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Oregon News
POLITICS
Petition against Oregon transportation law pauses gas tax and fee hikes
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
With a transportation funding referendum likely headed to Oregon voters in November 2026 and a short legislative session approaching, it’s unclear if and how Republicans and Democrats can compromise on a sustainable plan to fund road maintenance and operations.
“Oregonians have exercised their ability to challenge actions taken by the legislature, and the governor respects the outcome of that process,” Kotek press secretary Roxy Mayer told the Capital Chronicle.
Republicans must work with Democrats now to find a different solution, Mayer said.
“The governor’s guiding principle is to avoid, as much as possible, immediate service cuts that will impact Oregonians,” Mayer said.
Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio and one of the lead petitioners of the No Tax Oregon effort, said higher taxes aren’t the only way to fill the budget gap, arguing that Democrats need to reprioritize how they fund transportation.
“We’re paying for electric vehicle car chargers. We have a social equity office. We have climate justice initiatives. We have hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves on projects that will never transpire as currently designed,” he told the Capital Chronicle. “It’s a waste, but the Legislature is prioritizing those things over what the Oregon people want.”
Diehl and his Republican colleagues have pushed to rearrange transportation funding. However, most of the state transportation departments funding is legally designated for specific purposes, so reallocating funds would require a statutory or constitutional amendment to avoid legal challenges, according to department Finance and Budget Division Administrator Daniel Porter.
At least three Republicans on Wednesday — Reps. Mark Owens of Crane and Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville and Sen. Mike McLane of Powell Butte — urged the transportation department to seek emergency funding from the Legislature’s Joint Emergency Board in response to the historic flooding across the state this week. The 20-member board has the authority to allocate funding when the full Legislature isn’t in session.
Rep. Susan McLain, D-Forest Grove, called the Republicans’ request impractical.
“Are they going to ask for emergency funds for the rest of 2026 as well when they strip funding as part of their ballot measure to defund ODOT?” she said. “It is simply not realistic.”
McLain, co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee, said House Bill 3991 is a quarter of what Democratic lawmakers proposed during the regular legislative session, and for three budget cycles she said lawmakers have made cuts to ODOT and worked on efficiency.
“We’ve done all of the compromise, the amending and the backup plan is that final bill that we passed in September, which is only a quarter of the original,” she said. “The short session is not going to help them.”
Democratic leaders shared similar concerns about the efforts to overturn the transportation funding law.
“Without those emergency funds, hundreds of hardworking Oregonians who plow highways, fill potholes and repair bridges are in danger of losing their jobs,” said Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego. “The Senate President’s Office is ready to work with ODOT and the Governor’s Office to manage this situation in the upcoming legislative session.”
House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, said the transportation funding law was a heavily negotiated policy that had support from nearly every key transportation stakeholder in Oregon and considered the cost of living for Oregonians.
“The referral of only pieces of that package — repealing funding while leaving spending obligations in place — destabilizes our transportation system and jeopardizes Oregonians’ safety,” Fahey said. “The Republican politicians behind the referral effort don’t have a backup plan, and the transportation needs facing every corner of the state won’t fix themselves.”
Fahey said she will continue to work closely with her Senate colleagues and Kotek to keep Oregonians safe on their way to work and school.
Emergency Funding Request for ODOT Highlights Deep Divide Over Transportation Policy
Grants Pass Tribune | By John Oliver
A request by several Republican lawmakers for emergency funding for the Oregon Department of Transportation has intensified an ongoing debate at the Capitol over how the state should fund and maintain its transportation system, particularly as Oregon confronts severe winter weather and infrastructure strain.
Following more than a week of historic flooding across parts of Oregon, Representative Mark Owens of Crane, Senator Mike McLane of Powell Butte, and Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville formally requested emergency funds to support road maintenance during the winter months. The request comes at a moment when transportation infrastructure has been tested by landslides, road closures, and widespread storm damage.
House Democrats, however, point out that the emergency funding appeal arrives less than a week after Republican-backed organizers submitted signatures for a ballot measure aimed at stripping dedicated funding from ODOT. The timing has prompted sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argue that emergency requests cannot substitute for long-term, stable funding strategies.
As winter weather continues and lawmakers debate the future of transportation funding, the clash underscores a broader policy question facing Oregon. Whether the state relies on emergency appropriations during crises or commits to long-term, bipartisan funding solutions may determine how effectively it can maintain roads, protect communities, and respond to increasingly frequent natural disasters.
Oregon wolf cattle kills rise in 2025, but state lacks funding for proper payments
Capital Press | By Kyle Odegard
Wolves have killed far more cattle this year in Oregon, but the state hasn’t allocated funding to properly compensate ranchers, an expert said.
The Oregon Legislature could erase the shortfall during its upcoming 2026 short session via a proposed increase in the state’s lodging tax.
