Ways and Means capital subcommittee advances BOLI budget, firearms dealer licensing and other bills; hospital fee increase, CHIPS fund changes move forward

The Capital Construction Subcommittee of the Oregon Ways and Means Committee met June 18, 2025, in Rumi to consider and advance a series of budget and policy measures to the full Ways and Means Committee. The subcommittee approved the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) recommendations for the Bureau of Labor and Industries budget (House Bill 5015) and moved several other bills — including a state firearms dealer licensing framework, changes to the CHIPS fund, prevailing wage coverage adjustments, and an increase in hospital licensing fees — to the full committee with due‑pass recommendations.

LFO recommended a $79,231,998 total‑funds budget for BOLI in House Bill 5015 (including about 203.38 FTE), a package that LFO described as roughly a 31% increase from the 2023 legislatively approved budget and which includes investments to expand civil rights enforcement, wage and hour enforcement, apprenticeship support, and agency operations. After discussion and brief debate, the subcommittee adopted the LFO recommendation and the dash‑3 amendment and moved HB 5015 as amended to the full committee with a due‑pass recommendation.

The meeting also forwarded a trio of policy bills and amendments to the full committee. Members adopted amendments and voted to move forward:

- House Bill 2688 (prevailing wage): The subcommittee adopted amendments that expand the definition of certain off‑site fabricated work that can be treated as public works for prevailing‑wage purposes, and advanced the bill to the full committee with a due‑pass recommendation.

- House Bill 2322 (CHIPS fund rename and use): LFO presented two amendments to change allowable expenditures and administrative details; the subcommittee adopted those amendments and moved the measure to the full committee. LFO noted an unobligated balance of roughly $30 million in the CHIPS fund that otherwise would have reverted to the general fund absent this change.

- House Bill 3076 (state firearms dealer licensing): The subcommittee considered two LFO‑recommended amendments (A3 and A4) that adjusted operative dates, inspection frequency, removed an emergency clause, and added an…