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Oregon News
TRANSPORTATION
Thousands sign petitions to challenge Oregon transportation tax increases
KPTV | By Julia Lopez
State Senator Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said the referendum would address four taxes voted into law during Kotek’s emergency session to fund the Oregon Department of Transportation. The taxes include a gas tax increase of six cents per gallon, car registration fee increase, title fee increase, and payroll tax increase.
“Oregon voters do not want to pay more in taxes. We already have the fourth highest gas prices in the country. To add to that when peoples budgets are tight – they are saying no to these things,” said Starr, the Oregon Republican minority leader.
POLITICS
Oregon’s budget deficit drops to $63 million in updated revenue forecast
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
For months, lawmakers have been preparing to make steep cuts to agency budgets while also discussing the possibility of dipping into state reserves or disconnecting Oregon’s tax code from some of the tax cuts in the federal bill, to preserve some of the state’s revenue that will otherwise be lost.
It was not immediately clear as of Wednesday morning how lawmakers would respond to the updated forecast. Top Democrats have pointed out that the federal tax cuts are expected to reduce Oregon’s tax revenue by much larger amounts in future budget periods. That gives them some incentive to selectively disconnect the state’s tax code from some federal tax cuts.
Republicans and business groups have previously pushed back on efforts to disconnect from federal tax cuts because they save Oregonians, and businesses in the state, money on their tax bills.
State Economist Carl Riccadonna said the state’s outlook on the national and state economy has somewhat rebounded from earlier forecasts this year. He said the economic toll of tariffs has not been as harsh as experts initially expected, while the tax cuts from the federal bill have already provided some economic stimulation. He also said the chances of a recession in the next year have decreased.
At the same time, economists said some of Oregon’s economic indicators are trailing national trends. The state’s job creation rate, for example, has lagged behind the national average.
On Wednesday, top Democrats expressed some optimism about the revised revenue forecast but slammed the Trump administration for its attempts to cut federal funding for programs like Medicaid and food assistance.
Meanwhile, Republicans cited the revised deficit as reason to not disconnect Oregon’s tax code from federal tax cuts. They said lawmakers should focus on policies to boost the state’s economy instead of shoring up the state’s long-term revenue.
“The latest numbers make one thing clear: there is absolutely no reason for the majority party to tax workers’ overtime or tips, or to enact more policies that would drive more Oregon businesses to other states as they had planned,” Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr of Dundee said in a statement.
Why Oregon's projected budget shortfall shrank to $63 million
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
Republicans said the latest forecast called for additional tax cuts and again criticized Democratic leadership.
“The latest numbers make one thing clear: there is absolutely no reason for the majority party to tax workers’ overtime or tips, or to enact more policies that would drive more Oregon businesses to other states as they had planned," Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said in a release.
Starr referred to the $63.1 million deficit as a drop in the nearly $140 billion state budget.
“People are already stretched thin, and they need relief, not new burdens," he said.
Democrats criticized the Trump administration in their response to the quarter’s revenue forecast.
State organizations also renewed a call for lawmakers to decouple from the federal tax law.
Oregon lawmakers grapple with cuts to state agencies to address $373 million shortfall
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
Republicans are blaming Democratic leadership and are pointing to what state Sen. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, calls "explosive spending" by state leaders.
"If you just look at the trajectory of our spending, it's shocking. We have billions of dollars out of our general fund that are dedicated to programs and spending that didn't even exist 10 years ago," said McLane. "That's a problem the Democrats in Oregon don't want to address."
Oregon legislators hear the ‘least worst options’ for possible state education agency cuts
OPB | By Elizabeth Miller, Tiffany Camhi
Oregon’s Department of Early Learning and Care, Department of Education and Higher Education Coordinating Commission did their homework, but their scenarios paint a dire picture of what the state’s education system might look like starting next year.
Second Troubled Turnkey Project Prompts Questions About Foundation’s Grant Process
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
The Oregon Community Foundation awarded $125 million to nonprofits to turn motels into shelters.
At least two of the 32 projects have been tarnished: one, in Gresham, by allegations of dubious accounting, and another, in coastal North Bend, by a leader who botched the renovation of a 17-room motel before being ousted for getting in a bar fight in Coos Bay.
Those two projects raise the question of whether there is more trouble to come. Answers may lie in the applications that the nonprofit shelter-builders submitted to get Project Turnkey money, and in documents describing the due diligence that OCF did on them. (In the case of the Gresham project, for one, the foundation was forewarned by a public official to stay away.)
2026 ELECTION
Round two: Senator Christine Drazan to run for governor again
KLCC | By Michael Dunne
Please refer to the audio recording.
Deschutes County commissioner launches campaign for Oregon’s closest congressional seat
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Julia Shumway
A conservative Deschutes County commissioner plans to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum in Oregon’s most competitive congressional district.
Patti Adair, 74, announced her candidacy Tuesday for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, which stretches across the Cascades from Bend to Portland.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
About 67% of southern Oregon voters say economy is ‘on the wrong track’ in new survey
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the survey on behalf of business advocacy organization Save Our Cities, found that 67% of respondents believed the economy is “pretty seriously off on the wrong track.”
Providence Oregon Announces More Job Cuts
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
Providence Oregon, a major health system in the state, said Tuesday it has eliminated more than 150 additional jobs in its latest round of cuts.
EDUCATION
Oregon Education Department facing backlog of complaints against schools since reporting eased
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
The state education agency in 2019 made it easier for students and families to report issues, leading to a 270% increase in reports and sluggish response times.
Oregon school district says state scrimped on its poorest students for decades
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
The Salem-Keizer School District is launching an effort to persuade lawmakers and the Oregon Department of Education to correct what the district’s leaders believe is a systemic, decades-long undercount of more than 100,000 of the state’s poorest students.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Multnomah County forms new burglary task force with local law enforcement agencies
KATU | By Bobby Corser
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is announcing the creation of a new county wide burglary task force.
Officials say they believe this will be a “major step forward in making our community safer.”
2 stabbed within blocks of each other in downtown Portland; investigation underway
KOIN 6 | By Andrew Foran
Two people were stabbed within blocks of each other in downtown Portland on Tuesday night, officials said.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Oregon counties must comply with ICE subpoenas, judge says
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Michael McShane granted a petition filed by the federal government that asked it to direct Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion and Washington counties to cooperate with subpoenas for 10 recently released inmates.
Hillsboro declares state of emergency in response to immigration operation fears
KATU | By Bobby Corser
The City of Hillsboro is under a state of emergency as the parts of the community grow increasingly fearful of immigration operations.
Oregon, Washington demand answers from Trump administration over use of private voter data
KATU | By Steve Benham
Secretaries of state for Oregon and Washington, along with eight others, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on Tuesday demanding how private information from states’ voter rolls is being used.
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