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The purpose for this communication is to inform you about important legislation that is being heard for you to provide testimony and share with your communities and the state of Oregon.
It's easy to provide testimony. You are encouraged to take 5 minutes out of your busy schedules to make a difference and let your voice be heard with written testimony. Verbal Testimonies are also encouraged and there are tabs in the navigation when reading a bill to sign up to verbally testify! Legislators need to hear your voices and encouragement to stand up for Oregon!
Please share with your friends, family, and communities. Oregon is worth fighting for and Oregon needs to hear you! Join us in the Fight for Oregon!
(c) All Rights Reserved | Paid for by Douglas County Republican Central Committee | PAC 307 | Not authorized by any Candidate or Candidate's Committee
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Fight for Oregon
Listed below are Bills of Concern and Bills to Support that are coming up for Public Hearings this and next week and/or need your voice. We would like to give thanks to Senator David Brock Smith & Representative Virgle Osborne, Oregon Citizens Lobby and more for providing the majority of the content of this Alert!
Your testimonies are greatly needed in the fight for Oregon! Our goal is to make it easy for you to testify and share! Anyone can subscribe or unsubscribe to these alerts! Encourage folks to subscribe!
Nervous about testifying? Don't be. It is actually your raw emotion and words that let our legislators truly know how a bill is affecting or may affect you that causes change. Here is a link to learn about testifying and the options you have to testify on <> (Oregon Legislative Information System)
IMPORTANT NOTE: You have up to 48 hours after a Public Hearing to submit written testimony!
This of course does not incapsulate all the bills for the coming week. Bills could also be added to committee agendas at any time and after the work to put this list together. Visit FightforOregon.com Weekly Alerts for a more updated version of this week's bills!
Because we are committed to not inundate your email box AND because Bills are a moving target and change daily, please visit the site for an updated list so you don't miss any bills: FightforOregon.com Weekly Alerts!
IMPORTANT: Bills can be added at any time for Public Hearing, check the schedule here:
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/Committees/Meeting/List
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For information on how to submit written testimony or register to testify on bills scheduled for a public hearing:
To access links to a livestream or recordings of legislative meetings:
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Register to Testify in Person or Remotely:
- Go to Overview of Bill Page
- Click on "Register to Testify" Tab on that page
- Fill out the appropriate information and submit the form for that Bill.
- If you are testifying remotely by video or phone, an email address and phone # are required. After registering and seeing a confirmation screen, you will receive an email with meeting details. (check spam folder if not).
Note: Registration ends 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. After that time, the registration system will close.
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Special Message from the Minority Leader:
Make Your Voice Heard in Salem!
I want to remind you that your voice is a vital part of the process. The decisions made in Salem this year will impact families and communities across Oregon, and your engagement can help shape the direction we take. Whether it's testifying on a bill, contacting your elected officials, or following the latest updates, there are many ways to get involved and ensure your perspective is heard. Together, we can work toward a safer, more affordable, and prosperous Oregon.
| --Senate Republican Leader, Daniel Bonham | | | |
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Special Message from the Rep. Mark Owens:
Make Your Voice Heard in Salem!
We’re entering the home stretch of the 2025 legislative session. By June 30—our Constitutional Sine Die deadline—we’ll gavel out for the year. That said, depending on how quickly remaining work wraps up, the session could end anytime between mid to late June.
On May 27, the Speaker of the House officially declared “Sine Die is Imminent.” Read the full memo here. But what does that actually mean?
With policy committees now finished holding public hearings and work sessions, the remaining work is focused in Ways and Means, Rules, and Revenue Committees. This declaration also shortens the timeline for public notice on committee activity—from 72 hours to just 24 hours for initial public hearings, and from 48 hours to only 1 hour for all other meetings, including secondary hearings.
If you're tracking any specific bills, the best way to stay informed is by signing up for email alerts through the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) e-Subscribe tool.
And if you’d like to hear more about what’s happening in Salem—and ask your questions directly—I’ll be hosting a virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 3 at 5:30 p.m. I hope you’ll join me for an update on where things stand and what to expect in these final weeks of the session.
