Oregon Capitol Update

Posted by Pam Leavitt on May 12, 2025

We are about 50 days away from the constitutional sine die (the end of session) and we are hitting important deadlines.  The work of policy committees in the Oregon Legislature will soon wrap up. Most committees have a deadline of Friday, May 23rd to move bills out of each committee except for Revenue, Rules and Ways and Means. After that, all remaining bills will require votes on the Floor for final passage. As of last week, 3,432 measures had been introduced during the 2025 Legislature. The House had passed 238 bills; the Senate, 196.

With the passing of Senator Aaron Woods (D-Wilsonville), the County Commissioners recently appointed Representative Courtney Neron ( who now goes by Courtney Neron Misslin) to the Oregon State Senate.  Senator Neron Misslin is the former Chair of the House Education Committee and has been an advocate for students and a strong education system.

Neron’s appointment, at the end of a nearly two-hour meeting with Clackamas, Washington and Yamhill County commissioners Wednesday evening, comes after Woods’ April death from cancer. It will trigger a new appointment process for someone who will finish her House term. Both Neron and whoever replaces her in the state House will serve until January of 2027, with the ability to run for a full term in 2026.

Onley Submits Testimony to Ways and Means

A special thank you to Chad Onley who provided testimony on our Housing Bill concept (HB3188) to the Joint Ways and Means Committee and attended the “road show” hearing in Klamath Falls. You can read his testimony here. 

Medical Debt Bill Hearing this Week

Senate Bill 605 prohibits medical services providers from reporting the amount or existence of medical debt to a consumer reporting agency and prohibits a consumer reporting agency from including in a consumer report an item that the consumer reporting agency knows or should know is a medical debt.  The goal from the proponents is to exclude from the definition of “medical debt” amounts a person owes on a credit card or to a financial institution that extended credit to a person unless the financial institution extended credit to the person specifically to purchase medical treatment, patient care, or other medical services or supplies, however, the drafting of the amendments did not reach that goal and GoWest is working with the proponents on acceptable language.

May Revenue Forecast

This week is a very important week in the Capitol. On May 14th, we will receive the Oregon Economic Forecast. What is an economic forecast?

The Oregon Economic Forecast provides information to planners and policy makers in state agencies and private organizations for use in their decision-making processes. The Oregon Revenue Forecast opens the revenue forecasting process to public review. It is the basis for much of the budgeting in state government.

After the Economic Forecast is presented in May, the Ways and Means Committee gets to work on the final budget bill!

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.