Oregon Senate approves a package of House bills on third reading, including measures on housing, wildlife crossings and energy programs

The Oregon Senate on April 29 moved a batch of House bills and a concurrent resolution to final passage on third reading, approving measures on tax-code technical corrections, housing and land-use clarifications, wildlife corridor coordination, energy programs for heat pumps, address confidentiality, emergency housing account administration, and other business.

Why it matters: The measures taken up on third reading are largely technical or implementation-focused but carry direct effects for state programs and local governments — from extending and refining climate and housing programs to authorizing interagency work on wildlife crossings and permitting new licensing for timeshare sales agents.

Most notable actions

Votes at a glance: - House Bill 20 73 (technical corrections to Oregon tax statutes): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Meek. Vote count recorded as 27 ayes on the roll call. - House Bill 21 63 (classification of persons with disabilities under wildlife laws): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Drahd. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 21 70 (aquatic invasive species collaboration): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Nash. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 23 47 (land use planning/housing technical fixes): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Anderson. Vote recorded as 22 ayes. - House Bill 24 61 (remote-location testimony standard in civil cases): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Broadman. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 25 65 (contracts with federally funded research and development centers): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Thatcher. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 25 67 B (heat pump programs; extend/strengthen rental home heat pump program): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Pham. Vote recorded as 26 ayes. - House Bill 29 22 A (address confidentiality expansion for specified public employees): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Manning Jr. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 29 78 A (updates to wildlife corridor program; coordination between ODOT and ODFW): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Gorsek. Vote recorded as 24 ayes. - House Bill 30 34 (technical improvements to Emergency Housing Account administration): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Pham. Vote recorded as 18 ayes. - House Bill 31 41 A (designating Oregon Farmer and Rancher Day): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Nash. Vote recorded as 27 ayes. - House Bill 33 28 A (allowing certain county road fund uses for sheriff patrols): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Brock Smith. Vote recorded as 27 ayes. - House Concurrent Resolution 28 A (designating a week in August 2025 as Community Health Worker Week): Adopted (final adoption declared). Presented by Senator Manning Jr. Vote recorded as 28 ayes. - House Bill 23 73 A (new specialized timeshare sales license): Passed (final passage declared). Presented by Senator Bonham. Vote recorded as 28 ayes.

Motion and procedure

- Senator Jama moved to take House Concurrent Resolution 19 from today's calendar and place it on the May 12 special-order calendar; the motion carried by voice vote. - Senator Bonham moved to suspend the Article IV, Section 19 provision requiring that bills be read section by section on final passage for that day's third-reading calendar; the motion carried on a roll call recorded as 20 ayes and 5 no votes.

What sponsors said

Senator Meek described House Bill 20 73 as a routine technical corrections bill for Oregon's tax statutes and said it "deletes some old references to repealed statutes, repeals tax credits that have already sunset, makes improvements to syntax and the ordering of certain subsections, and makes some technical corrections." He urged colleagues to vote yes.

On energy and climate programs, Senator Pham said of House Bill 25 67 B that "At a time when we need more tools to address energy affordability and climate resilience, House Bill 25 67 is a common sense step forward," and noted the program's work supporting more than 3,700 heat pump projects across 24 counties.

On wildlife policy, Senator Gorsek described House Bill 29 78 A as an effort to strengthen and coordinate the state's wildlife corridor program and said it "provides the structure and coordination needed to make meaningful progress without imposing unnecessary burdens."

Other context and clarifications

- House Bill 25 67 B extends the rental home heat pump program's sunset by six years, improves reporting and data collection, and adjusts community deployment requirements to better support regional partners; sponsors said the measure targets low- and moderate-income households and aligns program reporting with federal equity standards. - House Bill 29 78 A directs closer coordination between the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, establishes an advisory group drawn from state and federal agencies, local governments, universities, nonprofits and experts, and prioritizes opportunities for wildlife crossing structures to reduce vehicle–wildlife collisions. - House Bill 24 61 alters the notice standard for remote-location testimony in civil cases from a rigid 30-day rule to a judge-determined "sufficiently in advance" standard to give opposing parties a fair opportunity to respond. - House Bill 23 73 A directs the Oregon Real Estate Agency to create a timeshare sales license category, with testing and continuing education tailored to timeshare sales, while keeping agents under the supervision of principal real estate brokers.

Meeting cadence and next steps

The Senate adjourned at the close of the day's business and reconvened at a time announced for its next session (the clerk recorded the Senate would reconvene at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 1). For bills that passed the Senate, the next procedural steps depend on whether a measure requires any further enrollment, signatures, or transmittal to the governor; the transcript records final passage in the Senate but does not list gubernatorial actions or effective dates for each bill in every case.

Ending note

Most measures approved on April 29 were described on the floor as technical, implementation, or coordination-focused changes rather than sweeping policy shifts; sponsors frequently emphasized procedural fixes or clarifications intended to streamline program administration or enhance interagency collaboration.