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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek among most unpopular governors. See ranking
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
Only five U.S. governors are more unpopular than Gov. Tina Kotek, according to new polling from Morning Consult.
Bill to speed up Oregon gas tax vote gets first hearing — and backlash
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Oregon lawmakers heard overwhelming opposition Monday to a Democratic proposal that would speed up a vote on gas taxes and other road fees.
With threats of legal challenges and political repercussions, people opposed to Senate Bill 1599 urged the majority party to back off what they said was an ill-conceived and overtly political maneuver.
“The voters know what’s best for their pocketbooks, not the Salem politicians,” said Nick Stark, executive director of a group called the Oregon Freedom Coalition that helped to refer the tax package to the ballot. “Heed my warning: Whether May or November, voters will not forget the attempts to be silenced by this bill.”
Some opponents suggested consequences could come even sooner. A Redmond resident named Catherine Caudle told lawmakers she planned to submit a statement opposing the taxes to the Oregon voters’ pamphlet, using an avenue that allows citizens to avoid the $1,200 fee by collecting 500 voter signatures. If the vote were moved to May, Caudle said, she would not have enough time to do so.
“I did talk to a lawyer and he said that I would have a case and I would most likely get an injunction,” Caudle said.
Online testimony offered the same imbalance as those who spoke at Monday’s hearing. As of early Monday afternoon, nearly 3,300 pieces of testimony had been filed in response to the bill. Fewer than 50 were in support.
Despite that history, SB 1599 has become a flashpoint in this year’s month-long legislative session. Republicans are keen to seize any political advantage they can from the gas tax vote appearing on the general election ballot, when Gov. Tina Kotek and most legislative Democrats will be up for reelection. They have signaled they will consider any option to kill or delay the bill.
Oregon lawmakers debate May vs. November ballot for transportation referendum vote
KATU
Republican lawmakers said the cost of living is already too high, and the state should manage the budget better.
Governor Tina Kotek had previously tried to repeal the bill, but a decades-old legal opinion voided the option.
Republicans want a November vote on the referendum for higher voter turnout, while Democrats want it on the May ballot for earlier clarity on the funding picture.
Editorial: The Legislature sets business up for another hit
The Oregonian Editorial Board
Oregon legislators are facing painful choices in the session now underway.
Even with improving revenue projections, lawmakers are staring down what Democrats say is a $650 million hole in the current budget, due in large part to President Donald Trump’s budget bill and new investments in benefit eligibility determinations. The prospect of funding cuts for housing assistance, health services, educational support and countless other programs has brought out a stream of Oregonians desperate to retain those lifelines. And the immediate outcry over a slew of transportation taxes shows how difficult it will be to seek any new revenue.
But what legislators must not do is make short-sighted decisions that will lock the state into misery for years to come. Yet Senate Bill 1507 threatens to do exactly that with tax provisions that give businesses another reason to question their viability in a state that shows them little consideration.
Democrats’ bill to add $300M to Oregon’s budget by ending 3 Trump tax breaks advances over Republican opposition
The Oregonian | By Betsy Hammond
In addition to Broadman, the two other Democrats on the Senate Revenue Committee also voted to advance the bill to the full Senate. The committee’s two Republicans voted no.
One of them, Sen. Mike McLane of Powell Butte, called the bill’s removal of accelerated depreciation on equipment “just another continual signal to investment communities and businesses that we’re not willing to cooperate.”
He praised Gov. Tina Kotek’s recent calls to improve Oregon’s business climate, her establishment of a Prosperity Council and her appointment of former Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp as the state’s inaugural prosperity officer.
But he said rhetoric about prosperity won’t cut it. “She made (prosperity) her priority. … And one of the first things we do when we come into session, we’re going to send her (this) bill,” McLane said. “So we’re going to see if the governor’s word is true, whether her walk is going to match her talk.”
