On January 1, 2025, new laws went into effect that the 2024 Oregon legislature passed with the presumption they will make Oregon safer, cleaner, and more affordable. These changes will directly impact the day-to-day lives of Oregonians, covering everything from stopping drug use on public transportation and lowering the cost of prescription drugs to making it cheaper to repair electronic devices and increasing transparency in public education.

Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama (D - E Portland & N Clackamas County) said: “Oregonians aren’t satisfied with the status quo, and neither are we. These changes in the new year mark just one phase in our mission to improve quality of life in Oregon. In 2025, we will continue to fight for affordability, safety, and freedom in our state.” Oregonians aren’t satisfied with the status quo, but there is a split whether the way forward should be more taxation or tax relief.

House Majority Leader Ben Bowman (D-Tigard, Metzger, & S. Beaverton) chimed in saying: "Oregon House Democrats are laser-focused on keeping Oregonians safe, making Oregon more affordable, and protecting our rights and freedoms. In the 2024 session, we made progress toward these goals, and many of these new laws will be in effect by January 1. In 2025, we will build on this work and deliver results for Oregonians.” The leaders answer to their agenda is more taxation.

Their 2024 agenda has left Oregon in a mess with the largest employers in the state laying off thousands. Oregon hasn’t yet felt a down-turn in the economy because government and taxes have held it up. The 2024 hiring was primarily in health care and government jobs. Governor Kotek anticipates more propping up will be needed and proposed 1200 new government employee jobs in her budget, and economists think the state’s workforce will grow by around 8% in the next decade.

Oregon’s aging populations, the oldest in the nation, will have an impact on health care, which will eat up the majority of the Governor’s proposed new hires for administration, but will not help providers meet patients needs. Oregonians passed Measure 111 in 2022, establishing the right to “cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care” for every Oregon resident. The amendment requires the state to balance the obligation of ensuring a right to healthcare against funding public schools and other essential public services. This balance requirement keeps free health care in check, but it isn’t stopping the administration from pushing forward with dozens of new tax proposals.

According to Oregon Business Industries release of Oregon Competitiveness Book in 2024, Oregon ranks 4th for sales taxes, even without a sales tax, 20th for property taxes, 41st for individual income taxes, between June 2023 and June 2024 Oregon ranked 45th in manufacturing growth, and 49th for corporate taxes. This poor ranking is due to Oregon’s combination of corporate income tax and gross receipts tax.

These rankings do not make Oregon a business friendly state, and Oregonians are forced to pick up the lack of productivity in higher and more taxes. Oregonians need to start by demanding accountability from the 2025 session. Government needs to answer what happened to $1.8 billion of treasury funds under Tobias Read’s watch? Having one of the highest education budgets in the nation, why are Oregon students still performing far below average? If the economy is growing, why is there an increase in unemployment?

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

January 1 was the implementation date for dozens of bills intended to help curtail medicine costs, reduce drug use on transit: Also on the list are protections for consumers, schoolchildren and warehouse workers. Most of these new laws will do little if anything to help the average Oregonian. Information about the key laws going into effect on January 1, 2025 is available on Your Oregon.

Democrat leadership compiled a full list of 2024 Session passed bills here.

As the state moves forward, will leadership give equal consideration to moving Oregonians forward?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2025-01-06 21:06:03

Last Update: 2025-01-06 22:00:51