The Bill Graveyard

The 2025 legislative session in Oregon saw an unprecedented number of bills introduced. Unfortunately, many good bills didn’t make it across the finish line, and some of the worst bills made it farther than they should have, taking up valuable committee hearing time that could have been used to pass meaningful legislation.

Good Bills that Died

SB 88 Get the Junk Out of Rates. This bill would have limited the ability of utilities to charge ratepayers (as opposed to shareholders) for lobbying, litigation costs, fines, marketing, industry fees, and political spending.

HB 3081 One Stop Shop 2.0. This bill would have created a navigation program at ODOE to actively help Oregonians access federal, state, local, and utility energy efficiency incentives all in one place.

SB 1153 Safeguarding Streamflows. This bill would have modernizedOregon’s water transfer laws to ensure water is managed sustainably and equitably to protect ecosystems, communities, and future water needs.

Special Focus HB 2980 The Wildlife Stewardship Program. The Wildlife Stewardship Program would have supported wildlife coexistence between humans and wildlife which are increasingly impacted by habitat loss from climate change.

HB 2977 1% for Wildlife. This bill would have supported Oregon's struggling fish and wildlife which are experiencing an extinction crisis by increasing the statewide transient lodging tax

HB 3587 Rocky Habitat Stewardship Bill. This bill would have moved the Rocky Habitat Management Strategy forward by providing vital agency support and establishing small grants programs for coastal communities.

HB 3580 Eelgrass Action Bill. This bill would create a task force to recommend eelgrass conservation targets for the state and address gaps and barriers to increased protection.

HB 3143 Landowners Living With Beavers Bill. This bill would have provided funding that supports beaver coexistence strategies for private landowners.

HB 3628 Transmission Authority. This bill would have established the Oregon Electric Transmission Authority to address gaps in Oregon's grid and advance solutions.

HB 3062 Healthy Communities Act. This bill would have combined technical and community input to identify land use conflicts and potential public health impacts on hospitals, care facilities, and schools from nearby industrial uses.

HB 3477 Climate Target Modernization Bill. This bill would have added new goals for achieving net zero emissions by no later than 2050 and updated Oregon’s greenhouse gas reduction targets to reflect the best available science.

SB 1187 Superfund Bill. This bill would have made polluters pay to create a climate superfund to clean up pollution.

Bad Bills that Died

HB 3119 ACT Rollback. This bill would have prohibited DEQ from implementing the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule until 2027.

HB 3103-5 Minimum Logging Level Bill. This bill would have required a minimum logging level for state forest land and would have added a new legal right to sue regarding the logging level.

HB 2403 Predator Districts Bill. This bill would have allowed predator damage control districts to fund the killing of Oregon’s wildlife without the consideration of non-lethal methods.

Bill of Concern SB 1034 New Barriers to Clean Energy Development. This bill would have prevented the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) from siting large energy projects if the Council finds a project does not follow local land use rules-- even if those rules conflict with statewide land use goals.

Bill of Concern SB 216 Nuclear Waste Repository Requirement Repeal. This bill would have repealed the law that requires there to be a place for radioactive waste to be disposed of before a nuclear power plant may be sited in Oregon.

Bill of Concern HB 3858 Sprawl Across Farm and Forest Lands. Would allow an unknown number of units of land across the landscape to be developed with housing, causing negative conflicts with farming, forestry, and wildlife habitat and migration corridors.