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To contact me, please click here: Rep.BenBowman@oregonlegislature.gov
Hello Friends,
The 2025 legislative session has officially come to a close. After months of committee hearings, stakeholder meetings, and spirited debate, we wrapped up with long days on the House floor passing dozens of bills and finalizing Oregon’s budget for the next two years. We officially adjourned “sine die” – latin for “indefinitely” – on Friday, June 27th, shortly before midnight.
The final days of the session were intense, but also deeply meaningful. We advanced legislation that will have a real impact in people’s lives, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who engaged in this process—whether you testified, reached out to my office, or simply stayed informed.
This newsletter will share a bit about what we accomplished, acknowledge some of our setbacks, and give you a sense of what’s ahead.
Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Over the July 4th weekend, while Oregonians were celebrating with friends and family, Congress passed what the Trump Administration is calling the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill will be devastating for many Oregonians. It includes a massive tax giveaway for billionaires, paid for by slashing health care, food assistance, climate investments, and support for rural communities.
Here’s what the bill does:
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Cuts Medicaid funding, putting health coverage at risk for up to 280,000 Oregonians. One in three Oregonians relies on the Oregon Health Plan, including half of the children in our state.
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Slashes food assistance, including $230 billion in cuts to SNAP, a program that 1 in 6 Oregonians rely on to feed their families.
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Eliminates key clean energy tax credits, reversing progress on climate change at a time when our communities are already feeling the effects.
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Ends graduate student loan support and reshapes Pell Grants in ways that hurt low-income students.
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Permanently locks in Trump-era tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, while throwing in short-term tax breaks to try and sugarcoat the deal for working families.
These changes hit rural Oregon especially hard. In counties like Malheur, Klamath, and Harney, where more than 40% of residents depend on Medicaid, this bill will have devastating impacts.
We are already working at the state level to protect critical services and shield Oregonians from the worst impacts of this bill. But we won’t be able to make up the full difference—these cuts will lead to real harm.
I’m excited to share that I have a new colleague in the Oregon House of Representatives: Dr. Sue Rieke-Smith was appointed to represent House District 26, which covers most of King City, Sherwood, Wilsonville, and Bull Mountain.
Sue’s appointment is exciting news for our community, and it’s personally meaningful to me. When I served on the Tigard-Tualatin School Board, Sue was our Superintendent. I had the chance to work alongside her during some pivotal years for our district. I saw firsthand her deep commitment to students, families, and educators.
Sue brings over 25 years of experience in education, as well as a background in trauma and public health nursing. Her life’s work has been about service, and I can’t think of a better addition to the Oregon Legislature.
Dr. Sue came in at the very end of the legislative session, and she adapted seamlessly. I’m looking forward to working with her in this new capacity, and I know House District 26 will be well-served by her leadership. Welcome, Dr. Sue!
I’m thrilled to share that we secured $3 million in state funding for Tigard’s Emergency Operations Center design work! This project will help ensure that Tigard is better prepared to respond to disasters, protect residents, and coordinate emergency services when it matters most.
This funding was included in the legislature’s end-of-session capital construction package, a process that allows us to invest in one-time projects that strengthen infrastructure and serve the public good. These dollars are highly competitive and prioritized based on regional impact, project readiness, and community support. I fought hard to make sure Tigard’s needs were heard and included in the final package.
The Emergency Operations Center has been a top priority for the city for years. The current setup is outdated and inadequate for the scale of crisis response our growing community needs. This new center will be a hub for first responders, city leaders, and partner agencies to coordinate real-time responses to emergencies, from ice storms and flooding to wildfires and public safety threats.
I’m proud we were able to deliver this win for our district. A huge thank you to Mayor Lueb, City Manager Emily Tritsch, Senator Neron Misslin, and the Tigard City Council for their partnership throughout the process. I’ll keep working with the city and state agencies as this project moves into the next phase.
If you’ve been following Oregon news, you may have seen that the Portland Trail Blazers are officially for sale. For the first time in a generation, the future ownership of the Blazers is uncertain.
