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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon Senate leaders gear up for packed legislative short session
KOIN 6 | By Ken Boddie
This week, KOIN 6 Political Director Ken Boddie traveled to Salem for a sit-down with leaders in the Senate, including the Senate president, Democrat Rob Wagner and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, a Republican.
Oregon lawmakers kick off 2026 session today. These are the top issues
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo, Anastasia Mason
Republicans have said they will reject any attempts to opt out of the federal tax changes.
"That money is still going to be in the state," House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, said of the expected gap in revenue. "It's just going to be in my pocket, in your pocket, in our pockets, to a tune of over $3,000 per Oregonian that they get to keep versus that money going into the government."
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, referred to the upcoming conversation as a "relatively minor belt tightening exercise" and said lawmakers had to recognize the state cannot "forever rely" on federal funds.
Short Oregon legislative session begins with a focus on balancing the budget. Here’s what to know
KOIN 6 | By Danny Peterson
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr (R) is leading the referendum effort for voters to reject taxes and fees, aimed at closing the Oregon Department of Transportation’s $290 million budget gap. Meanwhile, Oregon Democratic lawmakers are pushing for voters to weigh in on Gov. Tina Kotek’s transportation funding bill during the statewide primary election in May. Transportation officials have been sounding the alarm on potential layoffs and service cuts if the Oregon Department of Transportation isn’t funded.
Oregon lawmakers kick off high-stakes session today focused on immigration enforcement, budget cuts, tax overhauls
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Politically, the short session will provide top Democrats and Kotek an opportunity to redeem themselves and unify their caucus after they failed in last year’s session to pass multiple versions of a transportation funding package, a top priority for the party.
Republicans will again enter the session in the minority and with new leaders in both chambers as the party continues to grapple with frequent leadership turnover. One Republican in each chamber is also running for governor, meaning the session will likely bring plenty of political grandstanding.
Oregon leaders commence legislative session as transportation, federal policy fights loom
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Oregon lawmakers opened the 2026 legislative session Monday with a clear rift between Democrats and Republicans over how best to spend their time sprinting to the finish line of the 35-day short legislative session.
The first day, however, served as a stark reminder of the dueling priorities between lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle in Oregon, who are at odds over whether to respond to the Trump administration’s violent immigration crackdown and Oregon’s automatically-replicated tax cuts due to last year’s federal GOP tax and spending megalaw.
“Colleagues, we have work to do here in Oregon, but we also have to think about that national anthem that we heard just now. That flag is still flying above the ramparts,” said state Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis. “It’s a promise. It’s an ideal that we haven’t met yet, and it is absolutely under attack.”
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, struck a different tone.
“People aren’t looking for speeches or slogans. They’re looking for signs that we’ve heard them at the grocery store, at the gas pump, around the kitchen table when the bills come due,” he said. “They’re asking some very basic questions: Can I afford to stay in my home? Can my kids get a good education? Can I feel safe in my community?”
Roads funding, budget deficit, protecting Oregon’s immigrants top 2026 legislative priorities
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Republicans asserted the state has enough money to execute its priority functions, and that legislators should be focused on reducing state spending, not on imposing or raising any taxes.
“State government should tighten its belt, the same way Oregon families have been forced to do over the last few years,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee.
Oregon lawmakers open 2026 session facing budget and immigration fights
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
Democratic leaders want the option to move the referendum from November to May to get an answer sooner and reduce the months of uncertainty for budgets, maintenance schedules, and hiring.
Republicans and referendum supporters argue it should remain in November, when turnout is highest and more voters are engaged.
“Let’s be honest, it’s politics. Every Democrat who voted for that unpopular bill does not want to share the same election with that bill," said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr (R-Dundee). “In a May primary, the election turnout is somewhere around 30 percent it’s at least double that in the November election.”
Some Democrats want bolder restrictions as a statement against aggressive enforcement tactics, while others are wary of triggering lawsuits or drafting a law that courts may quickly strike down.
Republicans argue that the proposals are political theater that could undermine law enforcement cooperation and invite costly litigation.
“When our local law enforcement can’t work with ICE agents, it makes it extremely challenging for them to come in and get the worst of the worst out without being disruptive," said House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer.
Oregon Senate bill would bar syringe service supplies within 2,000 feet of schools
KATU | By Shelby Slaughter
A bill sitting in the Oregon Senate has a goal to stop "syringe services programs" near areas with children present.
