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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
IP28 nets 34,000 signatures, $10k from PETA
Initiative Petition 28 (IP28) is the latest iteration of the egregious initiative seeking to criminalize killing an animal in Oregon for any reason other than self defense.
This petition, previously known as IP13 and IP3, would make it illegal to hunt, fish, trap mice or gophers, teach using animals, raise and slaughter animals for food, and breed animals.
Since the initiative first came to Oregon in 2021 with the intent of making the 2022 ballot, it has not received attention or support from any major national animal-rights organizations.
That changed when they received a $10,000 contribution from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This development signals a major shift in support for such an outlandish idea and should concern everyone monitoring the initiative.
As of this writing, the initiative has gathered more than 34,000 signatures since it was approved to begin collection for the 2026 ballot in July. This is the largest number of signatures raised in the history of the initiative and is predominantly due to their ability to use paid signature gatherers. The PETA donation ensures that they will be able to continue paying signature gatherers on their way to the 117,000 signature threshold to gain the ballot.
OHA works with two opposition coalitions, one sportsmen’s-focused and one focused on farming and ranching organizations. Our work to educate Oregonians to the detrimental effects of IP28 will continue in earnest.
OHA succeeds in securing critical funding to fight spread of CWD
OHA came out of the 2024 legislative session with one of the most meaningful wins for Oregon’s wildlife: additional funding to increase monitoring and testing for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The funding allocated $1.9 million to the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory located at Oregon State University for increased lab capacity and the establishment of in-state testing for CWD samples. In addition, ODFW received $795,000 for increased personnel capacity in the Wildlife Laboratory and the hiring of several seasonal positions to increase sample collection.
CWD, which is contagious and 100-percent fatal to deer and elk, has been found in Idaho deer very close to the Oregon border.
Securing this funding was a two-year process. In 2023, we authored HB 2532, which originated the CWD funding request. That bill passed unanimously out of its policy committee but died in Ways & Means when it did not rise to the top of the list for necessary funding. With a legislature focused on housing, homelessness, and addiction, getting their attention on wildlife is an uphill battle.
This multi-year process is a great example of the constant work needed to maintain OHA’s legislative presence. Much of the foundational work is done during the interim time between legislative sessions: working with legislators and their staff to develop legislation, participating in collaboratives to develop concepts, and building relationships in and out of the Capitol.
OHA’s 2023 victory with HB 3086, which changed the regional selection for the ODFW Commission, was due in part to the relationships formed with our Tribal partners. The full force of the environmental coalition was brought against that bill and, frankly, the sportsmen’s community would not have prevailed if it had not been for Tribal leadership weighing in on the importance of ODFW’s Commission being represented by more regions of the state outside the Portland metro area.
When HB 2532 died at the end of the 2023 session, it was OHA’s relationships with legislators that afforded us the opportunity to bring it back to life in 2024 in HB 4148. And when HB 4148 also died, it was OHA’s tenacity and willingness to work across the aisle that secured the funding for CWD in the final budget bill of the session.
OHA is already looking ahead to the 2025 session and working with decision makers to bring our future legislative concepts to life. In the legislature, the off-session is where we put in the work to build the relationships, collaboratives, and legislative concepts that further our mission statement to protect Oregon’s wildlife, habitat, and hunting heritage. We don’t stop working for our members, and for all of Oregon’s sportsmen and women, at the end of legislative session, rather that’s when we’re just getting started.
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