MCAT-Climate.org – 2025 Legislative Lookback – July 17, 2025
Please see full Lookback document here
Enacted into law (Signed by the Governor!!)
- Transmission improvements: GETs Adoption (HB 3336): Lowers barriers to and incentivizes adoption of Grid Enhancement Technologies (GETs).
- Transmission Permitting (HB 3681): Streamlines the state regulatory approval processes for certifying new energy facilities and electricity transmission lines.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Performance-Based Regulation of Electric Utilities (SB 688-B): Authorizes the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to develop new regulatory metrics.
Passed out of the Senate, but not the House (Died upon adjournment in the House.)
- The Transportation Funding “Omnibus Bill” (HB 2025): Final version included:
- Raise the state gas tax from $0.40 to $0.52/gal without indexing to inflation.
- Raise the state payroll tax from 0.1% to 0.3%.
- Raise DMV fees
- Raise the new car purchase fee from 0.5% to 2.5%.
- Implement a charge per mile driven on EVs.
Most of the increased revenue would go to the Highway Fund, including increasing funding for freeway expansion. See also HCR 42.
Passed out of Committee in one chamber and referred to Joint Ways & Means
(Died at adjournment in Ways & 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.
- CEI Hub Disaster Reserves (HB 2152-A): Requires the 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. .
- CEI Hub Risk Bonding (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).
- Strategic Energy Storage Plan (HB 3450): Department of Environment Quality to produce a strategic energy storage transition plan..
- 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.
- 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. 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.
- 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.
Had a public hearing and a work session, but no committee vote (Died in committee at adjournment.)
- Community Solar Program Participation (SB 92): Allows a small solar project (20 MWatts or less) to participate in the community solar program previously established.
Had a public hearing, but no work session (Died in committee at adjournment.)
- Establish the Oregon Electric Transmission Authority (HB 3628): Establish a State Authority to accelerate expansion of electricity transmission capacity.
- Zero Emission School Bus Act (HB 2945): Accelerates the transition to a zero-emission school bus fleet by EQC setting clear purchasing targets, providing financial & technical assistance and prioritizing communities disproportionately affected by air pollution.
- Renewable Diesel Study (HB 3261): Establishes a task force to study renewable diesel availability, pricing, and demand, including incentives for increasing supply.
- Seismic Risk Mitigation Fund Expansion (HB 2151): Expand the allowable use cases of the Seismic Risk Mitigation Fund.
- Right to a Healthy Environment (SJR 28): A bill to send a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the fundamental right to a safe, clean and healthy environment to voters in 2026.
- The Pause Act (SB 681): Oregon Treasury to enact a five-year moratorium on acquiring new or renewing existing private market funds that have an intention to invest primarily in fossil fuels.
- Climate Target Modernization (SB 1559): Strengthen state carbon emission goals to those recommended by the Oregon Climate Action Commission with reduction targets of 45% by 2030, 70% by 2040, 95% by 2050 and net-zero by 2050.
- Climate SuperFund (Polluter Pays) (SB 1187): EQC to assess large-scale Oregon climate impacts and create a Treasury process to collect monies from the fossil fuel industry based on proportional GHG emissions to fund a state resiliency plan to address those climate impacts.
Did not have a public hearing (Died in committee at adjournment.)
- (HJM 10) Legislative memo to Feds to encourage Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) direction.
**According to OLIS, when a bill reaches the Governor’s desk, the Governor has three choices: Sign the bill, Veto the bill, or allow the bill to become law without a signature (there is no pocket veto in Oregon). If the bill is delivered to the Governor’s desk after sine die (after the session is over and SB 688 was delivered after sine dei), then the Governor has 30 weekdays to act. The bill was delivered on June 30th, the Governor has until Aug. 14th to veto, sign the bill, or tacitly accept it.
Lookback Criteria – Inclusion for bills that
- Efforts that resulted in a bill #, not just an LC #
- Published in an Outlook after session start
- Where 2 bills merged into 1, only the final merged bill is listed