1000 Friends of Oregon

Image of a green grassy field with a stack of hay bales and forest in the distance. Text over the photo reads: Thank you for your advocacy. SB 1586 is dead. For now, 1700 acres of the world's best farm land remain in rural reserves, and corporate land giveaways have been prevented

Thanks to you, legislators did not move forward with SB 1586. THANK YOU for your consistent advocacy on preventing corporate land grabs of some of the best farm land in the world.

You packed hearing rooms and submitted nearly 900 pieces of written testimony! You showed up and it mattered.

SB 1551 Fire Hardened Homes Act: Support. HOAs would no longer be able to prohibit installing or maintaining fire-hardened materials on and around homes and property. HOAs would also no longer be allowed to prohibit the removal of non fire-hardened fences or other structures from an owner’s property

HB 4063 legalizing Kei trucks: Support. Legalizes the use of Kei trucks, Japanese-made utility trucks, on Oregon roads by requiring that they be titled and registered with the state. Kei trucks are also a much safer vehicle than many newer pickup trucks, which continue to increase in size and height

HB 4023 increasing barriers to local transit funding: Oppose. Would remove the ability for mass transit districts to raise revenue in their district without taking it to the ballot for a vote.

HB 4008 transit funding task force. Establishes a task force for the legislative interim to explore options to raise revenue for public transportation across Oregon.

SB 1543 Guardrails for Good Governance: Support. Establishes the first-ever debt management policy for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Requires more information and transparency—especially to the public and the Oregon Transportation Commission when ODOT is deciding to take on new debt.

SB 1542 Measure What We Drive: Support. ODOT has never received legislative direction and flexibility to spend transportation dollars in a way that aligns with Oregon’s goals. This bill aligns with some of the work ODOT is already doing to plan better and crucially gives ODOT direction.

Reinstate funding for Japanese beetle eradication: Support. The Japanese beetle is a major threat to Oregon’s nursery and greenhouse industry. It targets numerous plants. Before "defunding," the Oregon Department of Agriculture was well on the way towards eradication.

Maintain OAHP funding: Support. The Oregon Agricultural Heritage Program (OAHP) has provided millions of dollars (and attracted millions more in federal funding) for farm and ranch landowners to create easements that permanently protect their land and ensure it remains in production.

HB 4153 allowing farm stores as nonfarm use on EFU land: Oppose. The bill allows large, permanent multi-use structures for nonfarm retail sales, food and beverage service, and unlimited events on agricultural land without safeguards to ensure that agriculture remains the primary use of the property.

SB 1561 replacement dwellings on farm land: Oppose as currently proposed. Allows an alternate method for a property owner to demonstrate they had a house on rural lands, which was damaged or destroyed by natural or involuntary causes, and therefore is entitled to be replaced.

SB 1578 rural residential development on resource land: Oppose. Overrides land use and environmental laws by allowing rural counties to rezone up to 50 acres of farm or forest lands for residential development with a density of at least five houses per acre.

SB 1586 Hillsboro industrial supersiting: Oppose. For the sixth time, legislators are attempting to bring 1,700 acres of prime and high-value farmland into the Hillsboro urban growth boundary outside the established urban growth boundary expansion process and without any public involvement.

HB 4035 expanding criteria for UGB expansion path from 2024: Oppose as currently proposed. Allows more cities to skirt the regular UGB expansion laws and use the shortcut provided by SB 1537 by allowing expansion on to farm and forest lands in certain circumstances. We are working on changes.

HB 4108 annexation in UGBs: Support. Allows cities to annex non-contiguous, residentially-zoned land inside the UGB. This removes an outdated annexation barrier that limits housing production and redevelopment opportunities on land that already functions as part of the city.

HB 4036 affordable housing preservation: Support. Over 10,000 existing affordable homes are at risk of being lost in the next five years. This Fund will protect tenants from losing their homes, preserve existing affordable homes, and lessen the likelihood of people becoming homeless.

SB 1564 Woodburn UGB expansion: Oppose. Would override land use laws for a UGB expansion for one development interest. This is not an appropriate role for the legislature, which is not a local planning and zoning body. Avoids public participation & will impact the whole community for 1 landowner.

HB 4082 one-time UGB expansion for senior or manufactured housing: Neutral. While housing for senior Oregonians and manufactured home opportunities are needed, we would rather see these protected and encouraged inside existing UGBs, and as part of the UGB expansion already allowed by SB 1537.

SB 1567 revolving loan fund: Support. The bill establishes a Mixed Income Development Loan Fund in the Housing and Community Services Department to spur public-private partnerships to develop housing that integrates affordable, work-force, and market-rate units. friends.org/news/2026/1/...

First up: SB 1576 on accessible housing production: Support. Our legislative manager Cassie Wilson testified on Feb. 5 in favor of more accessible housing production, as only 0.3% of all housing in Oregon is considered fully accessible. friends.org/news/2026/1/...

After the first week of short session, we've seen a slew of bills concerning land use. Here's our overview of bills on housing, working lands, transportation, and wildfire. After this week, if these bills aren't scheduled for a work session, they are dead. See more: friends.org/news/2026/1/...

1000 Friends has launched the Housing Solutions Center, a publicly accessible online hub designed to help advocates, policy makers, developers, and community members support affordable, accessible, and environmentally responsible housing solutions across Oregon. HousingSolutionsOregon.org

🙌🏽 Attend the in-person community meeting led by Friends of Smart Growth in Forest Grove on Friday, Jan. 30. We'll then walk across the street to Sen. Sollman's town hall. Let's pack the room! www.friendsofsmartgrowth.org

🚨 Join our emergency action call on Thursday, Jan. 29. on Zoom for more information about this LC and how to organize against it: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

📩 Write your legislators. Use our template to tell policy-makers NO on LC 237. This is the SIXTH time the state legislature has attempted to massively expand Hillsboro's UGB despite consistent public opposition: shorturl.at/rkcRk

3 WAYS TO TAKE ACTION against a blatant corporate land grab. LC 237 aims to bring 1,700 acres of farmland into Hillsboro's UGB and extend tax breaks to billionaire corporations that can easily pay their fare share. Join us in protecting this irreplaceable farmland. Here's how:

This is an online members-only event. If you're a member, check your inbox! You should have received an invitation to register. No a member yet? Email Sofia Baum at sofia@friends.org on how to join.

Join legislative manager Cassie Wilson, working lands policy director Jim Johnson, and associate director Mary Kyle McCurdy during our annual legislative preview where they'll walk through the most pressing land use bills we'll be watching this short session.

This year's LULI will take place in the greater Portland area, but if you don't live in the immediate vicinity, don't let that stop you from applying! We prioritize applicants who can commit to attending the in-person and virtual meetings. Learn more and apply: friends.org/luli

Are you a champion of good land use planning in your community, or want to learn more about Oregon's system of preserving farms, forest lands, and natural areas while building thriving cities and towns? Apply to LULI: friends.org/luli