If Senate Bill 1573 passes, it would stop such programs from handing out needles and syringes within 2,000 feet of schools and licensed childcare facilities.
"We have got to stop enabling addiction, but in the meantime don't leave that garbage around kids," State Senator Christine Drazan said during an interview with KATU News. "It absolutely is shocking to me some of the things that I saw when I went out and visited neighborhoods and you would say, here's a school. And right next door, somebody's got a parking lot where they set up shop and people came to them to get all this drug paraphernalia."
Oregon Democrats float plan to reclaim state money lost to Trump tax cut bill
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
The state’s financial picture will become clearer on Wednesday, when economists reveal the latest quarterly revenue forecast. At the same meeting, SB 1507 will get its first public hearing.
Republicans are almost certain to oppose the disconnect proposal. The party has signaled it views breaking from H.R. 1 as a move to hike taxes that would be met with anger by many Oregonians.
“If the majority party focuses again on just pulling more money out of Oregonians’ pockets and continuing to grow the size of government with new programs that are extraordinarily expensive,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said last week, “we will do everything in our power to try to slow it down and expose it.”
Despite its potential tax impacts, Democrats say disconnecting from the federal tax code as Nathanson and Broadman propose would require a simple majority vote – not the three-fifths supermajority vote necessary for tax hikes.
Democrats have supermajorities in both the House and Senate, but it’s not clear the party will move in lock-step on the tax disconnect bill.
Oregon Democrats pitch partial disconnect from Big, Beautiful Bill
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
Advocates have called on legislators to fully disconnect Oregon's tax code from the federal changes in H.R. 1, but leadership will instead focus on a targeted partial change.
Amended SB1507 would fully disallow the tax deduction for auto loan interest, disconnect from the qualified small business stock exclusion, and partially disconnect from bonus depreciation for machinery and equipment. The bill will generate a net estimated revenue of $291 million, Broadman said.
Disconnecting from the auto loan interest deduction will claw back $36 million in revenue. The qualified small-business stock exclusion disconnect accounts for another $39 million. Changes to bonus depreciation to exclude machinery and equipment will recapture an estimated $267 million.
The bill will also expand the Earned Income Tax Credit, or the "Working Oregonians Tax Credit." SB1507 would move the credit from 5% of the federal EITC to between 14% and 17% for filers. Broadman said it is the largest increase in Oregon of the Earned Income Tax Credit.
In 2023, 11% of full-year filers, or 212,925, received an average EITC refund of $222.
SB1507 will also include a jobs tax credit for businesses that create and retain jobs in Oregon. Lawmakers said they looked to Maryland as one of the models for the program, but that the specifics are still being worked out. The bill would invest $26 million in the Earned Income Tax Credit and $25 million in the job tax credit program.
Oregon Legislature begins 35-day session with focus on roads, wildfire insurance, AI regulation
KPTV
Oregon’s Legislature begins a short session Monday with 35 days to pass legislation on several key issues, including transportation funding, wildfire insurance reform and artificial intelligence regulation.
Oregon lawmakers introduce bill to 'ban masked law enforcement,' require visible ID
KGW | By Jamie Parfitt
California previously passed a similar law which went into effect last month, but with lukewarm results. A challenge to the law is making its way through federal court. Meanwhile, federal agencies have defied the law and the Los Angeles Police Department, for one notable example, has said it won't enforce the law.
Oregon animal rights initiative aims to ban hunting, fishing, slaughtering of livestock
The Oregonian | By Joel Odom
Imagine a world with no hunting, no fishing, no livestock.
That might sound like Bizarro World to most Americans. But animal rights advocates are pushing to make it a reality in Oregon.
2026 ELECTION
Republicans offer Oregon voters attractive alternatives to continued Democratic failure
Oregon Roundup
While Democratic power-brokers consolidate behind failed governor Tina Kotek, Republicans will have a vigorous primary with multiple qualified candidates.
HEALTH CARE
Oregon Sees One of Nation’s Largest Drops in Obamacare Marketplace Enrollment
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
About 15% fewer Oregonians signed up for Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plans in 2026 than in 2025, one of the largest drops in the nation, according to a WW review of federal data released this week.
National News
DHS to deploy body cameras to federal officers in Minneapolis, Noem says
KATU National Desk
Federal officers in Minneapolis will receive body cameras, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Monday.
“Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,” Noem wrote on social media.
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