In the final days of session, I carried a bipartisan resolution on the House floor making it clear that the Trail Blazers matter to Oregon.
Even if you don’t like basketball, the Blazers are a benefit for all of us. They show up for Oregon, investing in our schools, supporting youth programs, and championing public health. The Blazers are an economic powerhouse, bringing in over $670 million a year, supporting thousands of jobs, and drawing millions of visitors to our state.
Right now, there’s no sign the team is leaving, but we’ve seen what happens when a city loses a team they love (just ask Seattle). This resolution is our way of saying, loud and clear: the Portland Trail Blazers belong in Oregon, and we want them here for generations to come.
You can read more about the resolution here from The Oregonian.
On the topic of sports, you may have heard about the legislature’s successful passage of a bill to help bring an MLB franchise to Portland. I believe this would spur valuable economic development for our region, and was proud to support this bipartisan bill on the house floor.
You can read more (and see the beautiful ideas for a waterfront ballpark) at the Portland Diamond Project website.
Rendering of potential MLB ballpark for downtown Portland. Photo belongs to Portland Diamond Project.
If you followed the news surrounding the end of the session, you likely noticed that the legislature did not pass a “transportation package” this session. This year’s package was intended to pay for maintenance and operations of Oregon’s existing roadways. Our current revenue system relies heavily on the gas tax – and increased vehicle fuel efficiency, and more electric vehicles, have contributed to this funding source no longer keeping up with our needs.
For over a year, legislators from both parties worked on this issue, holding hearings, visiting communities across the state, and crafting proposals. When it became clear there wasn’t agreement across the building on a comprehensive package, an emergency stopgap proposal was brought forward to prevent layoffs and keep essential services running.
In the final hours of session, a procedural maneuver blocked the bill from getting a vote. As a result, Oregon’s roads, public safety services, and transit systems are now in a more precarious position.
Here’s what that means in real terms:
- Hundreds of ODOT employees could be laid off.
- Services like snowplowing, striping, and basic road maintenance are at risk.
- Accountability reforms at ODOT, like performance audits and increased transparency, are now delayed.
- No new investments for cities, counties, or Safe Routes to School will move forward this year.
This was deeply disappointing. But it’s not the end of the road. Oregon’s last big transportation package didn’t pass the first time either—it took two years of hard work and persistence. We have more work to do.
We’re now in active conversations about our next steps, whether that means a special session or coming back to this in 2026. In the last budget cycle, the legislature had to step in with $8 million just to make sure roads were plowed in the winter. We can’t afford to let essential services fall apart.
I’ll keep pushing to find a path forward, and I’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
As many of you know, one of my top priorities has been making Hall Boulevard a safer, more functional road for our community by transferring ownership from the state to the City of Tigard.
The problem with completing the transfer is that the road needs to be in a “state of good repair,” which means the state needs to invest in improvements. We made some meaningful incremental progress over the past two years. I helped secure $3 million for key pedestrian safety improvements after the 2023 legislative session. Congresswoman Andrea Salinas helped secure new federal funds. Speed limits were lowered. And I was proud to pass legislation creating a new jurisdictional transfer committee to identify which state-run roads—like Hall—should be transferred to local control.
While the transfer has not yet occurred (I will continue to work to ensure jurisdictional transfers are included in future transportation package discussions), anyone who has driven on Hall recently can see the fruit of our collective advocacy. New pavement, new crosswalks, and new sidewalks key stretches of the road. It is really exciting to see it start to come together. While there is still a lot of work to do on Hall, I’m genuinely optimistic about our progress – and I hope you’ll continue to advocate alongside me to get this done!
With my third session under my belt, I’m already looking forward to spending more time back in the district.
I’m planning to host a town hall in August (alongside Rep. Rieke-Smith and Sen. Neron Misslin) to recap what we accomplished this session, hear your feedback, and start looking ahead to the February short session. I’d love to see you there—stay tuned for details.
As always, thank you for following along and for being part of this work. I’ll be back in your inbox soon with more updates.
Take care,
Ben
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1425
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-295, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.BenBowman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bowman
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