Bills in the 2025 Regular Session, House.
Ken Helm
Sponsored
Became law8
Makes certain changes concerning a program to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.
Increases boating fees and deposits moneys into the Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Fund.
Modifies provisions of law related to the regulation and administration of water rights in this state.
Makes changes related to a water supply grant program.
Establishes uniform processes for hearing contested case proceedings relating to the use of water.
Allows a physician or physician associate to use telemedicine to practice medicine or provide health care services under specified circumstances to a patient located out of state.
Requires the Public Utility Commission to establish an eligibility cap at no less than 10 megawatts for the use of standard avoided costs rates and contracts for the purchase of energy or energy and capacity from qualifying facilities under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978.
Increases from 50 megawatts to 100 megawatts the minimum size that a wind energy facility needs to be before a wind energy facility is required to obtain a site certificate from the Energy Facility Siting Council.
Passed the House1
Increases the state transient lodging tax.
Out of committee11
Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Department of Administrative Services for distribution to various entities for food production and distribution.
Directs the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a Wildlife Stewardship Program.
Appropriates moneys to the Department of Environmental Quality to fund vessel inspections to minimize the risk of introducing aquatic invasive species into this state.
Appropriates moneys to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife out of the General Fund for deposit into the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund.
Modifies provisions relating to the administrative proceedings of the Public Utility Commission.
Instructs the Water Resources Department to take certain actions related to aquifer recharge and aquifer storage and recovery.
Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to develop a roadmap for the purpose of promoting voluntary industrial symbiosis activities in Oregon.
Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board for deposit in the Community Drinking Water Enhancement and Protection Fund.
Increases appropriations made to the Water Resources Department for the 2025-2027 biennium to fund positions related to water right transaction processing activities.
Imposes additional personal income tax.
Requires the State Department of Energy to study avoided costs paid to qualifying facilities under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act compared with the costs incurred by investor-owned utilities to acquire or maintain renewable energy generation facilities.
In committee9
Requires the Department of Human Services to study the transition of individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities from youth residential settings to adult residential settings.
Provides that an irrigation district that receives a request from a user for delivery of a lower rate or duty of water during an irrigation season may not deliver to the user a higher rate or duty of water during the irrigation season than was requested.
Requires the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to study compensation for members of state boards and commissions.
Requires the Department of Land Conservation and Development to study land use siting of renewable energy facilities that are solar photovoltaic power generating facilities and submit findings to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to land use no later than September 15, 2026.
Requires the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to study natural resources.
Imposes an excise tax on retail sales of tires.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study rules related to water.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study water banks.
Appropriates moneys to the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct activities related to ballast water to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species.
Co-sponsored
Became law · 19
Modifies requirements for the summer learning program.
Modifies the crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image to include the disclosure of digitally created, manipulated or altered images.
Directs the Oregon State University Extension Service and the College of Agricultural Sciences of Oregon State University to study the distribution and occurrence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in biosolids applied to agricultural fields that do not produce crops intended for human consumption.
Provides that a pleading, an admission or a finding that criminal conduct constitutes a crime involving domestic violence is not an element of the crime for merger purposes.
Prescribes the requirements for an immediate and temporary accommodations plan to be implemented when a public education provider receives notification that a student has been diagnosed with a concussion or other brain injury.
Fixes at six percent maximum rent increases for rental spaces in a larger facility beginning in 2026.
Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require or request disclosure of certain information regarding age and attendance or graduation dates.
Requires the Legislative Policy and Research Director to conduct a study on statewide attendance initiatives.
Declares a state policy regarding the electric transmission system.
Permits certain exempt ground water users to withdraw up to 3,000 gallons of water per day for watering any lawn or noncommercial or commercial garden that does not exceed one-half acre.
Requires, for each dwelling unit rented by a landlord for which the source of drinking water is an exempt well in a ground water quality management area, that the landlord collect and test samples of drinking water from the dwelling unit for arsenic, coliform bacteria, lead and nitrates.
Expands areas where a child care facility may be sited.
Modifies the qualifications for certain statutes of limitations for civil actions based on allowing, permitting or encouraging child abuse and sexual assault.
Requires the Energy Facility Siting Council to conclude a contested case and issue a final order within 12 months from the date of a proposed order.
Establishes the Task Force on Municipal Solid Waste in the Willamette Valley.
Authorizes the Water Resources Commission to approve a Deschutes River water bank pilot program.
Authorizes the Environmental Quality Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality to allow for a mixing zone to meet bacteria water quality criteria in a permit applicable to a seafood processing facility.
Expands the justifications for a domestic water supply district to exercise the powers of a sanitary district.
Prohibits a person from taking a beaver on waters or watersheds that are classified in a certain manner or on public land that is within the watersheds or within 200 feet of the ordinary high water mark of the waters.
Passed the House · 2
Prohibits a person that offers or sells consumer goods or services in this state from advertising, displaying or offering a price for the consumer goods or services that does not include all fees and charges that a resident must pay to complete the transaction in the consumer goods or services other than taxes or fees that a governmental body imposes on the transaction or reasonable charges actually incurred for shipping the goods or providing the services.
Allows city and county services for which net local transient lodging tax revenue may be used to be provided either directly by the city or county or indirectly by a special district.
