourgeois
Portland has the worst housing crisis outlook among the largest metro areas in the United States, according to a LendingTree study released Tuesday.
According to LendingTree, Portland ranks the worst mostly because of a lack of housing and unaffordability.
According to LendingTree, the median home value in Portland is $526,500. However, the median household income is $94,573.
In addition to housing unaffordability, vacancy rates are also an issue in the Pacific Northwest, the study found.
Oregon sees a rise in eviction filings, but rent assistance programs are working
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Oregon saw a record number of eviction filings in 2024, with most cases related to a tenant struggling to afford rent.
There were nearly 27,300 evictions filed in 2024, and middle class families that previously were not considered rent-burdened are increasingly at risk of eviction, Sybil Hebb, the Oregon Law Center director of legislative and policy advocacy, told the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on Wednesday.
Oregon’s rise in eviction filings is largely driven by high demand for housing and stagnant wages. As the housing crisis continues, housing advocates are urging lawmakers to maintain funding for rent assistance and legal aid programs, which they say are critical to keeping Oregonians housed.
Oregon has the sixth most expensive housing cost index in the nation, according to Oregon Housing and Community Services.
The average monthly eviction filings in 2024 was nearly 2,300. That number has risen to a monthly average of almost 2,400 eviction filings so far in 2025.
Oregon Gov. Kotek, Mayor Wilson unveil action plan to build more housing in Portland
KOIN | By Danny Peterson, Joey Vacca
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek and Portland Mayor Keith Wilson are unveiling their plans to bolster housing development in the Rose City with a series of strategies, informed by a workgroup with multiple local stakeholders.
This comes after the duo previously announced a plan to waive system development charges earlier this month.
Wilson, Kotek announce slate of policy changes to accelerate housing development in Portland
OPB | By Alex Zielinski
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson announced a slate of policy changes Thursday they hope will address the slow pace of housing development in Portland.
The proposals were informed by a group of developers, construction firms, housing advocates and government officials convened by Kotek and Wilson in March. It was focused specifically on market-rate apartment construction.
The proposals center on expediting construction and turning more empty office buildings into housing. Some concepts will require Portland City Council approval to go into effect.
Fair Housing Council of Oregon will scale back after losing federal grants
Oregon Live | By Jonathan Bach
An Oregon nonprofit that investigates and litigates allegations of housing discrimination says it will halt its work in many cities, and may lay off staff, after the Trump administration cut off nearly $1 million in grants over three years.
Embattled sewer agency names new acting leader
Oregon Live | By Jamie Goldberg
The board of Washington County’s embattled sewer agency has named a new acting leader following the resignation of its chief executive officer.
Shanley will replace Diane Taniguchi-Dennis, who tendered her resignation earlier this month in the aftermath of an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive that uncovered lavish spending at the public agency. Her final day is June 6.
With Portland’s $2B water treatment plant in limbo, top project leader quietly quits
Oregon Live | By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
A top Portland bureaucrat tasked with overseeing the completion of a $2 billion water filtration plant east of Gresham quietly quit her job last month after nearly two decades with the city.
Jodie Inman stepped down as chief engineer for the Portland Water Bureau on April 18 amid an ongoing legal battle that has ground construction on the Bull Run water treatment facility to a halt.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
OR wildfires: PNW falls back into drought, wildfire threat increases
KOIN | By Josh Cozart
The warm and dry weather is starting to catch up with the Pacific Northwest as parts of the Beaver State fall back into drought.
Above-average tempers, dry skies, and a growing rain deficit over the last few months are to blame for the moderate drought conditions returning.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Group formed to invest, grant money from state’s largest environmental damages settlement
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
More than two years ago, Oregon settled with agrochemical giant Monsanto over the company’s alleged role in polluting waters of the state for more than 90 years with toxic chemicals harming humans and aquatic species.
Now, Gov. Tina Kotek and the newly established Oregon Environmental Restoration Council will begin planning, investing and distributing that settlement money – $698 million – over the course of 50 years, using it to pay for environmental restoration and cleanup work across the state.
Portland utility company appeals city's rejection of transmission line project
KOIN | By Jashayla Pettigrew
Portland General Electric is disputing the city’s decision to strike down the next phase of a project that would remove several acres of trees from Forest Park.
PGE appeals Portland’s denial on controversial Forest Park transmission project
Oregon Live | By Gosia Wozniacka
Portland General Electric is challenging the Portland City Council’s decision to reject a controversial transmission upgrade project in Forest Park that would require the utility to clearcut more than 370 trees on about 5 acres in the park.
National News
Appeals court restores Trump tariffs for now, after trade court blocks most
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Matthew Kish
President Donald Trump’s global tariffs can remain in place while the courts examine whether the sweeping import taxes that have roiled worldwide trade reach beyond his presidential authority.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit delivered the order swiftly Thursday, handing Trump a win after a lower trade court blocked nearly all of the president’s unprecedented emergency tariffs that affect U.S. trade with nearly every other nation.
The administration had immediately appealed the ruling and threatened to take the case to the Supreme Court as early as Friday if a stay was not granted.
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