It is now May, and the legislature has now been in session for four months with roughly seven weeks remaining. Constitutionally, they must adjourn by June 29^th, and an end date during that fourth week of June seems likely. While much has transpired already, perhaps the most intense days lie ahead. The May revenue forecast is set to take place on the 14^th and will serve as the benchmark for which budgets for the 25-27’ biennium will be set. It is unclear what the outlook will be, but many expect revenue to be down, which will make budgeting for state agencies and state investment much more challenging. Since prior to the session, a transportation package has also been set as a priority. While it remains to be seen whether enough agreement can be reached between the two parties as well as internally within the respective parties, an initial proposal has been released. It contains:

• A 50% increase in Oregon’s 40-cent gas tax, phased in by 2032. This tax will then continue to increase every year without a vote of the Legislature. As of January 2025, only two states had gas taxes at or above 60 cents: California and Illinois.
• A 1% sales tax on all cars sold in Oregon, new and used.
• A 60% increase (0.5% to 0.8%) in the “privilege” tax paid by auto dealers on new car sales.
• A $90 increase to vehicle titling fees, nearly doubling fees for most passenger cars and trucks.
• An 80% increase in the tax that all workers in Oregon pay on their wages. This tax, which will go from 0.1% to 0.18%, is used for public transit, regardless of whether transit options are available to those workers.
• A brand, new 3% sales tax on tires.

Some major bills we have been tracking and working on your behalf include:

SB 0430– This bill known as the “junk fee” bill requires all fees associated with the sale of a good or service to be disclosed upfront when advertising.  This is obviously problematic for financial institutions.  We have worked all session to get the following exemption to the bill.  If passed this will be included in the bill: “this section does not apply to:” a financial institution, as defined in ORS 706.008, a mortgage banker or mortgage broker, both as defined in ORS 86A.100”

SB 534 Would have likely put an end to reverse mortgages in Oregon.  We opposed the bill, and this is not likely to move forward this session.

HB 2008   This bill is the main bill on privacy issues this session.  The discussion on how to deal with data privacy this session was all encompassing.  However, the bill, in the end, was narrowed to just the prohibition of selling geolocation information on minors under the age of 16.    Data privacy will be an ongoing issue during the interim.

HB 2089 This bill deals with how to handle equity when a county forecloses on a home over property tax issues.  There is a lot of work yet to come on this bill before session ends.

HB 3746 – this bill reduces the time of exposure for condo associations from 10 years to 7 years for identification/repair. Condo associations are still opposed.  When session ends, we will outline this bill further with all the details.

HB 3865 this bill deals with telephone solicitation and under the current version would drastically restrict business’s ability to even talk to current customers.  We are hopeful of getting changes to this bill before passage.