The OPOA team is proud to announce that all five of the bills we threw our weight behind this session passed. Yes, all five.

These bills weren’t small tweaks. They’re real, meaningful changes that will make it easier for people to actually use, manage, and protect their property without feeling like they need a legal team, a decoder ring, and a bottle of aspirin.

Here’s the part that surprised even us: legislators on both sides of the aisle showed up for land use reform this year. We’re talking about a genuine shift — the kind you don’t see often in politics.

Suddenly, folks who normally can’t agree on lunch agreed that property rights matter, people need housing, and our rural economies need the chance to thrive. Even the most far leaning came out to say that preserving a 50-year-old regulatory system shouldn’t supersede the needs of real people.  

More importantly, we finally saw Democrat lawmakers tell the land conservationist groups that enough was enough.

We’re not saying the clouds parted and angels sang, but this Session felt different. These wins aren’t just about five bills. They’re about momentum — the kind that tells us the tide is turning and people are waking up.

To be clear, this session wasn’t all sunshine and high‑fives. A few lousy bills made it through, but for now, we’re thrilled to tell OPOA supporters that the wind is finally at our backs.

OUR WINS

SB 1561: An Expedited Pathway to Rebuild Homes Lost To Disaster

Creates a straightforward and reliable path for Oregon homeowners to rebuild after losing a home to wildfire or another natural disaster. By creating an alternative streamlined administrative process, SB 1561 allows homeowners to obtain replacement dwelling permits faster and with less bureaucratic headache. Additionally, by removing the appeals process and the need for decades‑old permits, the bill finally gives disaster survivors a predictable way back into their homes.

HB 4153: Allows Working Farms To Operate Farm Stores on Resource Lands

Modernizes Oregon’s outdated laws by establishing a new path for working farms to operate “farm stores,” giving them the ability to sell local products, offer food and drink, and host the agritourism experiences families enjoy. With more than 2,000 farms lost in just five years, Oregon can’t afford to let red tape push rural businesses to the edge. By strengthening the places where Oregonians buy local food, make memories, and learn about agriculture, HB 4153 helps ensure that farm stands, pumpkin patches, and Christmas tree farms remain vibrant for the next generation.

OPOA was proud to lead the charge on this bill for the last two years and will continue to stand with all the farms who desperately needed this opportunity as the bill is implemented at the local level. OPOA would like to send a special “thank you” to the Association of Oregon Counties and the Oregon Farm Bureau for their willingness to help advance this solution.

HB 4130: Tax Relief for Farmers Who Prepare and Process Their Own Farm Products

Allows farmers to obtain special assessment for land underneath buildings being used for preparation or processing of farm products. More specifically, HB 4130 resolves decades old confusion about whether a farmer is “preparing” farm products for market, or “processing” products into value-added goods.

This distinction ensures that farmers who are preparing their products rightfully obtain special assessment. Additionally, the bill also grants farmers who are processing their products property tax relief if at least 25% of the goods they are processing come from their own farm. This allows farmers to vertically integrate without risking a crushing tax bill.

HB 4035: Unlocking the Door to Guaranteed Affordable Housing

HB 4035 updates Oregon’s “one‑time UGB expansion tool” so more cities can actually use the state’s offer to expand their boundaries in exchange for building deed‑restricted affordable housing.

The bill keeps the requirement that 30% of new homes be affordable, but removes the rigid barriers that kept most cities from qualifying. By fixing the unusable‑lot glitch and allowing enough acreage to build complete neighborhoods with parks, childcare, and small shops, HB 4035 turns last year’s stalled program into a practical path for creating attainable housing.

Despite strong opposition from regressive land‑conservation advocates to allowing the City of Woodburn to expand its UGB for farmworker housing, the bill was amended to give Woodburn a special, expedited opportunity to use the tool.

OPOA is proud to have partnered with the Oregon Home Builders Association and the League of Oregon Cities to advance this solution.

HB 4037: Omnibus Housing Solution With Strong Anti-NIMBY Provisions

HB 4037 is an omnibus housing bill that brings together several important updates to Oregon’s housing and tenant‑protection laws. OPOA, working alongside the Oregon Home Builders Association, focused on a key section that safeguards the right of property owners to build homes on land designated for residential development.

This protection is essential at a time when badly needed housing is too often stalled by opposition groups or even elected officials who present themselves as defenders of “Goal 1,” yet consistently work to keep certain communities down and out. By reinforcing the state’s commitment to building housing where it’s already planned, HB 4037 helps prevent the familiar pattern in which “citizen involvement” is used as a shield for exclusionary outcomes.

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not represent the opinions or positions of any party represented by the OPOA Legal Center on any particular matter.