Out of committee · 20
Allows the Energy Facility Siting Council to issue a site certificate for a small modular reactor energy facility demonstration project in Umatilla County.
Establishes a beginning farmer and rancher incentive program in the State Department of Agriculture.
Specifies, for newly constructed buildings within a metropolitan jurisdiction, the percentage of electrical service capacity for charging electric vehicles or electric vehicle charging stations that must be installed at vehicle parking spaces in the garages or parking areas of commercial buildings, multifamily buildings with 10 or more units and mixed-use buildings consisting of privately owned commercial space and 10 or more residential dwelling units.
Directs the Oregon State University Extension Service to develop a program for Spanish language pesticide education.
Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit organization or local government association to serve as a statewide rural community resource center.
Creates the Integrated Water Data Team.
Instructs Oregon Consensus at Portland State University and Oregon State University to support a process related to water management in the Chewaucan River watershed.
Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Water Resources Department for place-based water planning.
Directs the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to distribute moneys to the Oregon Association of Water Utilities to provide technical assistance, or enter into a contract with a third party to provide technical assistance, to address the needs and vulnerabilities of small and very small community water systems, construct and equip a water utility training center and employ three staff to provide related support and resources.
Appropriates moneys to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, out of the General Fund, for deposit in the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund.
Provides that an operator may require a person who engages in a sport, fitness or recreational activity in various ways to release the operator from claims for ordinary negligence.
Establishes the Public Drinking Water, Stormwater and Sewer Ratepayer Assistance Fund.
Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for distribution to the University of Oregon and Portland State University for water-related research and grants.
Appropriates moneys to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for distribution to Oregon State University for purposes of the Institute for Water and Watersheds.
Establishes the Task Force on Eelgrass Resources.
Directs the Department of Land Conservation and Development to take certain actions related to rocky habitat management.
Requires each electric company to develop a distributed power plant program for the procurement of grid services to be provided by distributed energy resources.
Establishes the Water Workforce Program in the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to support workforce development initiatives within the water workforce.
Directs the Department of Environmental Quality to develop a program for examination and certification of operators of lagoon wastewater treatment systems.
Renames the "Greater Harney Valley Groundwater Area of Concern" the "Harney Basin Groundwater Management Area."
In committee · 31
Limits to 25 the number of legislative measures that a member of the Legislative Assembly may ask the Legislative Counsel to prepare for a regular session of the Legislative Assembly that begins in an odd-numbered year.
Allows battery-charged fences on properties not used as residences.
Modifies the meaning of "sexually explicit conduct" for certain crimes involving children.
Directs the Environmental Quality Commission to establish a program to provide rebate vouchers for the replacement of combustion lawn and garden equipment with zero-emission lawn and garden equipment.
Provides that a certificate to appropriate water may be assigned.
Requires the Water Resources Department to implement additional rules and requirements for the review of limited license applications for an aquifer storage and recovery permit.
Directs the Water Resources Commission to establish a program for compensating ground water right holders for voluntarily relinquishing all or portions of ground water rights in basins designated as critical ground water areas.
Creates a state and federal grants coordinator position in the Regional Solutions Program.
Prohibits the Department of Environmental Quality from implementing or enforcing the Advanced Clean Trucks regulations before January 1, 2027.
Imposes a surcharge on certain vehicle registration fees and recreational vehicle trip permits.
Makes permanent certain provisions related to water right examiner certification.
Establishes a cause of action for a buyer in a real estate transaction if the seller fails to provide the results of required well tests.
Directs the Commission on Indian Services to employ a natural resources management tribal liaison officer to facilitate opportunities for integrated natural resources management between Indian tribes and state agencies with natural resources management duties.
Appropriates moneys to the Oregon Business Development Department to update the inventory of community infrastructure project needs related to the production of new housing and prepare reports on the inventory update and the processes and programs for maintaining inventories of, and providing funding for, drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects.
Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Water Resources Department for specified purposes relating to water resources data collection and monitoring for the biennium beginning July 1, 2025.
Removes the statute of limitations for most felony sex crimes.
Requires the sentencing court to consider as mitigation evidence whether the defendant was subjected to domestic violence that was ongoing when the criminal behavior occurred and was a significant factor in the criminal behavior, and the criminal behavior was directed against the domestic violence perpetrator.
Provides that a person must be 18 years of age or older in order for the person to commit the crime of prostitution.
Increases the penalties for the crime of strangulation constituting a felony.
Creates a civil cause of action against a person who removes a condom without the consent of the plaintiff.
Increases fees related to livestock brands.
Directs the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt by rule standards for certification of sewage treatment works operators from nonreciprocal states, provinces or other certifying entities.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study water management in the Harney Basin.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study critical ground water areas.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study the use of voluntary agreements for ground water management.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study rules related to water.
Directs the Water Resources Department to study water management issues.
Makes certain changes related to voluntary agreements among ground water users.
Allows an exclusion from the Oregon taxable estate of a surviving spouse for the unused portion of exclusion that applied to the prior deceased spouse of the decedent.
Prohibits a research facility from using public funds to directly fund medically unnecessary laboratory research on dogs or cats that is classified under certain pain and distress categories.
Makes counties approve applications to site renewable energy facilities filed before June 1, 2025, without applying the statewide land use planning goal related to agricultural use.