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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon ethics commission ends review of governor's office spending
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission sent a letter to Gov. Tina Kotek's chief of staff on May 30, ending a monthslong foray into potential spending violations on monthly parking, tickets to events and a dinner held at Mahonia Hall, the governor's official residence.
The letter echoed recommendations from the Secretary of State's Office, which recommended the governor's office refresh its policies and improve documentation.
The review examined spending on two parking spaces, four events and a catered dinner at Mahonia Hall, all of which were flagged in a letter from the audits division in the Secretary of State's Office.
Legislative lawyers clear state Sen. Lisa Reynolds over conflict of interest
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Oregon Sen. Lisa Reynolds, D-Portland, told the Capital Chronicle in an email Tuesday that a May 16 opinion from the Office of the Legislative Counsel “clarifies that I am a member of an exempted class, and as such, have no legal conflict of interest, nor a need to declare one” when it comes to Senate Bill 28. Reynolds is co-sponsoring the bill, which would require commercial insurers to reimburse independent primary care clinics at similar rates to hospital-owned clinics.
Oregon NIL bill passes Senate, nears governor’s desk
Oregon Live | By Ryan Clarke
A bill that modifies existing Oregon law governing college athletes earning money from their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) passed the Oregon Senate Monday and has nearly cleared the Legislature.
Senators approved House Bill 3694 16-13. Although a version of the bill already passed the House, senators amended the proposal, so it will need to return to the House for another vote before it heads to Gov. Tina Kotek.
The bill would provide a legal foundation for college athletic programs like Oregon and Oregon State to begin paying student-athletes directly.
The amendment to the bill adopted by the Senate Education Committee removed language which would have banned student-athletes from taking NIL deals for “alcohol, drugs, gambling, firearms, sexual entertainment, hate speech, violence, or other topics prohibited by the higher education institution.”
Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham of The Dalles said the removal of that provision was the “final straw” that convinced him to vote against the bill championed by fellow Republican Suzanne Weber on Monday.
Bonham has historically supported compensating athletes for their name and image in the past, he said. But he and others opposed to the bill said Monday that the rules are going too far, allowing large schools to poach talent from smaller and less wealthy schools because they can pay more or help student athletes earn better advertising deals.
“This went from honoring the students’ intangible benefits to the community to now a money making scheme,” Bonham said. “I never thought that’s what it should become.”
“Just a few teams are going to control who wins and who loses,” argued Sen. Fred Girod, a Stayton Republican.
Democrats Deb Patterson, Mark Meek and Chris Gorsek joined Republicans in opposition to the bill.
Oregon poised to join most other states allowing governor to appoint vacant U.S. Senate seats
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
A bill allowing Oregon’s governor to appoint a U.S. senator for the state in the event of an unexpected vacancy is now a governor’s signature away from becoming law.
In a 31-24 vote, lawmakers in the Oregon House Tuesday passed Senate Bill 952. The legislation would give Gov. Tina Kotek, and any future Oregon governor, the authority to appoint someone from the same political party as the outgoing senator within 30 days of their passing away, stepping down or otherwise being unable to serve in their position. The appointment would expire whenever the former senator’s term ends or if a successor is elected, whichever comes first.
The legislation would end Oregon’s status as one of four states in which vacancies are left unfilled until special elections, without appointments from the governor.
Senate Bill 952 passed in the Oregon Senate in April in a 16-13 vote along party lines, with one dissenting Democrat, along with amendments that mandate a special election be set within 150 days following a vacancy.
“This is not a partisan issue,” said Rep. Hai Pham, D-Hillsboro, while introducing the bill Tuesday on the House floor. “It’s about making sure our state isn’t left on the sidelines when the stakes are high.”
Oregon Republicans, however, saw the measure as further entrenching power with Democrats and party insiders. Several spoke up on the House floor and said the process should be left up to voters.
Commissioner proposes pausing manager pay bumps to ease Multnomah County budget woes
Oregon Live | By Austin de Dios
Multnomah County Commissioner Meghan Moyer wants the county to halt cost of living pay increases for all managers in the upcoming fiscal year to help free up funds to close the county’s budget shortfall.