Oregon has $1.25 million available for payments for animals killed or injured by wolves this biennium, but nearly $5 million will be needed, said Williams, a Wallowa County rancher and Oregon State University Extension Service professor emeritus.
New Oregon legislation approved wolf depredation “multiplier” payments, with the reasoning that indirect costs of wolves far exceed the market value for livestock kills.
The law allows for state compensation of up to five times the value of calves, yearlings, goats and sheep, and up to three times the value of other cattle.
“If we don’t get more money, our 5-to-1 policy will be on the books, but payouts will be 1 to 1.5 (times value),” Williams said.
State Sen. Todd Nash, a Wallowa County rancher, said 63% of lodging tax money comes from out-of-state.
Oregon Democrat slams Trump attempt to cut off transgender care for children
The Oregonian
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans.
The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions for transgender children — include cutting off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children and prohibiting federal Medicaid funding from being used on such procedures.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, blasted the move in a press release Thursday morning, saying President Donald Trump and his allies seek to “demonize and ultimately erase trans Americans.”
City Council Staff Seeks to Unionize
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
A group of staffers working for Portland City Council offices is seeking to unionize the legislative staff at the city.
Jessica Vega Pederson Won’t Run for Reelection as Multnomah County Chair
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel, Anthony Effinger
Vega Pederson had a tumultuous first—and last—term.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Despite recent spate of layoffs, Oregon predicts 6% job growth within the decade
KGW | By Jamie Parfitt
Oregon's overall employment is expected to grow by 6% within the decade, the state's employment agency said Thursday, despite recent industry losses which have pushed unemployment in Oregon well ahead of the nationwide rate.
Pendleton cracks down on vacant buildings in a downtown that’s nearly full
OPB | By Antonio Sierra
After spending years dangling carrots to boost the number of downtown businesses, the City of Pendleton is ready to wield a stick.
The Pendleton City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday meant to crack down on downtown building owners with long-term vacancies. Starting next year, landlords will be required to register vacant buildings with the city and create plans to fill the spaces, or potentially face thousands of dollars in penalties.
But Pendleton’s downtown area isn’t struggling to attract businesses.
HOMELESSNESS & DRUG ADDICTION
Oregon’s Measure 110 programs for substance use treatment have unclear results, audit finds
OPB | By Amelia Templeton
An audit by the Oregon secretary of state’s office has found gaps in the state health authority’s implementation of Ballot Measure 110, the state’s landmark drug decriminalization law.
EDUCATION
In West Linn, a tough lesson on how not to close a school
OPB | By Elizabeth Miller
West Linn-Wilsonville school board members are considering closing two schools, including Bolton Primary School, as part of a cost savings plan for the district. Parents have expressed concern with the timing of the decision, which comes a little over a month after voters approved a school bond that included improvements for Bolton.
HEALTH CARE
Oregon makes it easier for Medicaid members to get birth control at pharmacies
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
As of Tuesday, Oregonians enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s Medicaid program, can now walk into a pharmacy and get over-the-counter birth control pills and emergency contraception without a prescription and without paying out of pocket.
Beleaguered Bay Area Hospital cries foul as neighboring public hospital invades territory
The Lund Report | By Nick Budnick
A bill introduced by Brock Smith to appropriate funding for the hospital went nowhere earlier this year, and in August a proposed takeover of operations by Tennessee-based for-profit Quorum Health fell apart.
“Bay Area Hospital is not only a lifeline to our residents and their communities on the south coast, it is a vital resource to all regional healthcare providers as well,” Brock Smith added. “Our rural healthcare providers struggle with a payer mix that has a higher than average Medicare population, which leads to lower reimbursement rates. I drafted SB 1214 to address this for Bay Area and two other rural hospitals last session that unfortunately did not move forward either.”
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON
Concerns over immigration enforcement dominate final Oregon attorney general’s townhall
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Concerns over aggressive federal immigration enforcement dominated Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s final town hall of the year.
About 150 people attended Wednesday night’s event at Portland Community College’s Sylvania Campus, where Senate President Rob Wagner, a Lake Oswego Democrat who represents the area in the state Legislature, joined Rayfield.
Former McMinnville Mayor Remy Drabkin told Wagner and Rayfield that despite Oregon’s sanctuary laws prohibiting local law enforcement from working with immigration officers, police are confused about where to draw the line and are not showing up when people call 911 for help.
“We’ve been told repeatedly that law enforcement cannot interfere with or assist ICE, yet we’ve seen ICE escort people out of the county jail and then detain them,” she said. “Our request would be that you release statewide guidance for law enforcement that the public can easily access and understand.”
ICE agents fired pepper balls in Portland neighborhood, drawing rebuke from city officials
The Oregonian | By Yesenia Amaro
Portland leaders this week condemned federal agents’ use of pepper balls on bystanders in a North Portland neighborhood last week when they gathered to document the arrest of a parent who was detained by immigration authorities.
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