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Oregon News
POLITICS
‘Take what I can get’: Kotek signals long-term wildfire funding solution unlikely in 2025
Oregon Live | By Sami Edge
Gov. Tina Kotek, who has been one of the loudest voices urging lawmakers to set aside a dedicated funding stream to mitigate against and fight wildfires, on Monday said she’ll take what she can get from legislative budget writers while that conversation continues.
That was the clearest signal to date that lawmakers are unlikely to deliver a large and sustainable source of long-term fire funding this session.
Democrats have pushed for a new source of funding to pay for those efforts, while Republicans have argued that paying for fire is a matter of rearranging the state’s existing budget.
New ideas have begun rising to the top of the potential funding list for lobbyists and lawmakers working on a wildfire package, including using the interest generated from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, which is set aside to help stabilize the state in an economic downturn.
Gov. Kotek proposes using $160 million from state’s ‘rainy day fund’ for one-time wildfire funding
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Desperate for money to get through the next two wildfire seasons and with few proposals on the table that could meet costs and get passed by the Oregon Legislature, Gov. Tina Kotek is proposing to skim some money off of the state’s “rainy day fund.”
Kotek at a news conference Monday proposed taking $161 million of interest income from the state’s nearly $1.9 billion budget reserve fund — meant to help the state smooth out revenue or expense fluctuations in times of economic downturn or recession — to provide funding for wildfire response and mitigation for the 2025-27 biennium to mitigation readiness.
“We have only just weeks left in the session — days — without an immediate path for an ongoing funding mechanism. I urge the Legislature to identify as much one-time funding as they can,” she said. “I see no reason why they can’t get that at least done.”
She recently began signaling her support for using a portion of the expected $1.64 billion “kicker” tax rebate for wildfire funding, despite declining to consider it in the past. The rebate is sent back to Oregonians when actual revenue the state collects, including income taxes, exceeds the two-year revenue forecast by 2% or more.
But any bill to change the kicker requires 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.
Oregon tax on Zyn nicotine pouches proposed to fund fighting wildfires
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
Oregon lawmakers are running out of time to come up with funding for the increasingly high cost of fighting wildfires, leading to some novel ideas as the legislative session nears its close.
The most likely ideas appear to center on tapping the state’s kicker, using interest from the rainy day fund or even coming up with a new tax on Zyn — a type of tobacco-free nicotine pouch.
Lawmakers figure they’ll need around $300 million per biennium to fund fighting wildfires. How they fund that is the big question.
Lawmakers have generally been loath to use it for anything other than sending it to back to taxpayers, and Oregon Republicans have been dead set against the plan.
Oregon lawmakers designate T-bone as new state steak
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
The T-bone, a cut of beef taken from a cow’s short loin section near the spine, is officially the state steak after the Oregon House on Monday in a 50-2 vote passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 13. The Senate already passed the resolution, in a rare unanimous vote in March.
Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, the bill’s chief sponsor, said the resolution represents Oregon’s rich agricultural heritage and cattle ranching that has been present in Oregon since 1824.
Oregon lawmakers name a new state symbol, the official steak
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
Oregon lawmakers designated the T-bone steak as Oregon’s official state steak on June 16.
The T-bone steak is the latest state symbol adopted by lawmakers, following the designation of potatoes as the official state vegetable in 2023 and Jory soil as the official state soil in 2011.
It’s official: This is Oregon’s newest state symbol
Oregon Live | By Lizzy Acker
That all changed Monday, when, according to a press release from the Oregon Legislature, “The Oregon House passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 recognizing the T-bone as the state’s official steak.”
The chief sponsors of the resolution were Senator Todd Nash, a Republican from Enterprise and Representative Bobby Levy, a Republican from Echo.
Nash is a cattle rancher and he put forth the resolution at the beginning of the year.
For Homer and Nash, the T-bone isn’t just dinner or a product from one of Oregon’s major agricultural exports, it’s a metaphor.
“It represents the state of Oregon to us,” Homer said. “There are two parts to it. Both are beautiful.”
“In the end, when you’re done with dinner and you have that bone laying on your plate there, it isn’t like a chicken,” Nash added. “It isn’t like a wishbone where you pull it apart and there’s a winner and a loser. Both sides are winners in this case.”
