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Hillsborough staff preview 2025 state priorities: housing, transit funding and a technical SIP fix
Summary
City government relations manager Ariel Nelson presented a draft Hillsborough legislative agenda previewing four unranked priorities for the 2025 Oregon Legislature: economic/workforce development, housing production and homelessness, transportation revenue protections, and a permanent fix to recreational‑immunity law.
Ariel Nelson, Hillsborough’s government relations manager, told the city council at a Nov. 19 work session that staff are preparing a draft legislative agenda to present to the new council in January and to guide city engagement with Salem next year. Nelson said the city will return with specific deliverables once the governor’s recommended budget is released on Dec. 2.
Nelson said housing, homelessness and behavioral health will remain central to the 2025 session and that the governor is expected to reintroduce a housing infrastructure funding proposal. “There’s a lot going on at the city of Hillsborough,” Nelson said, noting the budget cycle and revenue forecasts will shape what the Legislature can afford.
On economic development, Nelson described continuing support for semiconductor and industrial site readiness and told councilors the city is pursuing one technical, Hillsborough‑specific bill to clarify signatory rules in the Strategic Investment Program (SIP) statute so that only affected counties and cities sign SIP agreements except in limited circumstances.
Transportation was highlighted as a new priority for the city because falling gas‑tax revenue has created a major shortfall for the state Department of Transportation and local shares. Nelson said Hillsborough will press to maintain the existing 50/30/20 split of state transportation funding that preserves a roughly 20% local share for city operations and maintenance, while coordinating with regional partners on project‑level needs.
The draft agenda’s fourth priority is making the temporary restoration of recreational immunity permanent. Nelson said the Legislature enacted a temporary fix in 2024 after a court ruling removed a longstanding immunity for landowners for free recreational use; that temporary restoration expires July 1, 2025, and Hillsborough has joined a coalition seeking a permanent statutory fix.
Council members asked staff to follow up with more detail in January on childcare and workforce training proposals that intersect with economic development, and to brief the new council on sanctuary‑city issues and their local implications. Nelson said Oregon’s sanctuary‑state protections remain and staff do not expect legislative action to revoke local protections this session but recommended a separate local briefing as needed.
The council did not take formal action on the preview. Staff said the January meeting will include a proposed resolution for council adoption of final legislative priorities.