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Democrats Hold Wildfire Map Repeal Hostage
House Republicans Offer Real Solutions to Help Workers Experiencing Wage Theft
Unfortunately, Democrats decided to play dirty by holding Senate Bill 83 hostage to leverage stealing the kicker.
On Thursday, House Democrats declined to advance the bill to the House Floor, following a motion made by Representative Bobby Levy, and it failed on party lines.
Senate Bill 83 represents a bipartisan and bicameral effort to lift costly and burdensome regulations imposed on rural Oregonians through the state’s flawed wildfire hazard map. Despite unanimous support on the Senate Floor, House Democrats blocked the opportunity to deliver relief, clarity, and justice for rural homeowners.
“It saddens me to see a group of representatives, who are so beholden to their liberal bosses committed to stealing our kicker, not care at all about the will of the people they represent. We have had almost 40 years to reform wildfire funding and House Democrats are now using these flawed wildfire maps as leverage to take away money from the same people that voted for them,” said Rep. Virgle Osborne (R-Roseburg), the House Republican Whip. “These wildfire maps have cost people property values, insurance increases, and many heartaches. House Republicans stand ready to vote and pass SB 83 today.”
Read our press release below:
| --Rep. Virgle Osborne, Senator David Brock Smith, & Rep. Boomer Wright | | | | |
Oregon Legislature gears up for a showdown over the future of wildfire funding
KGW
From the beginning, Republicans have led the charge to do away with the wildfire risk map, but they've had allies in Democratic lawmakers from wildfire-prone areas, making the passage of SB 83 a seemingly simple prospect.
After passing the Senate, the bill went to the House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment. There was a public hearing May 6, and submitted testimony overwhelmingly supported the bill's passage.
Even during Thursday's work session, it was clear that members of the committee broadly supported passing the bill. But a Democratic majority on the committee blocked it from being sent to the House floor for a vote, instead first sending it over to the House Rules Committee — where it will sit, presumably, until Democrats see fit to move it to the floor.
Republicans on the committee spoke against the move, some of them stridently.
"When I see a bill that made it through the Senate with unanimous consent, and it comes to this committee, and we kill it ... I know that everyone in this committee knows better," said Rep. Virgle Osborne, a Republican from Roseburg. "And I know why we're sending it to Rules. And I think it's a very sad day for the citizens of Oregon that we're more concerned with our agenda than we are for doing what's right for the people of Oregon."
Other Republicans were more conciliatory — opposing the move to table the bill, while voting in favor so that the bill would still have a chance of moving forward.
"I don't want this bill to die because we have enough support to get it passed today. And so, I would encourage that we work diligently to get the wildfire package done correctly so that we can have actual, real, 100% bipartisan, bicameral support for the wildfire funding," said Rep. Bobby Levy, a Republican from Echo. "The really important thing is that when the whole thing is said and done, the people that have been paying the price of wildfires ... if we don't get this wildfire package passed, they will continue to fund wildfires off of their backs, and it will put a lot of people out of business."
In a press release after the committee vote, House Republicans accused Democrats of trying to "hold Senate Bill 83 hostage." Both Osborne and House Republican Leader Christine Drazan were clear in saying that Democrats were leveraging the popular bill to raid the state's kicker rebate.
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Senate Committee On Rules 1:00 pm
SB 1154 A - Digest: This Act makes changes to laws about areas with ground water quality problems. (Flesch Readability Score: 63.4). Modifies provisions of law related to declarations of ground water quality concern areas and ground water quality management areas. Directs the Governor to appoint an agency [or agencies] to lead an interagency team in ground water quality concern areas and ground water quality management areas. [Provides that ground water management committees shall act in an advisory capacity.] Directs or authorizes the Department of Environmental Quality, the State Department of Agriculture, the Water Resources Department, the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Land Conservation and Development to take specified actions in ground water quality concern areas and ground water quality management areas
Read Testimonies
Featured Testimony: Intrusive Overreach of Government! Oppose!
