Legislative Update

Hasina Wittenberg, Government Relations Strategies Inc.

November 2023 Election Results

There were 56 local measures sent to voters for consideration during the November 2023 election.  40% of the measures were local levies and almost all (95%) were approved. 100% of county measures passed, 40% of city measures passed and 83% of special district measures passed.  There were also nine bond measures that passed (66% overall success rate). A summary of the five categories of measures and their results can be found below:

• Public Safety
• Library and Parks and Recreation
• Infrastructure
• Schools
• Miscellaneous

2024 Legislative Session

Prior to convening for a maximum of 35-day 2024 legislative session on February 5th the legislature will meet for “interim committee days” January 10-12, 2024. Some legislative concepts will be made public during interim days with the majority of legislation made public around the 29th of January. A calendar of 2024 session deadlines can be found here:

• January 2024 Interim Legislative Days Calendar

Governor Kotek continues to reiterate her commitment to addressing housing and homelessness as priorities for the 2024 legislative session.

• $600 million in housing, homelessness initiatives top Kotek’s priorities for upcoming legislative session

It is also expected that the following other topics will receive consideration:

Ballot Measure 110 Repeal/Fix

• Group proposes Ballot Measure to Recriminalize hard drugs

2024 Session Hot Topics

• State legislators lay groundwork for hot topics for the 2024 session

Community College Funding

• Lawmakers to consider extending community college financial aid for pandemic graduates in short session

Vehicle Taxes

• Oregon Republican lawmakers press for special session to reassess Oregon’s vehicle taxes