OR utility rates: Bill blocking utility rate increases by Big Tech passes Senate
KOIN | By Michaela Bourgeois
A bill passed the Oregon Senate on Tuesday that would shield Oregonians from paying higher utility costs to cover electricity usage by Big Tech facilities in the state.
House Bill 3546, known as the Protecting Oregonians with Energy Responsibility (POWER) Act, would hold companies behind facilities such as data centers or cryptocurrency operations, responsible for their own utility bills, the Democratic Majority Office announced in a press release.
The bill would establish a separate pricing system for electricity users that use more than 20 megawatts – which is roughly the same amount used to power a small city, the lawmakers explained.
Trump administration cancels four grants to Oregon Employment Department
Oregon Live | By Mike Rogoway
The Trump administration canceled four federal grants last month that helped pay for community outreach and overpayment recovery at the Oregon Employment Department.
Some of the grants were due to expire in June and another, awarded in 2023, had been mostly spent. None of the canceled grants directly addressed the agency’s chronic issues with promptly paying jobless claims and fielding phone and electronic inquiries from laid-off workers.
Interim Directors Now Run Much of Multnomah County
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
Heather Mirasol, director of behavioral health for Multnomah County, says she plans to leave her position this month.
Her departure leaves the county with yet another interim leader just as it finalizes its budget for the coming fiscal year.
Portland’s brand-new City Council considers bringing in outside consultant to create ‘government reset plan’
Oregon Live | By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh
Five months into Portland City Hall’s era with an expanded 12-member council, the new legislative body is already looking to outside help for a makeover.
The city’s procurement services division Monday opened bids for consultants to “develop a government reset plan” for the council centered around three central questions, documents show.
Key architect of Multnomah County homelessness programs says 2 things are missing from the system
Oregon Live | By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
Dan Field, director of Multnomah County’s Homeless Services Department, will retire in mid-June after two years in his role. In an exclusive interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, Field urged local leaders and elected officials to do a better job working together and to create more housing.
Still, Field said he believes he achieved the goals he set for himself and is leaving a stronger, more functional Homeless Services Department and a more cordial city-county relationship in his wake. He said that to continue that progress, local leaders must work together toward a clear set of shared goals and must find ways to move more people into permanent housing as swiftly as possible.
Oregon girl alleges track meet official ordered her to 'get out of the photo' after protesting trans athlete
Fox12 News | By Jackson Thompson
Oregon high school senior Alexa Anderson garnered national attention on Saturday when she refused to share the high jump medal podium with a trans athlete at a state track and field championship meet.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Embattled Deschutes Sheriff Kent van der Kamp says he will retire Aug. 31
OPB | By Emily Cureton Cook
Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp confirmed Tuesday he plans to step down Aug. 31, just eight months into his first term in office. The planned move comes as a state board is poised to take his badge over allegations of misconduct and dishonesty.
Judge demands answers after ICE removes asylum seeker from Oregon
OPB | By Conrad Wilson
U.S. District Court Judge Amy Baggio also barred immigration officers from transporting the asylum seeker out of a detention facility in Washington state.
An asylum seeker was removed from Oregon by immigration officials Monday, hours after she was detained outside a Portland courtroom, according to a federal court docket.
Private prisons and local jails are ramping up as ICE detention exceeds capacity
OPB | By Meg Anderson
The federal government is holding more than 48,000 people in immigration detention, about a 20% increase since January.
That is already thousands beyond what Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is funded for, yet the administration has signaled its work is far from over. President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has said he wants to see 100,000 in detention.
Longview City Council to vote on public camping ‘zero-tolerance’ policy
OPB | By Erik Neumann
The City of Longview is considering a stricter approach to camping, drug use and littering in public parks. On Thursday, the city council is expected to vote on a “zero-tolerance” resolution that directs city police to aggressively enforce local laws about unauthorized camping.
Record 384 pounds of meth found in Oregon storage unit leads to 15-year prison term
Oregon Live | By Maxine Bernstein
A man who stowed 384 pounds of methamphetamine in an Oregon storage unit – marking the largest single seizure of the drug in state history – was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison.
