MCAT-Climate.org – 2025 Legislative Outlook – June 9, 2025
Please see full Outlook document here
Transportation
- The Transportation Funding “Omnibus Bill” (HB 2025): The bill prioritizes funding to address the current structural deficit in our transportation system while also prioritizing Safety; focusing on Maintenance, Operations, and Preservation; keeping project commitments of earlier legislatures; supporting Transit, Rail, and Pedestrian/Rolling Safety; and adopting Accountability Measures for efficiency, performance, and fairness of spending and revenue collection.
- Stabilizing revenue changes include:
- Dedicated to the Highway Fund for Maintenance, Operations, and Preservation in a 50%/30%/20% split between State/Counties/Cities:
- 15 cents increase (1/1/26 – 10 cents/gallon; 1/1/28 – 5 c/g); + indexed to inflation
- Title fees increase (+ $70 to base)
- Registration increase (+ $50 to base)
- Weight Mile adjustment (waiting on calculations)
- Road User Charge – Passenger Vehicles (Per mile: 5% of gas tax)
- Road User Charge – Comm. Del. Vehicles (Per mile: 10% of gas tax)
- Dedicated to Transit Maintenance and Enhancements
- Payroll Tax increase (+0.2% on payroll)
- Dedicated to Great Streets ($260M), Safe Routes ($50 M), Anchor Projects ($250 M)
- Transfer Tax (2% on new vehicles; 1% on used vehicles; floor at $10,000)
- Dedicated to Railroad Fund
- Privilege Tax (+ 0.5% increase on new vehicle sales, in state)
- Dedicated to Wildlife Crossing Fund
- Vehicle Use Tax (+ 0.5% increase on new vehicle sales, out of state)
- Dedicated to the Highway Fund for Maintenance, Operations, and Preservation in a 50%/30%/20% split between State/Counties/Cities:
- .Accountability Measures Include:
- Frequent performance audits and more legislative oversight over capital projects
- Efficiency: Simplify weight-mile tax rates from 85 down to 10
- Stewardship: Raises point of taxation level for diesel from retail level to higher up the supply chain, like gasoline (reduces tax evasion and administrative burden)
- Fairness: Restores Highway Cost Allocation balance (between vehicle types) as required by OR Constitution
- Bill has dropped, public hearings scheduled starting June 9.
Clean Energy
● Transmission Improvements: GETS adoption (HB 3336) Lower barriers to & incentivizes adoption of Grid Enhancement Technologies (GETs). Passed in the House. In Senate committee. Passed in the House. Passed the Senate committee. Awaiting third reading on the Senate Floor for one week.
Transmission Permitting (HB 3681) Streamlines the state regulatory approval processes for certifying new energy facilities and electricity transmission lines. Awaiting Governor’s signature.
● Protecting Oregonians with Energy Responsibility (POWER ACT) (HB 3546-A): Ensures that large energy users, like data centers and crypto operations, do not unfairly burden Oregon households with their grid and transmission costs. Passed in the House and the Senate. Awaiting signatures of the Speaker and the President.
● Performance-Based Regulation of Electric Utilities (SB 688-A): Authorizes the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to develop new regulatory metrics that incentivize or penalize power companies based on how well the companies meet metrics important to Oregon, such as reduction of GHGs, increased energy efficiency, improved reliability and resilience, and minimizing costs to ratepayers. Assigned to Ways & Means subcommittee on Natural Resources. Hearing on 6/11.
● Distributed Power Plant (DPP) Program (HB 3609): Requires each electrical utility to develop a DPP program that will allow small sources of electricity to join together to provide additional power resilience and lower costs for small users. In Ways and Means.
● Thermal Energy Network (TEN) Pilot Projects (SB 1143-A): Directs the PUC to establish a utility-scale pilot program for natural gas companies. Those companies would be required to file a proposal for a TEN pilot program within two years or explain why not. In Ways and Means.
Healthy Homes & Communities
● CEI HUB Disaster Reserves (HB 2152-A) Requires Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to develop and implement a state-wide Disaster Reserves Plan for liquid fuels at the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. In Ways and Means.
CEI Hub Risking Bond (HB 2949-A) Requires CEI-Hub bulk storage owners and operators to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). In Ways and Means.
● Hydrogen Transparency (SB 685-A): Requires methane (natural gas) service providers to give 60 days advance notice to their customers and the PUC if hydrogen content is over 2.5% by volume and notice for additional increases. Awaiting Governor’s signature.
● One Stop Shop 2.0/Energy Efficiency Navigation (HB 3081-A): Expand the existing energy efficiency and incentives directory program – One Stop Shop 1.0; support more dynamic navigation services, reduce complexity and provide better service to customers. In Ways and Means.
General Climate
● Task Force on Public Financing Options (HB 2966-A): Creation of a Task Force to study and make recommendations concerning the establishment of public financing options. In Ways and Means.
● Reducing Food Waste (HB 3018-A): Uniform date labeling based on food safety and quality, modeled after California’s program and requiring large entities to compost rather than landfill food, based on Metro’s current program. In Ways and Means.
● PERS Fund Climate Risks (HB 2081): Requires the State Treasurer and the Oregon Investment Council to manage climate change risks to the state’s public pension fund. Passed the House. Passed the Senate committee. Awaiting Senate floor vote.
Climate Funding: These climate funding numbers come from the OCN/OCLV Budget letter of March 31, 2025 except for Transportation where they reflect Move Oregon Forward’s budget requests. All numbers are per biennium.
● Transportation
○ Mechanisms for Cost and Climate Accountability
■ Require ODOT to evaluate the projected GHG emissions and VMT for all future
highway projects
○ Support for safety investments ($400M total)
■ Great Streets Program (Out of ODOT allocation), $200M
■ Jurisdictional Transfer Program (Out of ODOT allocation), $50M
■ Safe Routes to School (From the Highway Trust Fund), $150M
○ Urgent Support for Transit Operations Funding
■ Phased increased to the Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF)
payroll tax to reach 0.5% by 2033
○ Med/Heavy Duty (MHD) truck rebates, charging & ZEV fueling, $80M
○ Charge Ahead & Ebike EV rebates, community charging, EV school buses, $88M
○ Passenger rail, community paths, & wildlife crossings, $140M
● Clean Energy
○ Performance-Based Regulation of Electric Utilities (SB 688) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Distributed Power Plant (DPP) Program (HB 3609) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Thermal Energy Network (TEN) Pilot Projects (SB 1143) (Joint Ways & Means)
● Healthy Homes and Communities
○ Statewide Fuel Infrastructure (HB 2152) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Risk Bond Requirement (HB 2949) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ One Stop Shop 2.0 (HB 3018) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Climate Resilience Programs:
■ Rental Home Heat Pump Program (ODOE), $30M
■ Community Heat Pump Deployment Program (ODOE), $15M
■ Community Resilience Hubs (OREM), $10m (HB 3170)
● General Climate
○ Task Force on Public Financing Options (HB 2966) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Reducing Food Waste (HB 3018) (Joint Ways & Means)
○ Finalizing the Private Forest Accord (ODF & ODFW), $36M
○ Natural Climate Solutions (ODOE), $5M