ADVOCACY 2025 Oregon Legislative Session Kicks Off with Record Number of Presession Bill Introductions By Kevin Christiansen, SVP & Government Affairs Director, Oregon Bankers Association On Monday January 13, the gavel was dropped, officially kicking off the 83rd Oregon Legislative Session. Legislators met in Salem to elect officers, adopt rules, organize committees, and first read almost 2,300 bills. This is a record number of pre-session bill introductions with more to come. Beginning on January 21, and lasting until June, the legislature will vet and vote on bills. Notwithstanding continuing construction around the Capitol, the session is looking more like non-COVID-19 sessions of the past with plenty of familiar faces in leadership roles. Democrat Governor Tina Kotek enters the second half of her first term with priorities for the session around addressing housing and homelessness, mental health and addiction, and education. The Legislature now has Democrat supermajorities in both houses. This means that Democrats, if they choose, will be able to enact tax increases without Republican votes. On nontax measures they will continue to be in a strong position to pass their party’s legislative priorities. Sen. Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) continues as the Senate president while Sen. Kayse Jama (D-East Portland) became the majority leader of Senate Democrats. Sen. Dan Bonham (R-The Dalles) will lead Senate Republicans. In the House, Speaker of the House Julie Fahey (D-West Eugene) retained her position as Speaker and Rep. Ben Bowman (D-Tigard) will continue as House Majority Leader. On the Republican side, a familiar face returns to the role of House Republican Leader as Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) assumes the role she had a few sessions ago. In addition to leadership, several new legislators were sworn in. When all is said and done, we anticipate nearly 4,000 bills may be introduced on a wide variety of subjects ranging from taxation and environmental policy to public safety and human resource issues. OBA has its own slate of proactive legislation, including bills to tweak the Bank Act, a provision requiring credit unions to be subject to Oregon corporate excise taxes on the business portfolios of banks the acquire, and a tax incentive program for lending in rural areas. We are also exploring a concept to provide tax incentives for the formation of de novo banks in Oregon. In addition to pursuing a proactive agenda, we are prepared to address key issues affecting the banking industry and its customers. We are also ready to oppose problematic proposals, such as those involving state-owned banks, taxation and employer mandates. The OBA carefully reviews every bill introduced during the legislative session and, guided by the OBA board and input from OBA committees, takes action on legislation that impacts the banking industry. OBA is well-positioned to represent the interests of Oregon’s banking industry during the 2025 Oregon Legislative Session. If you have any questions about the session, please contact me at (503) 576-4123 or [email protected]. Winter 2025 • BANKING MATTERS 11
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