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Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment
Overview of 2025 package
As of Sunday evening, at 6:30, no materials have been posted to OLIS. Please CLICK HERE for the morning meeting and CLICK HERE for the evening meeting to links to the committee and check back for meeting materials..
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Senate Committee on Rules 1:00 PM
HB 3582 – Digest: The Act would change the metrics for real market value and income to make more people eligible to defer property taxes on their homes. The Act would have LRO study the value of basing program entry on equity vs. income and turn in a report next year. (Flesch Readability Score: 60.5). [Digest: The Act would change the metrics for real market value and income so that more people will be able to defer property taxes on their homes. (Flesch Readability Score: 63.3).] Changes the metrics for a homestead's real market value and the household income of a claimant in order to expand eligibility for the homestead property tax deferral program. Requires the Legislative Revenue Officer to submit a report to the Legislative Assembly about the equity that claimants hold in their homesteads and the advantages and disadvantages of determining program eligibility on the basis of equity rather than household income.
Read Testimonies
Featured Testimony: OR Child Abuse Solutions Supports
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Senate Committee on Rules 1:00 PM
SB 1173 – Digest: The Act says that some product liability claims may not be filed against a health care facility. (Flesch Readability Score: 60.1). Provides that a health care facility is not a manufacturer, distributor, seller or lessor of a product for purposes of a product liability civil action if the health care facility was not involved in the design or manufacture of the product.
Read Testimonies
Featured Testimony: Oregon Liability Reform Commission Supports
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Important Tax Tracker:
These are the top 13 Tax Bills of the Oregon 2025 Legislature that have had public hearing and may pass within the next 40 days with little notice or warning on when they will be up for a House or Senate vote. Please go to OregonWatchdog.com to get updated.
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Kicker tax refund theft (SB 1177)
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3% property tax (SB 712)
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8% beer-wine tax (HB 3197)
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250% marriage fee hike (SB 97)
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800% timber tax (HB 3489)
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Drink container tax (HB 3940)
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4% tire tax (HB 3362)
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$122 million Google tax to fund newspapers (SB 686)
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$500 million Hospital-healthcare tax (HB 2010)
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Baseball stadium jock tax (SB 110)
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Double RV vehicle fee (HB 3902)
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OR Transportation Reinvestment Package (TRIP) …see below.
This year’s package – dubbed the Oregon Transportation Reinvestment Package, or TRIP – includes: (Taken from Oregon Democrats unveil ambitious road funding proposal. By Dirk VanderHart April 3, 2025)
- A staggered 20-cent increase to the state’s 40-cent-per-gallon gas tax. The tax would increase by 8 cents at the outset of next year, and another 4 cents in 2028, 2030, and 2032. It would be indexed to increase with inflation afterward.
- A new tax equal to 1% of the sale price of all cars sold in Oregon, new or used. McLain and Gorsek say Oregon is one of just five states without such a charge, which they call a “one-time system use fee.”
- A new “road usage charge” that electric and highly fuel-efficient vehicles would pay – either as a flat fee or based on actual miles driven in Oregon. Existing electric vehicles would be subject to that still-undefined charge beginning in July 2026. New EVs, plug-in hybrids and cars with fuel economy of 30 miles-per-gallon or better, would be added in subsequent years.
- A separate usage charge for delivery vehicles used by companies with at least 10 such vehicles. The fee is meant to impact corporate delivery services like Amazon, according to a summary.
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Tacking an additional $66 onto Oregon vehicle registration fees, which vary by automobile.
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Adding $90 to vehicle titling fees, which currently range from $90 to $190.
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Increasing the state’s weight-mile tax on heavy vehicles by 16.9%. Taken together with higher taxes and fees for light vehicles, this change would ensure large trucks are no longer paying more than their fair share of road costs. The framework also envisions a tax structure for heavy trucks that is far simpler than the current system.
