The 83rd Legislative Assembly adjourned sine die on Friday, June 27, at 11:50 p.m. after five long months that turned chaotic in the final weeks.
The 160-day legislative “long session” was marked by efforts to secure sustainable long-term funding for the statewide transportation system and wildfire response and mitigation, a bipartisan focus on increasing housing development efficiency, and comprehensive compromise legislation on behavioral health service improvements for some of the most vulnerable Oregonians.
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and counties played a key role in all policy discussions. Together, county commissioners, county staff, and the AOC Legislative Affairs Department made significant progress on our policy priorities this session. We communicated a consistent message of solutions-oriented partnership, maintenance of local control, and the importance of considering on-the-ground implementation.
Unfortunately, significant work was left undone ─ the Legislature chose not to fully fund the community corrections cost study, legislative leadership could not find the votes to pass a transportation package, and the assessment and taxation funding modernization conversation was moved to the 2026 short legislative session. AOC will spend this summer and fall recalibrating our message on these key priorities and working with the Legislature in solutions-oriented partnership to ensure progress in the 2026 short session.
A record 3,400+ bills were introduced this session. The AOC Legislative Affairs team lobbied for/against over hundreds of bills and analyzed and submitted fiscal impact statements on nearly 600 bills with a potential impact to county budgets. Details on every bill on which the AOC Legislative Committee took a position will be included in the 2025 Legislative Summary, published in the coming weeks.
Please join the AOC Legislative Committee’s virtual meeting on Monday, July 7, to hear a comprehensive recap of the 2025 legislative session.
Contributed by: Mallorie Roberts | AOC Legislative Affairs Director