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2025-26 Legislative Priorities

2025-2026 Legislative Priorities Approved by LOC Board of Directors

Updated March 2025

As part of the legislative priorities, the LOC Board added one additional priority in response U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass. This issue was not part of the original ballot because there was no decision from the court at the time ballots were created. The LOC Board of Directors reviewed options to address this issue during its October 16 meeting, and passed a resolution represented in Legislative Priority #9 below.

The following represent the top priorities the LOC will advance over the next two years. It’s important to understand that in addition to the top nine issues below, the remaining legislative recommendations brought forward by the seven policy committees remain part of the overall focused advocacy effort from the LOC’s lobby team. We also use the LOC’s Municipal Policy and Organizational priorities to evaluate all legislation.  Listed below each priority description are the primary LOC contacts for each:

1)    Community Infrastructure and Housing Development Funding  

HB 3031 – Infrastructure funding framework for future state-funded infrastructure.  Worked with partners and Governor Kotek’s staff to improve the framework for the distribution of grant funds for housing projects. Legislation is in the Full Ways & Means Committee awaiting a funding level.  The LOC is supporting the governor’s recommended budget level of $100 million. For more details, see this  white paper. 

HB 5011 – Oregon Housing and Community Service’s budget, which includes more then $880 million  for housing development, had its public hearing in the Transportation and Economic development Subcommittee on March 27. The LOC submitted a letter supporting the budget and highlighting the need for development funding, preservation funding and shelter. 

Michael Martin – mmartin@orcities.org
Alexandra Ring – aring@orcities.org
Jim McCauley – jmccauley@orcities.org

2)    2025 Transportation Package

We are expecting a framework for  package which  will likely outline the scope of the investment, what projects will be funded, the scale of the tax increase, and the sources of revenue. For more details on the LOC’s advocacy, see this white paper. 

Jim McCauley – jmccauley@orcities.org

3)    Recreational Immunity  

SB 179 - Legislation establishing a permanent restoration of recreational immunity has passed the Senate unanimously and is now headed to the House for additional consideration.  For additional information on recreational immunity see this white paper​​​.​

Scott Winkels – swinkels@orcities.org

4)    Behavioral Health Enhancements 

HB 3051 - An intensive workgroup that includes LOC Lobbyist Scott Winkels and other partners has been working all session to craft reforms to Oregon’s civil commitment statute. A work session has been scheduled for HB 3051 on March 31 to consider an amendment that will allow people needing assistance to be vectored towards care. Determinations on funding and capacity will be made during the budget process.  Additional information on LOC’s work on behavioral health can be found in this white paper. 

Scott Winkels – swinkels@orcities.org

5)    Lodging Tax Flexibility

HB 3556 - The LOC aims to increase the flexibility to use locally administered and collected lodging tax revenue currently preempted to support tourism-impacted services. These services include public safety and community infrastructure. HB 3556 had a lively public hearing on March 20 and is awaiting a work session.  For more details, see this white paper. 

Jenna Jones – jjones@orcities.org

6)    Shelter Funding and Homeless Response 

HB 3644 - The LOC has been advocating for a comprehensive homeless response funding framework to support the needs of homeless shelters and response efforts statewide. The framework includes baseline operational support for existing state funded shelter beds, strengthening coordinated regional homeless response, and expanding eligibility for state dollars to safe park and tiny home sites that have previously not been eligible. HB 3644 is currently in the Ways and Means Committee awaiting a funding level.  

HB 5011 - Additionally, the LOC is supporting the governor’s associated funding ask for a minimum of $217M.

For additional information on LOC’s homeless advocacy see this white paper. 

Alexandra Ring – aring@orcities.org

7)    Address Energy Affordability Challenges from Rising Utility Costs

The LOC and partners are advancing several pieces of legislation to help address rising energy costs.  See the LOC Bulletin article from March 21, which goes into greater detail related to current legislative proposals.  For additional information on LOC’s advocacy, see this white paper. 

Nolan Pleše – nplese@orcities.org

8)    Operator-In-Training Apprenticeships 

HB 3634 - This legislation would provide $3.5 million to increase and diversify the supply of skilled professionals for water and wastewater utilities. We are expecting a committee vote on April 3. Once through this policy committee, the legislation will move to the full Ways & Means Committee for budget consideration. For additional information on our advocacy, see this white paper. 

