Budget & Taxes

HB 4095 requires Oregon's semi-independent state boards (such as licensing commissions for professions like optometry or massage therapy) to follow standard state budget and financial reporting rules they previously were exempt from. The bill mandates these boards to submit detailed annual reports to the legislature, including budget documents, audit copies, and descriptions of fee changes requiring public hearings. It also requires boards to comply with state procurement rules and hold public hearings before adjusting fees. These changes apply broadly to all semi-independent boards currently operating outside standard state fiscal oversight.

[ Declares that it is the goal of the Legislative Assembly to fund the Department of Veterans' Affairs in an amount that is not less than $10,000,000, from the General Fund, in 2015 dollars, adjusted for inflation. ] [ Requires the Director of Veterans' Affairs to add additional full-time positions within the department. Creates in the department the position of Veterans Employment Coordinator. ] Requires the director to be a veteran who has received a discharge or release under other than dishonorable conditions. Allows the director to appoint a deputy director, subject to approval by the Governor. Directs the department to develop and implement a grant program for suicide prevention and workforce training and preparation. Allows moneys in the Veterans' Services Fund to be used for the grant program. Increases an expenditure limitation for the purpose of the grant program. Directs the director to distribute moneys appropriated for county veterans' service officer programs on a quarterly basis. Directs the department to provide a report on the quarterly distribution process. Changes who are allowed to request county veteran discharge records. Increases, from $5,000 to $10,000, the cap on the individual grant amount that is allowed under the Veteran Educational Bridge Grant Program. Directs the Judicial Department, in consultation with the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, to study methods for providing access to veterans' treatment courts to residents of each county or judicial district. Takes effect on July 1, 2026.

Disallows, for purposes of personal income taxation, a mortgage interest deduction for a residence other than the taxpayer's principal residence, unless the taxpayer sells the residence or actively markets the residence for sale. Establishes the Oregon Homeownership Opportunity Account. Transfers an amount equal to the estimated increase in revenue attributable to restrictions on the deduction of mortgage interest to the account, for the purpose of making down payment assistance payments. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

] [ Reduces taxes imposed under various tax programs, operative conditioned upon imposition of a statewide retail sales tax dedicated to specified purposes. Directs the Department of Revenue to estimate the revenue lost to tax reductions and to direct an equal amount of revenue to various purposes. ] Updates the connection date to the federal Internal Revenue Code and other provisions of federal tax law. Increases the amount of the earned income tax credit allowed as a percentage of the federal earned income tax credit. Disconnects from, and requires addback of amounts for, federal provisions allowing deductions of personal auto loan interest and bonus depreciation and allowing exclusion of gain from small business stock. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Creates a personal income or corporate excise tax credit for a taxpayer creating new jobs in the tax year. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2032. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

] [ Defines "container" and "industrial hemp-derived cannabinoid product." Changes the definition of "adult use cannabis item." Imposes a retail sales tax on industrial hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Directs the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to immediately suspend a license to produce marijuana for specified reasons. Directs the commission to inspect a premises licensed by the commission without advance notice for specified reasons and to request that law enforcement accompany the commission to the premises. ] [ Requires the State Department of Agriculture to complete a criminal records check on an applicant for an industrial hemp handler license. Requires an applicant for an industrial hemp grower license to provide a land use compatibility statement and information related to land ownership to the department. Directs the department to inspect a premises licensed by the department without advance notice for specified reasons and to request that law enforcement accompany the department to the premises. ] Increases quarterly distributions to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission for deposit into the Illegal Marijuana Market Enforcement Grant Program Fund from $750,000 to $3 million. Expands the definition of "debilitating medical condition" to include medical conditions that an attending provider determines might be mitigated by the medical use of marijuana. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

HB 4112 increases funding for Oregon's outdoor school program by $6 million, raising the biennial allocation from $48 million to $54 million for the 2025-2027 budget period. This funding supports outdoor education programs that provide hands-on environmental learning experiences for students, directly benefiting schools and educational organizations participating in the program. The bill also declares an emergency to allow immediate implementation upon passage, though the emergency declaration does not alter the funding amount or program structure.

Establishes the Home and Community-Based Services Workforce Standards Board. Prescribes the duties of the board. Directs the board to establish minimum working standards for the home and community-based services workforce. Requires the board to take certain actions before adopting proposed minimum standards. Directs certain state agencies to conduct a fiscal impact analysis to determine whether a proposed minimum standard will increase the fiscal obligations of the state, including an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates. Requires the board to report to the Legislative Assembly and to the Governor the increase in funding needed to implement the standard. Provides that a rule establishing a minimum standard may not take effect before the Legislative Assembly has appropriated funding and the board has received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, if applicable. Permits the Bureau of Labor and Industries to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, administer oaths, obtain evidence and take testimony to make determinations regarding implementation and compliance with the minimum standards established by the board. Provides remedies for allegations of violations of the minimum standards established by the board. Clarifies that relief may be sought for alleged violations no sooner than 90 days after a rule establishing a minimum standard takes effect. Requires the board to conduct a quadrennial comprehensive review, including a labor market analysis to inform the board's decisions to adopt new minimum standards or revise existing standards. Requires the board to submit a biennial report to the Governor and the Legislative Assembly summarizing the results of the comprehensive review and any actions taken by the board in the prior biennium. Requires the online registry administered by the Department of Human Services to include workers from the home and community-based services workforce. Requires that any public hearing conducted by the board be accessible through electronic or virtual means, if possible. .

] Allows net local transient lodging tax revenue to be used for resiliency grants for small businesses in the restaurant and lodging industry. Allows city and county services for which net local transient lodging tax revenue may be used to be provided either directly by the city or county or indirectly by a special district. Changes the division of allowable uses of net local transient lodging tax revenue from at least 70 percent for tourism-related expenses and no more than 30 percent for city or county services, to at least [ 40 ] 50 percent and no more than [ 60 ] 50 percent, respectively. Allows units of local government with restricted grandfathered local transient lodging tax regimes to take advantage of the new provisions of the Act. Establishes biennial reporting by local governments of amounts and uses of local transient lodging tax revenue , the reported information to be aggregated by the Legislative Revenue Officer and submitted to the Legislative Assembly . Directs the Legislative Revenue Officer to conduct a study of the percentage requirements for allowable uses of local transient lodging tax revenue as amended by the Act and to submit the findings to the Legislative Assembly. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Increases the state transient lodging tax. Changes the name of the Oregon Conservation Strategy Subaccount to the Recovering Oregon's Wildlife Fund Subaccount. Specifies how moneys attributable to the increase are to be distributed. Applies the transient lodging tax increase to transient lodging charges occurring on or after January 1, 2027. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Provides that additional taxes otherwise imposed upon disqualification of land from certain forestland special assessment programs may not be collected if the disqualification is due to the suspension of reforestation requirements as a result of insects or disease. Authorizes the Water Resources Department to grant time extensions for specified water right permit holders to complete construction and apply water beneficially. Modifies requirement that the department's director or principal assistant be a registered engineer. Modifies provision specifying when a proposed order of the department becomes final. Directs the department to facilitate certain water users' enrollment in a federal conservation program. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.