It's Official! T-Bone named Oregon's Official State Steak
Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Oregon House has passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 13 recognizing the T-Bone as the state’s official steak.
The bill, chief sponsored by Senator Todd Nash (R-Enterprise) and Representative Bobby Levy (R-Echo) and carried in the House by Representative Mark Owens (R-Crane), honors Oregon’s long history of cattle ranching, which dates back to the early 1800s, according to a release from Sen. Nash.
“All 36 counties in Oregon have cattle.," Nash said. "We raise some of the highest quality beef in the world right here in Oregon, And of those cuts, the T-Bone rises to the top.”
Oregon moves closer to law requiring carbon neutral public retirement plan
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Oregon would guarantee the state’s $101 billion public pension fund is fully carbon neutral within the next 25 years under a bill one step from becoming law.
House Bill 2081, a bill to codify Oregon State Treasury’s 2023 “Net-Zero” plan into law, passed the Oregon Senate on Monday in an 18-10 vote with Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, joining Democrats to vote for it. Provided Gov. Tina Kotek signs it or allows it to become law without her signature, the act would ensure future treasurers can’t back down from the plan followed by Democratic Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner and her predecessor, Democrat Tobias Read.
The plan requires the Treasury to reduce its overall PERS, or Public Employees Retirement System, investments that emit harmful substances by 60% by 2035 and to get the portfolio to “net-zero” emissions by 2050. This does not mean fully divesting the fund of its fossil fuel holdings but striking a balance between investments in heavy carbon-emitting industries with industries that are cutting or absorbing emissions or are committing to doing so by 2035.
OR lawmaker fending off opposition to bill tied to KATU investigation, permit requirements
KATU | By Wright Gazaway
An Oregon Democrat is fending off late opposition to legislation sparked by a KATU News investigation.
Evans sponsored the legislation after KATU investigated costly permit requirements in Portland. We found the city required a business owner to upgrade the sidewalk and street corner outside her office as a condition of renovating the inside.
The Senate Rules Committee held a public hearing on an updated version of the bill Monday – the result of what Evans called extensive negotiating between stakeholders.
The bill prohibits governments from mandating frontage improvements when a building alteration costs less than $150,000, does not change the occupancy of a building, and does not increase the square footage. The rules apply to municipalities with 15,000 or more people.
Oregon state lawmakers recently passed a bill blocking their personal addresses
OPB | By Lauren Dake
The bipartisan vote in favor of Senate Bill 224 seems almost prescient after what unfolded over the weekend: a gunman assassinating a Minnesota state lawmaker at her home, shooting another and reportedly visiting the houses of two other state legislators.
The vote was pure coincidence, of course, but it highlights a growing concern about political violence in an era of deepening political divide.
Earlier this month, Democratic Sen. James Manning testified in favor of the measure. He told his fellow lawmakers about a time he voted for a bill dealing with gun storage upset people.
Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, made a similar point, saying acts of political violence should serve “as a wake-up call for Americans of all political backgrounds to find common ground and ratchet down extreme, hyper-partisan rhetoric.”
“Political opposition is just that,” Bonham said in a statement. “They’re not enemies. They’re people who want to solve the same problems that we’ve identified differently. It’s no cause to incite violence.”
Grand jury convened to investigate conditions, complaints at Oregon’s youth prison
Oregon Live | By Maxine Bernstein
A Marion County grand jury will investigate the conditions and management of Oregon’s largest youth prison in the wake of sexual abuse claims by former youth and a backlog of complaints that went unaddressed, the district attorney announced Monday. Gov. Tina Kotek in March fired longtime Oregon Youth Authority Director Joe O’Leary after records showed the agency had failed to review investigations into an estimated 3,000 abuse complaints spanning seven years and that investigations had not been completed in another 733 cases dating to 2018. The former chief investigator of the youth authority’s Professional Standards Unit resigned in February shortly after the backlog was discovered.