Suspect in hatchet attack near Portland State University pleads not guilty
KATU
A man accused of attacking a woman with a hatchet near Portland State University pleaded not guilty to charges Tuesday during a court appearance.
ECONOMY
Astoria Job Corps cuts 'for government convenience'
KOIN | By Anthony Kustura
All 350 students of Tongue Point Job Corps in Astoria will be sent home by the end of June due to a Department of Labor order which “aligns with the President’s 2026 budget,” according to a news release that cites former Oregon Congresswoman and current Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
From construction to manufacturing, Job Corps gives young people a tuition-free shot at a future. Job Corps offers an array of certifications in various trades as well as assistance in searching for opportunities post-certification. Students can also receive military training while simultaneously receiving help to fund their education. Despite this, in mere weeks, hundreds — many near certification — will be forced out.
The City Over the Past Decade Doubled Extra Paid Time Off Awarded to “Exceptional” Nonunion Employees
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
The city of Portland in the past decade doubled the bonus vacation hours it awards to employees not represented by unions, many of them supervisors and managers.
That’s the upshot of five years of data WW obtained through a public records request. It shows how many city employees received up to two weeks of additional paid time off each year through what’s called management leave. The leave is intended to reward nonunion employees—about one-fifth of the city’s total workforce—for outstanding performance.
But the data provided by the city would suggest the city’s system of management leave has become an expectation rather than a reward for going above and beyond the call of duty, as was intended. And the program grew to its largest known size the year before the city faced a historic budget deficit and significant cuts to its basic services.
One former bureau director said employees who received extra leave the year before came to expect the same the following year.
Plus, giving out the perk didn’t actually cost the bureaus anything because it was wages that would’ve been paid anyway.
HEALTH CARE
Guest column: Central Oregon faces a youth mental health crisis
The Bend Bulletin | By Suzanne Mendez and Kate Broadman, pediatricians in Central Oregon. Broadman is married to state Sen. Anthony Broadman.
As pediatricians in Central Oregon, we have seen firsthand the immense strain caused by the shortage of pediatric psychiatric and mental health treatment facilities in our region and across the state.
That shortage leaves emergency departments overburdened and facing unsustainable strain. And the fallout from COVID-19 has only deepened this crisis. What’s needed is a new, dedicated facility here in Central Oregon that would allow us to care for children in appropriate, therapeutic settings rather than leaving them to wait for days in emergency departments that are not equipped to meet their needs. For safety reasons, patients experiencing acute mental health crises must keep their doors open in the emergency department, which means we have had children as young as 8 exposed to traumatic events while waiting for care. This is the opposite of what a child who is struggling with their mental health needs. The need for more resources is especially urgent in Central Oregon, where pediatricians serve a vast area that includes the eastern two-thirds of the state. Referring families to Portland is often not a viable option, particularly during the winter months when travel can be dangerous or even impossible. At the same time, the closure of dozens of youth mental health programs across Oregon has left families with even fewer options. What was once a critical gap has now become a true crisis.
A proposal championed by Representative Emerson Levy and Senator Anthony Broadman would make a $3.82 million capital construction investment for a new pediatric psychiatric facility in Central Oregon.
Medicaid cuts could affect Oregon more than most states, analysts say
OPB | By Amelia Templeton
If Republicans in the U.S. Senate pass the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” Oregonians currently enrolled in Medicaid are more likely than people in nearly any other state to lose coverage and end up uninsured, according to analyses from several national think tanks.
Trump's tax bill could impact Oregon Medicaid services: What to know
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
Cuts to Medicaid proposed as part of President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" could cost Oregon $1 billion, devastate rural providers and throw the state another funding challenge, advocates warned the Senate Committee on Health Care on June 3.
Republican tax bill could slash billions for Oregon Health Plan, state officials say
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
A Republican tax bill passed in the U.S. House and headed for a vote in the Senate would slash billions in federal Medicaid funding across the country — leaving an outsized mark on states like Oregon that offer health care policies centered on inclusivity.
The state relies on more than $11 billion in federal funding each year to cover about 75% of its Medicaid program, known as the Oregon Health Plan.
