Rep. Em Levy

Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to study the impacts of wildfire and smoke on the recreation and fitness industries, including the cost of property insurance, and on the ability of Oregonians to engage in recreation and fitness activities. Allows the department to report to the committees or interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to wildfire no later than September 15, 2026. Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.

Appropriates moneys to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, out of the General Fund, for deposit in the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund. Establishes a maximum limit for payment of expenses by the board from the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

] Creates an exception to abuse of a child in care provisions when the suspected abuse was committed by the parent of the child in care. [ Requires that the Department of Human Services provide parents and guardians with a notice of rights before interviews in child abuse investigations. ] Requires the Department of Human Services to notify a child's parents or guardians that the department representative is not an attorney and cannot give the parent or guardian legal advice. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Business Development Department for the purposes of the Oregon Arts Commission. Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Business Development Department for the purposes of distribution to the Oregon Arts Commission for grants to certain organizations. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Provides that an operator may require a person who engages in a sport, fitness or recreational activity in various ways to release the operator from claims for ordinary negligence. Directs the Oregon Business Development Department, with the assistance of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, to study issues facing the recreation industry and report to a committee of the Legislative Assembly related to the environment no later than September 15, 2026. Appropriates moneys for study. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Maddy summaryHB 2251 requires Oregon school districts to adopt policies banning student use of personal electronic devices on school grounds, during school activities, on school transportation, or at school bus stops. The policy must allow exceptions only for devices supporting academic activities or independent communications under a student's individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan. Districts must also outline consequences for violations and ensure policies are accessible to staff, students, and parents. This bill directly affects all public school students and districts in Oregon, shifting from previous allowances to a near-universal ban with narrow disability-related exceptions. The policy must include a process for student requests and appeals regarding device use.

Allows the Energy Facility Siting Council to issue a site certificate for a small modular reactor energy facility demonstration project in Umatilla County. Requires the demonstration project to use microgrid enabling technologies such that the project can be isolated from the electric grid and support community energy resilience. Requires the council to consult with each interested federally recognized Indian tribe with tribal lands located in Umatilla County on an application for a site certificate for a demonstration project. Directs the State Department of Energy , in cooperation with certain state agencies, to prepare a report on statutes, rules, requirements or orders that may be applicable to a small modular reactor energy facility demonstration project, and statutes and rules that may need to be adopted or modified to enable the Energy Facility Siting Council to provide oversight of a demonstration project. Directs the department to submit the report to the interim committees or committees of the Legislative Assembly related to energy not later than [ one year after the Act takes effect ] December 15, 2026 . Establishes the Umatilla County SMR Demonstration Project Report Fund. Refers the Act to the people of Umatilla County for their approval or rejection at the next regular general election.

Modifies the authority of the Department of Environmental Quality to enter into agreements with regulated entities to expedite or enhance a regulatory process. Directs the Environmental Quality Commission to establish standards to guide the department in the exercise of the department's authority. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Allows an exclusion from the Oregon taxable estate of a surviving spouse for the unused portion of exclusion that applied to the prior deceased spouse of the decedent. Applies to estates of decedents who die on or after January 1, 2026. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

] [ Directs the Department of Transportation to study promoting the use of sustainable aviation fuel in Oregon and present the results of the study to the Joint Committee on Transportation. ] Creates the Task Force on Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Sunsets the task force on December 31, 2026. [ Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die. ] Declares an emergency, effective on passage.