In May, the interim director of the Oregon Youth Authority reported to lawmakers that the backlog of open older cases stood then at 508. At least five civil lawsuits are pending against the youth authority by at least 39 men who have alleged that MacLaren’s former chief doctor sexually abused them in his medical clinic when they were boys in custody. The suits allege Dr. Edward Gary Edwards abused the boys between 2002 and 2016, fondling their genitals for his sexual gratification, and youth authority officials ignored staff reports about the alleged sexual abuse.
Voters increasingly skeptical that Portland-area homeless services tax is working, poll shows
Oregon Live | By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
A poll of 822 likely November voters conducted in late May and early June found that only 46% would definitely or probably vote “yes” on a renewal of the regional homeless services tax that provides Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties with funding for outreach, shelter and housing for homeless people. Another 6% said they were undecided, but would “lean toward” voting “yes.”
That tax, which is assessed on businesses and high-income households, was first approved by voters in 2020, with nearly 58% of the vote. Lawn signs at the time promised to “end our homelessness crisis” through increased spending on services. Instead, homelessness has gotten worse. In fact, more people become homeless every month in the Portland area than are placed in housing.
Metro Polling Shows “Challenging” Path Toward Reauthorization of Supportive Housing Services Tax
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
Metro, the three-county regional government, would face a “challenging path” if it goes back to voters with a measure to extend its supportive housing services tax on high earners to 2050 from 2030, when it is set to expire, according to new polling results.
Metro has been debating such a measure for more than a year, aiming first for the May ballot and now for the November one. Among the features being discussed are the extension and a plan to index the tax to inflation so that middle-income payers don’t get swept up in a levy designed to hit only the wealthy.
“Voters continue to back the idea of pairing affordable housing and supportive services, and view most of the measure’s investments as important priorities,” pollsters at FM3 Research wrote. “At the same time, continued ambivalence about the performance of local government in these areas provides a headwind that limits the breadth of voter support.”
2 ex-staffers threaten to sue Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office for discrimination
OPB | By Troy Brynelson, Conrad Wilson
As a candidate, Nathan Vasquez wielded allegations of mistreatment of female employees against his predecessor. Now he’s on the receiving end as the county’s top prosecutor.
Two female former staffers at the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office say they plan to sue their former employer for discrimination.
Oregon governor declines to issue comment on controversial SWAT email within her top police agency
Oregon Live | By Maxine Bernstein
Gov. Tina Kotek declined to issue her own response to an Oregon State Police recruiting email for its SWAT unit that boasted about fatal shootings and asked if troopers were “jonesing” to fire less-lethal munitions launchers and set off explosives.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Oregon needs to stop the flow of illegal guns — and we know how to do it
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Daniel Webster, a researcher and professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
If Oregon wants to make lasting progress in reducing gun violence and the devastating ripple effects, the state must address a largely overlooked but crucial driver: the unchecked flow of firearms from licensed gun dealers to the illegal market.
Governor Kotek criticizes federal immigration policy amid Oregon protests
KATU | By Shelby Slaughter
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek voiced her disapproval of the federal administration's focus on certain Democratic cities, following several days of anti-immigration protests in Oregon.
"I don't take kindly to the fact that the federal administration is picking on particular cities," Gov. Kotek said during a press conference on Monday.
ECONOMY
Intel will lay off 15% to 20% of its factory workers, memo says
Oregon Live | By Mike Rogoway
Intel plans to lay off up to a fifth of its factory workers, an enormous cutback that will have a profound effect on one of the chipmaker’s core businesses.
He said the company is targeting job reductions between 15% and 20%, with most of the cuts taking place in July.
Intel announced the pending layoffs in April and notified factory workers last week that the cuts would begin next month. It hadn’t previously said just how deep the layoffs will go.
The company had 109,000 employees at the end of 2024, but it’s not clear how many of those worked in its factory division – called Intel Foundry.
‘A punch in the gut’: Oregon’s wine industry on edge amid targeted immigration enforcement
Oregon Live | By Yesenia Amaro
Leaders in Oregon’s wine industry met with two members of Congress during a roundtable Monday in Dayton to discuss business opportunities and challenges, including the impact of aggressive federal immigration enforcement.
While the Trump administration has reportedly ordered immigration authorities to pause arrests on farms, restaurants and hotels, some in Oregon remain skeptical about the shift in immigration enforcement.
