When Oregon lawmakers return to Salem for their 35-day session starting Feb. 5, they will face the same issues that topped their agenda last year — housing and homelessness, and mental health and addiction treatment.
Unlike legislatures in other states, according to a recent survey by The New York Times, Oregon will not have pitched political battles over abortion and gun rights this year. They went through those last year. Although the Democratic majorities prevailed, a walkout by Senate Republicans that thwarted business for six weeks forced Democrats to scale back the scope of abortion rights and gun regulations.
But lawmakers will have plenty to deal with.
Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek has proposed $500 million to jump-start housing production — something she didn’t do in the 2023 session — and $100 million more for efforts to help unhoused people, avert evictions and move people into housing.
Attached to the money are proposals to fund water and sewer lines and other infrastructure needed for housing construction, simplify the local permit process, and give cities a one-time option to expand beyond their urban growth boundaries to allow development. Her proposal for the latter failed at the close of the 2023 session, and it remains to be seen whether the issue can be resolved.