IP 28 News – Click HERE
OHA is hunting for big bucks for wildlife
By Amy Patrick, OHA Policy Director – Amy@oregonhunters.org
The outlook on the upcoming 2026 Legislative Session, commonly known as the Short Session due to its abbreviated 5-week timeline, is being shaped predominantly by fiscal shortfalls. Oregon’s politics in 2025 have set the table for a challenging landscape for any bill concept that will require state funding. From the 2025 session ending without a transportation package, to the stop-and-start special session wrangling of an acknowledged short-term fix for roads and immediate needs, the lack of availability of state funding has been underscored. Add in the September Revenue Forecast predicting an $888 million shortfall, and the picture becomes more clear in relation to the fiscal challenges ahead.
Dollars & Sense
Even in well-funded bienniums, the Oregon Legislature does not prioritize the funding of natural resource agencies. The General Fund, otherwise known as our tax dollars, is used to fund state agency budgets every two years. Of the $37 billion dollars of General Fund allocated for the 2025-27 biennium, a mere 1.5% goes to all 16 natural resource agencies, with only 0.2% ending up at ODFW.
What does this mean for OHA and the sportsmen and women around the state? Likely, it means we will need to continue finding other funding avenues for our priorities of protecting Oregon’s wildlife, habitat, and hunting heritage.
Welcome to the Hotel Oregon
One plan to address this need was brought forward in 2025: the transient lodging tax bill. The original concept, HB 2977, would have increased the state transient lodging tax (TLT) by an additional 1%, raising it from 1.5% to 2.5%. Even with this increase, Oregon’s statewide TLT would remain among the lowest in the nation. The revenue created from this increase would go to ODFW for conservation efforts such as the State Wildlife Action Plan.
As the bill was worked in the session, it was amended to change the increase from an additional 1% to 1.25% for a rate of 2.75% and add additional programs to the list of funding recipients. The final version included funds for the Wolf Depredation Compensation Program, invasive species response, additional anti-poaching capacity, wildlife connectivity programs, Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund, and a wildlife stewardship program. These changes garnered strong bipartisan support, moving the bill out of the House and to the Senate for final approval. Unfortunately, through late-session political maneuvering, the bill was not allowed on the Senate floor for a vote before the end of session.
Picking up the Tab for Wildlife
OHA has worked on this concept since its inception in 2021 and will be supporting it again in 2026. We see the value in creating additional revenue streams for ODFW that are additive to the costs currently shouldered only by the hunters, anglers, and trappers of the state. Creating a funding stream that will be paid predominantly by out-of-state travelers is the first step in broadening the scope of fiscal responsibility for Oregon’s wildlife management.
As Oregon’s economics and lack of legislative focus on natural resources continue to make appropriate funding difficult, our conservation-minded sportsmen and women must find creative ways to protect our wildlife, habitat, and hunting heritage.
IP28 nets half the signatures required to reach ‘26 ballot
The proponents of Initiative Petition 28 (IP28), have gathered approximately half the signatures needed to place the initiative on the 2026 ballot.
The initiative, which has been called IP13 and IP3 in its previous iterations, would criminalize all hunting, fishing, and trapping in Oregon, as well as animal husbandry practices, raising animals for food, and even trapping mice and vermin.
IP28 supporters have until July 2026 to collect and submit the required 117,173 valid signatures to gain the ballot.
Two coalitions in opposition have been established, one focused on the farming and ranching community and one made up of sportsmen’s organizations. OHA participates on both coalitions and actively monitors the initiative’s finances and social media.
2025 legislative session reaches tumultuous end
By Amy Patrick, OHA Policy Director – Amy@oregonhunters.org
The 2025 legislative session ended late in the night on Friday, July 27, after a tumultuous final week. Regardless of the legislature’s inability to pass a transportation package, the outcomes for Oregon’s wildlife and sporting community were fairly beneficial.
Bills with positive impacts for OHA’s mission to protect Oregon’s wildlife, habitat, and hunting heritage include:
- HB 2978 increases collaboration between ODOT and ODFW regarding wildlife crossing structure design, location, and implementation. Signed by the Governor.
- SB 812 removes the sunset clause on the Landowner Preference Program. Signed by the Governor.
- SB 777 assigns a multiplying factor for livestock and guard dog compensation due to wolf depredation. Signed by the Governor.
- HB 5009 sets the ODFW agency budget for the next biennium. Headed to the Governor’s desk.
- HB 2342 increases fees for tags and licenses. While the sportsmen’s community is never excited about higher prices, OHA has supported this bill due to inflation and maintaining current service level needs. Headed to the Governor’s desk.
- HB 3075, the Measure 114 firearms bill, and HB 3076, the state regulation for firearms dealers bill, both died in Ways & Means due to their high financial burden to implement.
We didn’t get a win on every bill:
- HB 3932 bans beaver trapping on federal and state lands in waterways deemed impaired by the Department of Environmental Quality. In addition to the negative impacts to the trapping community, the bill sets a troubling precedent of removing wildlife management decisions from the purview of ODFW and the Commission. Signed by the Governor.
- HB 2167 would have appropriated $3.5 million to the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory at Oregon State University for chronic wasting disease research and testing. Died in Ways & Means.
- HB 2977 would have increased the state transient lodging tax by 1.25% to fund ODFW programs such as the State Wildlife Action Plan, wolf compensation funding, wolf biologist, invasive species funding, wildlife stewardship and anti-poaching funding. Died due to delays from a minority report filing.
- SB 243, what was the firearms omnibus bill, had the ban on firearms possession for anyone under 21 and the mandatory 72-hour wait period stripped out for a narrowed bill that bans rapid fire activators, such as forced trigger resets and auto sears, and adds new restrictions on concealed carry ability in public buildings. While not a win, the final version of the bill does not impact the youth and young adult hunting or firearms purchases. The bill passed on the final day of the session and is likely to be litigated.
State Supreme Court to review M-114
By Amy Patrick, OHA Policy Director – Amy@oregonhunters.org
The lawsuit against Measure 114 has reached the Oregon Supreme Court.
Measure 114, the gun control ballot measure passed by a narrow margin in 2022, was ruled unconstitutional by Harney County Judge Raschio in November 2023.
At that time, the State of Oregon appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which took up the case and issued a ruling in March 2025 stating the measure did not violate the state constitution.
The plaintiffs petitioned the Oregon Supreme Court to review the ruling of the Court of Appeals, which was accepted, and the case is scheduled to begin in November.
Financial assistance in support of the ongoing legal battle can be made via GiveSendGo: https://www.givesendgo.com/StateCourt_StopMeasure114
Sign up for OHA updates and alerts at:
Loading ...