Michael Martin – mmartin@orcities.org

9)    Clarifying Time, Place and Manner for Public Camping

SB 593 - The LOC worked with city partners and other interests to craft legislation that would introduce additional clarity and provide cities with options for safe harbor when addressing their homeless population.  Despite best efforts and significant grassroots advocacy, we could not convince legislative leadership and key committee chairs to schedule a hearing.  The bill is effectively dead for this session. Post-session, we will evaluate options for future legislative work. For additional details on LOC’s advocacy, see this white paper. 

Alexandra Ring – aring@orcities.org
Jim McCauley – jmccauley@orcities.org
Scott Winkels – swinkels@orcities.org

Get Involved - Join the LOC's Advocacy Efforts in 2025!

As we enter the 2025 session, member grassroots advocacy will remain a key factor in the LOC’s ability to achieve our top legislative priorities and protect our members from continued efforts to reduce “Home Rule” authority. The LOC lobby team will reach out throughout the session and in the interim to ensure we can expand our reach with every state elected official. Those local-state relationships in your communities are critical to the overall outcome of the legislative process.

Stay tuned during the session for weekly legislative reports and calls to action, and tune into the weekly Legislative Update Webinars every Friday at noon through the session.

Your lobby team is up to the challenge, and I’m confident every member city is as well. Join us in our efforts to represent your local community’s interests.

Contact: Jim McCauley,  Legislative Director jmccauley@orcities.org

LOC Organizational Priority

In addition to adopting legislative priorities for 2025-26, the LOC Board has adopted an overarching organizational priority that will be a focus for grassroots advocacy between cities and their respective legislators, and for the LOC’s advocacy team to use as a key message with legislative leadership and the governor’s office.

The purpose of this organizational priority is to make it clear to the state that cities play an integral role in providing critical core services to our citizens, but are being asked to do more with fewer resources.  In past legislative sessions, the LOC has  seen unfunded mandates, attacks on local revenues and preemption of local control. Many cities are facing significant budget challenges that have been intensified by  recent events, but the need for critical core service delivery remains and is more even more important due to these unprecedented times. The LOC is urging the state to partner with us, and more importantly, to avoid legislation that could further restrict a city’s ability to meet core service delivery and address the challenges of city budgets.

The LOC’s Intergovernmental Relations team will be communicating the following specific principles below as part of this organizational priority.

• Reform Oregon’s Property Tax System.  The LOC Board added this organizational priority to elevate it as a priority for organizational change. The current system based on Measures 5 and 50, which were adopted by voters in the 1990s:, is inequitable to property owners and jurisdictions alike;, is often inadequate to allow jurisdictions to provide critical services; removes meaningful local choice; and is incomprehensible to most taxpayers.  Reform has been a longstanding priority for cities, and the LOC will continue to advocate for constitutional and statutory reforms to enhance local choice, equity, fairness and adequacy.
• Avoid Unfunded Mandates. As a result of recent and past legislative action, cities have been inundated with mandates that require additional resources to implement new programs or work without the necessary funding to support these new programs and workload. This shifts resources away from important core service delivery.
• Preserve Local Decision-making and Problem-solving Authority. Local control and decision-making remain a core function of local government and must be preserved to most effectively address challenges that Oregonians face. What works in one city may not work in another. While cities often experience similar overall challenges, the factors that drive those challenges are often unique and, as a result, solutions need to be tailored to address the unique aspects of each community.
• Preserve Local Revenue Streams. Only a few tools are available for cities when it comes to funding essential, local services. It’s critical that cities remain in control of finite revenues from state shared revenues, franchise/right-of-way fees, lodging taxes, system development charges, rate revenues and property taxes. These revenue streams should be preserved at all costs. Cuts or limitations to these revenue resources represent cuts to the core services that our citizens rely on and expect.
• Serve in a Supportive Role to Provide Local Tools and Resources. We ask the state to partner with us to recognize the budget realities and constraints of local governments, and to work with us to identify opportunities for targeted investments and tools to address needs at the local level. The cost of providing services has increased and revenues have not kept pace.
• Avoid Shifting Additional Costs to Local Government Partners. Decreased general fund and lottery revenues could result in further shifting of state programmatic costs onto local governments. This includes programmatic and agency funding that currently relies on a split of general fund and fees that may be paid by local governments. Any increase in fees to support state programs should be accompanied by an equitable increase in general fund investment. Increased costs to local governments mean increased costs for our citizens, or further cuts to the services they rely on.