Sen. Suzanne Weber

Maddy summaryHB 4081 regulates photo radar use in Oregon highway work zones on state highways. It requires photo radar units to operate only within 100 yards of highway workers or temporary roadway changes (like lane shifts), with clear signage placed 100-400 yards before the zone. The Oregon Department of Transportation and Oregon State Police must ensure radar units meet strict accuracy standards, produce clear images, undergo regular inspections, and provide annual calibration. The law also mandates biennial safety evaluations and annual reports to the Legislative Assembly about photo radar usage and public acceptance. This directly affects drivers in work zones, the DOT, and law enforcement agencies operating the radar systems.

Allows counties with a population density of less than 30 people per square mile to rezone up to 50 acres to be divided and developed for residential dwellings of at least five units per acre. Sunsets January 2, 2034. Expands allowed development of accessory dwelling units to farmland with certain existing nonfarm dwellings. Allows the development of larger rural accessory dwelling units.

Directs the Department of State Lands, in consultation with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, to develop a salmon credit pilot program to encourage the voluntary restoration of salmonid habitat in the Coquille and Coos watershed basins. Establishes the Salmon Credit Trust Fund. Directs the Department of State Lands and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to consult with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to seek federal approval for a bank instrument and authorization of activities that occur in navigable waters of the United States. Becomes operative on the date that the federal authorization and bank instrument are approved. Provides that the Department of State Lands may not approve a salmon credit project on or after January 1 of the sixth year following federal approval. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Digest: The Act would change the tax credit for semiconductor research. The Act would set up and change some tax breaks for advanced manufacturing, enterprise zones and regionally significant industrial sites. The Act would direct certain state agencies to set up deadlines to process applications for permits and to make the deadlines public. The Act would make those agencies, no later than 60 days after the date on which the Act becomes law, publish a list of the permits that they issue. Modifies the tax credit allowed for semiconductor research. Creates and amends certain programs offering tax breaks related to advanced manufacturing, enterprise zones and regionally significant industrial sites. Directs certain state agencies to establish deadlines within which the agency intends to process applications for permits and make the deadlines available to the public. Directs certain state agencies to publish a catalog of permits issued by the agency within 60 days after the effective date of the Act. Adds rural reserves in Washington County to Metro to be used for high-technology and advanced manufacturing purposes. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Authorizes a teacher to immediately remove from the classroom setting a student who repeatedly interferes with the teacher's ability to communicate effectively with the students in the class or with the ability of the students to learn. Prescribes requirements for the return of a student to the classroom setting. Requires a school district to convene a placement review committee when a student is removed from a classroom setting. Requires a student to demonstrate proficiency in specified Essential Learning Skills prior to the student being awarded a high school diploma or a modified diploma. Directs the State Board of Education to adopt academic content standards for language arts based on the science of reading and writing. Prohibits school districts from advancing students who are not able to demonstrate third-grade reading proficiency. Provides exceptions. Takes effect July 1, 2026.

Creates Oregon corporate excise and income tax subtractions for amounts received in resolution of a civil action arising from wildfire. Creates Oregon corporate excise and income tax subtractions for wildfire-related legal fees paid by plaintiffs. Allows a taxpayer to amend a return to claim a refund for the earliest tax year in which a subtraction is allowed. Applies to declarations and executive orders issued on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2027, and to amounts received, losses incurred and legal fees paid in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Directs [ law enforcement ] specified investigators of deaths of decedents , prior to making any findings as to the cause or manner of death where the decedent is suspected to have died from suicide, [ overdose or ] accident or other undetermined cause , to review documented evidence of abuse and interview family members of the decedent if the decedent has a history as a victim of domestic violence or child abuse and certain conditions exist. [ Requires law enforcement to submit a written request to the district medical examiner for the performance of an autopsy if a reasonable basis exists that the death of the decedent may be the result of domestic violence or child abuse. ] [ Directs a medical examiner or district attorney to order the performance of an autopsy in certain circumstances. ] Directs the law enforcement officer or district medical examiner to request further post-mortem examination of the decedent if a reasonable basis exists to suspect the death is a homicide due to domestic violence or child abuse. Directs the Chief Medical Examiner to engage in collaborative consultation regarding appropriate actions to take. Prohibits the release of the body of the decedent until the consultation has occurred and recommended actions have been completed. Authorizes appropriate post-mortem assessments. Provides that certain individuals may examine and obtain copies of evidence generated during an autopsy or investigation of death. Requires law enforcement to provide notice of rights to certain members of the decedent's family upon opening an investigation of a death that is suspected to have been caused by suicide[ , overdose or accident ] or occurred under suspicious circumstances .

Creates the crime of aggravated felon in possession of a firearm when a person who has been convicted of a felony possesses three or more firearms or has certain prior convictions. Punishes by a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both.

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 percent and no more than 60 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. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Maddy summarySB 1524 establishes a dedicated Horse Racing Account funded by 0.3% of Oregon's annual lottery net proceeds, starting July 1, 2027. The funds support horse racing events operated by licensed entities and held at fairgrounds in Crook, Josephine, Tillamook, and Union Counties. Key uses include maintaining tracks, funding purse money and safety equipment, covering veterinary care, and building safety infrastructure for horses and jockeys. This allocation is separate from other lottery funds and requires annual disbursement after meeting prior constitutional obligations.