Appropriates moneys to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, out of the General Fund, for deposit in the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund. Establishes a maximum limit for payment of expenses by the board from the Oregon Agricultural Heritage Fund. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.
Establishes an income tax credit for sheriff's deputies employed in rural counties. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and before January 1, 2032. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.
Expands the rural health care income tax credit to include pharmacist services performed in rural communities. Directs the Office of Rural Health to establish criteria for certifying pharmacists as eligible for the credit. Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.
Provides that priority may be given to students in specified courses of study to participate in a pilot program to enhance the hiring of public university students by eligible nonprofit organizations. Provides for the reimbursement of eligible nonprofit organizations that participate in the pilot program up to 100 percent of the amount the organizations have paid in wages to participating students. Removes the requirement that eligible nonprofit organizations must have an annual budget of $5,000,000 or less. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.
Increases the tax credit allowed to rural volunteer emergency medical services providers from $250 per tax year to $1,000 per tax year. Requires the Office of Rural Health to annually submit to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to health care and to the Emergency Medical Services Program a report that includes the number of taxpayers eligible for the tax credit. Extends the tax credit sunset to January 1, 2030.
Requires a public institution of higher education to award academic credit when an enrolled student completed a high school class or participated in a high school program that offered learning and experiences comparable to an introductory communications, public speaking or argumentation course offered at the institution. Requires the institution to award two or four academic credits to each student who participated in specified programs affiliated with national organizations. Prohibits an institution from requiring certain students to take an introductory communications, public speaking or argumentation course offered at the institution as a prerequisite for taking more advanced courses at the institution.
Maddy summaryHB 3241 allows counties in Oregon to permit certain events on land zoned exclusively for farming, directly affecting farm property owners and county governments. The bill sets specific rules: events must be outdoors or in existing farm buildings, host no more than 250 people, follow parking/traffic plans to protect farming operations, be managed by the landowner, occur no more than 30 times yearly, and comply with health/safety regulations. It does not allow new construction and explicitly permits counties to authorize such events under existing agri-tourism or commercial event provisions. This changes how counties regulate non-farming activities on designated farmland.
] Directs the Public Utility Commission to establish a pilot program that allows each natural gas company to develop a utility-scale thermal energy network pilot project to provide heating and cooling services to customers. Requires each natural gas company to file a proposal and plan to develop a pilot project or an explanation for why the natural gas company is not submitting a proposal. Identifies criteria the commission shall take into consideration in evaluating a proposal. Establishes labor standards and reporting requirements for certain thermal energy network projects. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.
Establishes the Wallowa Rural and Recreational Economic Development Board to develop and implement strategies for investment in workforce development, workforce housing and economic development in the Wallowa Rural and Recreational Economic Development Region, including a grant and loan program. Allows the county to partition and rezone up to 50 acres of lands within the region from resource use to residential use. Sunsets January 2, 2037. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.
Requires the Department of Education to conduct a study to identify effective methods for teaching students with dyslexia. Directs the department to submit findings to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to education not later than September 15, 2026.
