July 28,2025

2025 Legislative Session Adjourns

The 2025 Oregon Legislative Session adjourned on June 27. The session spanned nearly six months, during which time legislators considered over 3,400 pieces of proposed legislation.

The session included a number of notable policy developments, including several measures designed to promote housing production, a major priority of Governor Kotek. The Governor has also created a new state agency to focus on this area—the Housing Accountability and Production Office.

From a budgetary perspective, legislators were challenged to balance the state budget amidst a struggling state economy. A May 2025 revenue forecast predicted slightly lower revenue than previous forecasts, and at the federal level funding cuts as well as continuing inflation and impact from tariff policies put additional pressure on state resources.

Lawmakers did identify a source of additional funding to help manage wildfires with House Bill (HB) 3940, a tax on oral nicotine products. The bill does not represent a complete solution to the wildfire funding need, and the search for additional permanent revenue streams is expected to continue.

Another key policy objective of the session ended in collapse. Lawmakers were unable to pass a transportation funding package to address the state’s aging infrastructure, highways, and road system. HB 2025 fell short of the votes needed to pass. Governor Kotek is calling lawmakers back to Salem on August 29 for a special session to address the funding shortfall and attempt to avert some anticipated layoffs.

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Legislature Passes Budget for Oregon Judicial Department, Oregon Public Defense Commission

OJD Budget
The legislature passed HB 5012 as the primary budget bill for the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD). In addition to maintaining funding for current service levels for baseline court services, the bill includes other key investments:

• • $14.9 million to the Oregon State Bar (OSB) Legal Services Program to continue civil legal services.
  • $4.5 million to the OSB Legal Services Program to fund immigration legal services as part of the statewide Universal Representation program. [Note: this appropriation was made through the legislature’s general budget reconciliation bill, HB 2006, as a pass through the OJD.]
  • Investments in courthouse improvements, including $3 million for Harney County Courthouse annex renovation.
  • Policy Option Package 107, adding a new appellate court manager position and new positions in trial courts to address increasing court dockets.

Two other bills made investments into Oregon’s court system. HB 2712 provided pay increases to judges on the Oregon Supreme Court, Oregon Court of Appeals, and Oregon Tax Court, and to circuit court judges. Senate Bill (SB) 95 created several new circuit court judgeships across Oregon to meet demand.

OPDC Budget
The legislature passed HB 5031, a $707 million budget for the Oregon Public Defense Commission (OPDC) representing a 14.8% budget increase from the previous biennium. The budget funds a total of 180 positions—including additional contract attorneys—and allows state trial attorneys to take on additional cases.

Other key investments include:

• • $2.2 million to fund caseloads particularly in Coos, Douglas, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, and Washington Counties.
  • $3.4 million to train law students to take misdemeanor cases.

A related policy bill, HB 2614, applies changes to the structure of the agency and allows the Governor to appoint and remove the executive director with conditions. OPDC retains the ability to contract with consortia for public defense services; a prior clause regarding a sunset to this policy was removed from the final bill.

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OSB Law Improvement Program Bills Signed Into Law 

The legislature passed with bipartisan support each of the five bills advanced by the bar’s Public Affairs team on behalf of practice sections. The bar offers a special thanks those section members who volunteered to testify and advance meaningful statutory updates this session.

• • SB 166 – This bill changes statutory references from bar “member” to bar “licensee” in line with the OSB’s prevailing regulatory function.
  • SB 167 – This bill adopts Uniform Commercial Code amendments regulating digital currency transactions.
  • SB 168 – This bill addresses application of the probate harmless-error statute and clarifies what may be used to establish testator intent to create a will.
  • HB 2461 – This bill provides courts greater flexibility to consider remote testimony.
  • HB 2463 – This bill clarifies that certain fixed fees and costs may be applied toward the total amount of $750 that allows the recipient of a notice of small claim to request a jury trial. The bill also extends the response window for notice recipients from 14 to 30 days.

For more information about the status upon adjournment of proposed bills, please visit the website of the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS).

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