Oregon Senate to vote on partial disconnect from federal tax code
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
Oregon Republicans prepare 'minority report'
Broadman, during a Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue work session, said the state was in an affordability crisis due to "havoc" at the federal level. He again emphasized that the bill did not impact no tax on overtime or tips and selectively disconnected the state tax code from the "bonus depreciation" deduction.
He said he was "naive" and believed the proposal would be bipartisan.
"Maybe I was hoping for too much," Broadman said.
Sen. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said he opposed the bill for philosophical reasons and practical reasons. He added that "there is a reckoning" in which the state must adjust its spending to "the new reality."
If Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill, it would directly contradict what she said when she announced her new prosperity roadmap, he said.
"So we're going to see if the Governor's word is true. Whether her walk is going to match her talk and whether she signs this," McLane said.
He gave notice of a minority report, indicating Republicans will attempt to replace the bill with a version of their own on the Senate floor. It is a practice Republicans have used to delay legislation, though the minority reports are routinely rejected on the floor. They will have three days to submit the minority report.
Public Safety vs. Public Health: Oregon needle exchange bill sparks heated debate
KATU | By Noelle Forde
It's a story KATU has been following for months: used needles, foil, and drug use near schools. There's been a push from the Stadiumhood Neighborhood to create a law that would bar any needle exchanges 2,000 feet away from school zones.
Senate Bill 1501 sets Oregon Arena Fund, shared ownership path for Moda Center
KATU | By Bobby Corser
Calling Moda Center a “critical economic and cultural hub” for the state, Wagner’s bill would allow the state to join a multi-jurisdictional agreement to renovate the arena into a “world class destination for events,” and a big piece of the revitalization of the Lower Albina neighborhood.
Oregon lawmakers plan action to buy Abiqua Falls and keep it public
Statesman Journal | By Zach Urness
One lawmaker is already doing something — Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, has been working on a plan to purchase the falls since last week.
Girod said he would seek funding to not only purchase the waterfall property, but also an additional 160-acre parcel just upstream on Abiqua Creek that's up for sale by the timber company Weyerhaeuser. He said some funding would likely be needed to improve the road and facilities as well, but that he wasn't sure whether it would make more sense as a state park or as part of a different agency, such as state forest or state lands.
Girod is co-chair of the Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Capital Construction and said he's been working to tuck funding for the Abiqua project into the capitol construction bonding bill.
"I'm guardedly optimistic," Girod said. "The will is there but the question is just whether we have enough time with the short session to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is. We're hoping to meet with the Abbey and can hopefully purchase it outright, although a trade of land may also be possible.
Oregon lawmakers propose criminal penalties for alarming, threatening public officials
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
There have been multiple examples of threats that lawmakers and local officials have faced in Oregon and nationwide, including a recent bomb threat against three state legislators.
Controversial OHSU primate center at a crossroads
The Oregonian | By Kristine de Leon
Oregon Health & Science University’s leaders voted Monday to begin talks with the National Institutes of Health over the future of the Oregon National Primate Research Center, a move that starts a formal review of one of the university’s most debated and expensive operations.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Portland’s 20 largest office buildings have lost $2 Billion in market value since 2019
KATU | By Wright Gazaway
As governments across the state prepare for budget season in the next few months, local governments in Multnomah County continue to deal with a commercial real estate market in freefall.
The reality seemed unimaginable before the pandemic: Portland’s 20 largest office buildings have lost nearly 70% of their market value since 2019.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Oregon teen arrested, accused of planning attack on ICE in order to start a new nation
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
An Oregon teen was arrested last week for allegedly planning an attack on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Saint Helens resident Rayden Tanner Coleman, 18, was arrested Feb. 4 after he told his roommates he was planning to bomb ICE.
EDUCATION
Oregon’s Education Workforce Climbed While Student Enrollment Slid
Willamette Week | By Kushboo Rathore
The state added nearly 12,000 employees since 2020, but school districts face layoffs as budget cuts loom.
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