Oregon Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama on priorities in last 2 weeks of legislative session

Oregon lawmakers have until June 29 to finish legislative business and adjourn the 2025 regular session. Although a number of bills remain in play, even at this late date, the only thing lawmakers are constitutionally obligated to do before they leave the Capitol is pass a biennial budget for 2025-2027. During the last five months, Democrats and Republicans have taken up issues related to housing, taxes, transportation and much more.

House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, shared her perspective on the session on Friday’s “Think Out Loud.” And joining us Monday to talk about the progress toward sine die is Senate Majority Leader, Kayse Jama, D-Portland.

Note: The following transcript was transcribed digitally and validated for accuracy, readability and formatting by an OPB volunteer.

Geoff Norcross: This is Think Out Loud on OPB. I’m Geoff Norcross, in for Dave Miller. State lawmakers now have two more weeks to get their lawmaking done. The regular session in Salem ends on June 29. Lawmakers have to get a budget passed by then, and there are also major bills on transportation funding and homelessness to deal with.

We wanted to get updates from both sides of the aisle in this critical time in the legislative calendar. Last week we heard from Christine Drazan, the Republican leader of the House. Today we turn to Senate Majority Leader Kayse Jama, Democrat from Portland. Senator Jama, welcome back to Think Out Loud.

Sen. Kayse Jama: Thank you and good morning, Geoff.

Norcross: It’s good to have you. The budget is the big thing. It’s going to cover spending for the next two years. How close are you to getting a budget bill passed?

Sen. Jama: We are working on this, you know that we’re dealing with some tight timeline. The co-chairs are really working hard and so we are very close to getting done, but we still have some time left for us.

Norcross: What are some of the outstanding budget issues that you’re focusing on right now?

Sen. Jama: I think overall, we’re trying to work through the agency budgets, that’s really key elements of it, and the policy budget decisions have been made or will be made soon. Those are two areas that we’re trying to work on. And of course, as you know that we’re working with the transportation bill 2025. So those are some outstanding remaining questions that we need to have.

Norcross: We will definitely talk about the transportation package, but first, I just want to bring up the fact that House Minority Leader Christine Drazan said on the show last week that the budget your side is proposing is too focused on new taxes and not focused on what she calls “the core functions of government.” How do you respond to that characterization?

Sen. Jama: I think just generally overall, Oregonians really want to be served and we’re facing some challenges, as you know, based off what’s happening on the federal level as well as the economic downturn. The reality is that the core services that we are providing are really what Oregonians want and what Oregonians deserve to be served. So I disagree with that notion, but I think overall, Oregonians really expect us to deliver the core values and issues that they are caring about, including affordability, safety and health, and protecting Oregonian rights.

Norcross: Last week, Democrats released the long-awaited transportation package that you alluded to earlier. And since we’re talking about new taxes, this bill would raise the gas tax by 15 cents per gallon, it would increase the sales tax on new cars. It would boost registration fees, it would institute a per mile usage fee for electric cars. What is your pitch to Oregonians about why this package, and the increase in costs and taxes that come with it, are necessary?

Sen. Jama: Well, first of all, let me say this: no one likes the taxing. The reality is that we are dealing with aging infrastructure. We are making sure that we need to maintain our infrastructure. We want to make sure that we provide key services in terms of what we’re struggling with, infrastructure issues that I mentioned earlier. So, the reality is that we want to make sure that doing nothing is actually not an option. We want to make sure that Oregonians get the issues that they care most about addressed through the transportation bill. That really includes making sure that we have safety maintenance. We want to make sure that we have our aging bridges being rebuilt.

Those are the core values that Oregonians care most about. And ultimately, as I said earlier, doing nothing is really not an option because it will be costly if we don’t do anything about it, because our economy depends on our safety. Oregonian’s safety depends on having safe roads. So these are all the connected issues that we want to make sure that we address. But I think overall, I’m just really glad that we were planning to address this issue in this session.

