Council hears 2025 state legislative priorities: housing, transportation, industrial sites and water workforce

HILLSBORO, Ore. — City staff and contracted legislative consultants presented Hillsboro’s draft 2025 state legislative agenda at a Jan. 7 work session, outlining priorities for housing, transportation, economic development and workforce training as the Oregon Legislature convenes.

Ariel Nelson, Hillsboro government relations manager, and Inga Deckard, a member of the city’s contract lobbying team, briefed the council on expected session dynamics and specific policy asks. They described a Democratic supermajority in the new Legislature and identified likely areas of action: housing and homelessness funding and policy, a transportation revenue package and local revenue protections, infrastructure investments that could support housing, industrial-site readiness funding, and workforce-development pilots for the water sector.

Why it matters: State action on these topics could unlock new funding streams or regulatory changes that affect Hillsboro’s ability to support housing development, maintain and upgrade roads and water systems, and attract employers to industrial lands.

Presentation highlights

- Session dynamics: Nelson and Deckard said the newly constituted Legislature has a Democratic supermajority in both chambers and significant leadership turnover. They warned that a 3/5 threshold applies to revenue-raising measures and said leaders will be central to negotiations.

- Economic development: Hillsboro will seek a technical fix to the Strategic…