HOUSING
Portland City Council committee advances plan to waive millions in fees to spur homebuilding
Oregon Live | By Jonathan Bach
A proposal to waive housing development fees for three years advanced out of committee on a unanimous vote Monday, with Portland City Council members saying it couldn’t start soon enough.
HEALTH CARE
Oregon hepatitis C death rates are among the country’s worst, reports find
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Oregon has clocked in at the top of a nationwide database for rates of hepatitis C, prompting state health officials to call for increased resources aimed at stemming the disease’s impact on Oregon’s most vulnerable communities.
Oregon has clocked in at the top of a nationwide database for rates of hepatitis C, prompting state health officials to call for increased resources aimed at stemming the disease’s impact on Oregon’s most vulnerable communities.
People in Oregon are 2.7 times more likely to die from hepatitis C compared to those who live in other states, according to two annual reports on hepatitis C released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April. The most recent data in those reports is from 2023.
Health officials’ analysis of the CDC’s data for Oregon found that those who use illicit drugs are most likely to develop an infection.
EDUCATION
Lawmakers approve record $11.4 billion for Oregon schools
OPB | By Tiffany Camhi
Oregon’s $11.36 billion K-12 budget bill is now headed to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk. But as a number of school districts throughout the state face grueling financial constraints, some lawmakers and education advocates say the budget is far from enough.
Senate Bill 5516, which passed easily on the House floor Monday afternoon, will increase the budget for Oregon’s State School Fund by more than 11% from the last biennium.
NATURAL RESOURCES & WILDFIRE
Rowena Fire efforts continue; affected districts warned of tap water contamination
KATU | By Bobby Corser
Firefighters continue to get a handle on the Rowena Fire burning in the Columbia River Gorge.
Fire officials said on Tuesday morning that they have revised the acres burned to 3,570. The fire is 37 percent contained.
The Wasco County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday afternoon that residents of two districts affected by the Rowena Fire to not drink the tap water due to contamination, until further notice.
Alder Springs Fire forces evacuations in Jefferson and Deschutes counties
OPB | By Jeff Thompson
A fire that started Monday morning on Crooked River National Grassland in southern Jefferson County was burning an estimated 2,500 acres as of Tuesday morning.
The Alder Springs Fire was burning grass and brush in steep terrain on both sides of the Deschutes River.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Salmon return to the Klamath’s Oregon waters, but the river’s headwaters are still blocked
OPB | By Cassandra Profita
A lot of hope was pouring into the river along with those fish as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Klamath Tribes entered the beginning stages of starting a new run of spring chinook salmon. Those hatchery fish were the very beginning of what could be the first run of spring chinook to survive in the upper Klamath Basin since the early 1900s.
National News
This mother relies on SNAP to help feed her kids. Now, she’s bracing for cuts
OPB | By Katia Riddle
Millions of people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are facing changes, not only to what kinds of food they can buy, but how much money they receive, what they have to do to be eligible for the program, or if they qualify for benefits at all.
The Trump administration last week allowed more states to stop people from using benefits to buy sugary food and drinks. And the budget reconciliation bill currently includes deep cuts to the program. Some say they cannot imagine how they will keep themselves and their families fed if these new proposals are approved.
Analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office suggests the cuts would reduce SNAP by nearly $300 billion — the largest cut in the program’s history. More than 40 million people in the U.S. receive food assistance; some food policy experts warn 1 in 4 could be affected. They caution that many recipients would see their benefits reduced substantially or eliminated completely. Some states — unable to make up for the federal cuts — may choose to abandon the program altogether.
Medicaid keeps getting more popular as Republicans aim to cut it by $800 billion
OPB | By Selena Simmons-Duffin
“We actually are seeing a pretty significant uptick in Medicaid popularity,” says Kirzinger, who is director of survey methodology for health research organization, KFF. According to a poll published Tuesday, 83% of the public have favorable views of Medicaid. Just a few months ago, in January, that figure was 77% of the public.
“The largest uptick we saw in favorability of the past couple of months was among Republicans,” Kirzinger adds. Three in four Republicans now say they view Medicaid favorably.
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