2024 Oregon Legislative Session Concludes

Posted by Pam Leavitt on March 8, 2024

As many of us were returning from Washington, D.C. on Thursday, the Oregon Legislature was finalizing the 2024 “short” session and concluded at 8:16pm last night, three days before the constitutional required deadline.  The House of Representatives had one last procedure to do and that was to elect a new Speaker of the House. Rep. Dan Rayfield stepped down to run for Attorney General and Majority Leader Julie Fahey was elected by the members to serve as the new Speaker of the House.

This year’s session will be known for Republicans and Democrats coming together to do three priority issues:

1. Passing a controversial bill that recriminalizes drugs and rolls back several provisions in Ballot Measure 110.
2. Passing and overhauling campaign finance reform in Oregon.
3. Funding major housing priorities around the state.

Oregon credit unions focused on a handful of issues including funding for individual development accounts, legislation on garnishment laws, continuing state bank discussions, housing policy and updates on bills related to employment.  Please look for a blog story next week reviewing several of the specific bills from the 2024 session!

Here is a statement from both the Democrats and Republicans on the 2024 session:

“Since the first day, Senate Republicans have been consistent: this 35-day short session
must be focused on bipartisan work to tackle emergencies, fine tune technical fixes, and
make reasonable budget adjustments. With few exceptions, the 2024 short session met
these criteria. I am proud our Caucus remained dedicated to delivering on these promises
by recriminalizing hard drugs, giving law enforcement the tools necessary to crack down
on drug dealers, unleashing builders and funding critical infrastructure to boost housing
production, strengthening services for children who are victims of abuse, and giving
needed financial relief to wildfire victims.”

Oregon’s 82nd Legislative Assembly adjourned the 2024 Legislative Session
today having delivered major victories for the people of Oregon. This session, Senate
Democrats worked to turn Oregon’s shared problems into shared solutions. Lawmakers
prioritized taking action on the most urgent issues impacting all Oregonians: reducing
homelessness, increasing affordable housing, improving public health and safety – including
real solutions to the drug crisis – and strengthening our schools and the economy.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.