Oregon’s Psychedelic Service Centers Are Closing Amid High Costs and Tough Regulation
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
Back in 2020, when Oregon voters legalized psychedelic mushrooms for use in therapeutic settings, backers of the measure expected the industry to flourish like fungi in a fall mist.
Rules governing the production and use of psilocybin are strict and the fees are high. Facilitators who guide psychonauts pay the fees, as do growers and operators of “service centers,” the antiseptic-sounding spaces where people are allowed to trip.
The bottleneck is in centers. The state charges owners $10,000 a year for a license and requires security cameras for patient safety and steel safes for storing Psilocybe cubensis because the magical species remains a Schedule I illegal drug under federal law.
The result? One quarter of the psilocybin service centers opened in the past two years have already closed.
Oregon health insurers preview 2026 premium increases for individuals, small businesses
Oregon Live | By Kristine de Leon
Oregonians who buy their own health insurance or get coverage through a small-business employer could see their premiums go up next year — some by quite a bit.
Oregon health insurers are proposing premium hikes for 2026 health plans, with average increases nearing 10% for individuals and more than 11% for small businesses. Companies say their requested rate hikes reflect growing financial pressure across the health care system, driven by inflation, federal tariff uncertainty over prescription drugs and medical equipment and increased medical spending.
EDUCATION
Report Finds Oregon “Weak” in Elementary Math Instruction
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
A report Tuesday from the National Council on Teacher Quality rated Oregon “weak” in math instruction, particularly at the elementary levels.
NCTQ evaluated five criteria to determine whether instructional programs were effective. Researchers examined whether teacher prep programs used detailed and specific math standards; if there was a system in place to review these programs; if the state adopted a strong elementary math licensure test; if it required high quality curricula in schools and provided teachers with support; and if the state had ongoing professional development for teachers “to sustain effective math instruction.”
Oregon scored a weak or unacceptable rating on every one of those categories except professional development, where it received a moderate.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
Butte Creek fire is 90% contained; smaller wildfires break out in central Oregon
Oregon Live | By Tatum Todd
Firefighters have suppressed the large fire that broke out in north-central Oregon a week ago, as well as a small fire that triggered evacuation notices near Mosier. But new fires have triggered warnings in Wasco and Deschutes counties, officials say.
Oregon Got a Massive Federal Recovery Grant After 2020 Wildfires. Most of the Money Remains Unspent.
Willamette Week | By Nigel Jaquiss
Nearly four years after Congress approved a mammoth disaster relief grant to help Oregonians recover from the destructive 2020 wildfires, records show that more than 90% of the money remains unspent, even as hundreds of families await relief.
Hundreds of families in Jackson and other fire-afflicted counties remain homeless or marginally housed from the 2020 blazes.
As Oregon prepares for the 2025 wildfire season—one that experts expect will be worse than normal—OHCS will be tested again. The agency has tripled in size over the past decade as the state battles a housing crisis, but it had no experience in disaster relief because Oregon had never experienced the residential destruction it saw in 2020.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Editorial: Allow a Deschutes Basin water bank
The Bulletin Editorial Board
It looks like the Legislature may grant permission for a water bank to be set up in Deschutes Basin. But there has been some pushback. A water bank would help get water in the basin where it should go, providing a bit of flexibility within the rigidity of Oregon water law. Irrigators and water users could make a deposit of water in the bank. That would make it available for others to withdraw and use. It would likely be most helpful for North Unit Irrigation District, located near Madras. Most of the world’s supply of carrot seed is produced there. But because that irrigation district has a junior water right among the other irrigation districts in the basin, it can have trouble getting enough water to its farmers. The water bank would be voluntary. Nobody would be forced to do anything. The exchanges would be temporary, though they could become more permanent. The Deschutes River Conservancy would manage the water bank under the watchful eye of the Oregon Water Resources Department. It’s a pilot program and is set under the bill, House Bill 3806, to expire in 2034. The hope is, though, that it will be successful and spread into other communities.
National News
Trump's 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum take effect
KATU | By Alexx Altman-Devilbiss
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum doubled to 50% on Wednesday morning, potentially impacting prices on the metal used to make housing, autos and other goods.
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