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A 3% tax on tire sales that would send $25 million a year to rail operations, safe highway crossings for wildlife and improving salmon habitat. (4% per the base bill, HB 3362)
- An increase to an existing tax auto dealers pays for the “privilege” of selling cars in Oregon. The tax would be raised from 0.5% of the price of a vehicle to 0.8%.
- Adding $9.50 to an existing $15 tax on sales of new bicycles that cost at least $200. Funding from the tax goes to bike and pedestrian facilities.
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Increasing a tax dedicated to transit service that Oregon workers’ pay from their paychecks from 0.1% to 0.18%. That’s well under the 0.5% that transit agencies have pushed for recently.
In total, Democratic lawmakers say they are looking to raise an additional $1.5 billion every two years from existing taxes, and another $486 million via the new 1% tax on vehicle sales. They did not offer any notion of how much a new “road usage charge” on EVs, fuel-efficient gas vehicles and delivery trucks could yield.
-Rep. Boomer Wright: Don’t be misled, all taxes or fees will be passed onto consumers (YOU). The Government cannot tax the people into prosperity. Let the Democrats know you want to keep some money for your own family.
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The proposed Oregon Transportation ReInvestment Package – “TRIP 2025”, is like more like a “psychedelic tax TRIP” for Oregonians. Here is what it really says.
BUYING AND LICENSING A CAR – NOT DRIVING IT YET….
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DMV FEES – Increase Title fees by $90 or around 100%. Current fees range from $90 to $190.
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Increase Vehicle registration FEES - Increase fees by $66. Current vehicle registration fees for gas powered passenger vehicles range from $126-$156. EV’s pay $316 unless they are registered in the OreGo program.
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New Car TAX (also known as the privilege tax passed in 2017 in HB2017 – ironically the last transportation package). Increases the tax applied to new vehicles from 0.5% to 0.8% or a 60%.
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The “New” Car TAX – Which will apply to all new and used cars and be in addition to the privilege tax. It will be a “one time fee of 1% of the vehicle price.
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Tire TAX – Brand new tax that will be 3% for all tires purchased.
ACTUALLY DRIVING
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Weight Mile TAX - Increase it by + 16.9%. These are the fees that trucks pay instead of the fuel tax. Former Senator Boquist and I called for a Special session on this issue in December of 2023 because the weight mile tax was already constitutionally out of balance with the fuel tax.
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Fuel TAX - Raise the current fuel tax of $0.40 per gallon to $0.60 per gallon. The Oregon gas tax was raised last year by 5%. Oregon has the nation’s 10th highest gas tax.
- ***FUTURE FUEL TAX INCREASES WOULD BE INDEXED AND TIED TO INFLATION – NO LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL, NO VOTE, NO INPUT, JUST AUTOMATIC INCREASES***
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Road Usage CHARGE for cars and pickups – pay per mile. Currently this is an optional program for EV vehicles in lieu of higher registration rates. The new program would eventually apply it to ALL vehicles.
- July 2026: Existing EVs
- July 2027: Newly purchased EVs
- July 2028: Plug-In Hybrids
- July 2029: New vehicles rated at 30 MPG or greater (starting with model year 2030).
DON’T DRIVE? – THERE IS A TAX FOR THAT TOO
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Delivery FEE – Businesses with 10 medium duty vehicles (10,000-26,000 pounds – Amazon vans, UPS, Fed Ex, Service providers like Cintas and Aramark, Batteries Northwest, Snap-on Tools, etc.) would be assessed a per mile fee somewhere in between the weight mile rate (which they do not pay today; they pay the gas tax most likely) and the road usage charge.
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Bike TAX increase — Currently the bike tax is $15 this would raise it to $24.9 for all bikes over $200. That is a 63% increase.
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Payroll wage TAX increase - Payroll tax is currently at 0.1%. The increase would take it to 0.18% an 80% increase.
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"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."
--President Ronald Reagan
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Disclaimer: Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the various authors, and not necessarily each author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.
Paid for by the Douglas County Republican Central Committee PAC #307
Not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate’s Committee
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