Norcross: Because there are tax increases included in this package, you need a three-fifths majority to pass it and Democrats don’t quite have that. You’re one vote shy, because Representative Hoa Nguyen has been out for cancer treatments. Given that, do you think you have the votes to pass this package?

Sen. Jama: I think my hope is that always … we’re all hopeful that there will be bipartisan support on this issue because I think, ultimately, we’re trying to serve Oregonians and meet Oregonian’s needs. But I think most important thing is that I wouldn’t rule out having votes that we need both House and the Senate, so I think that’s really what I’m going to leave there.

Norcross: If the package does pass, some Republicans are promising to refer to voters. Do you think that’s a good idea?

Sen. Jama: I think the question is going to be, what choices do Oregonians have? That’s really the key element of it. Oregonians, we need to make sure that they understand that doing nothing is not an option. So I think the trade-off is that we have aging infrastructure, as I said earlier, and we want to make sure that our public safety, both that roads are actually being fixed and make sure that we maintain our current infrastructure that we have. Those are always tradeoffs, but I think ultimately, if it comes to that point, hopefully Oregonians will make the decision that it’s worth it to invest in our aging infrastructure.

Norcross: Senator, let’s talk about housing and homelessness funding. The budget you’re debating right now allocates $33.6 million toward programs like rental assistance or legal services that intend to keep Oregonians from becoming homeless in the first place. That is much less than is allocated in the current budget. It’s way less than the governor was asking. Why such a deep cut?

Sen. Jama: I think the question is going to be, as I said earlier, we are facing an economic downturn and we are having difficult decisions to make. The co-chairs are really trying to balance as much as they can what core services that need to be provided. So as much as I want … I used to be the Housing chair for four years and I am a core believer that people, if they don’t get the support that they need at the beginning, ultimately they will cost more for the system.

So, with that said, do I wish I would have more money to invest? Absolutely. Do we have to make hard choices? You know, that’s the reality that we are in. But we’re still hopeful that Oregonians will get some services in this arena so we will be ensuring that Oregonians get the service that they need.

Norcross: You’ve mentioned the economic realities that you’re having to deal with, and let’s be specific. State economists say you’ll have $500 million less to work with because of the economic downturn. How does that reorder your legislative priorities?

Sen. Jama: It is tough, I have to admit. There’s no doubt about that. We have policy packages that members are proposing. We have agency budgets we have to make, we have key programs like housing and homelessness. Those are all important issues that need to be addressed. But ultimately, when we have less money and economic downfall that has been exposed by the Trump administration’s tariff, that really creates additional challenges for our economic downturn. We just have to make hard choices. Again, that’s just the reality of that.

Norcross: What other policy bills are you focused on here in these final days of the session?

Sen. Jama: I think definitely the transportation bill is going to be a key element of that. As I said earlier, there’s no alternative without passing that bill. I am very hopeful that it will be bipartisan support, but ultimately, Oregonians cannot afford not taking action on this issue. So that would be one thing that I’m going to be working on with my colleagues.

Norcross: Yeah, transportation is just the big thing hanging over everything right now. Representative Drazan spoke last week about the possibility of a walkout if Republicans don’t feel like they’re being heard or included in the process. And I’m wondering, since this has happened before, how you and other members of the Democratic Party are metabolizing that, and what you’re doing to reduce the possibility that Republicans would actually take that step?

Sen. Jama: I think the reality is that 90% or 95% of the bills that we pass passed with bipartisan support. That’s just the reality of how we operate. Those items where we disagree, I hope that we’re having good public discourse and good legislative discussions. But I hope, ultimately, that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will recognize that we want to serve Oregonians and Oregonians deserve that. They need to be served. So hopefully, it doesn’t have to come to that arena, but if it comes to that position, then of course, definitely we will adjust our plan accordingly. But hopefully that won’t come to that point.

Norcross: I want to ask about the sheer number of bills that have been introduced during the session. There have been more than 3,200 – that is a record. There is a bill to restrict the number of bills that can be introduced into a regular session to 25. Do you think that’s a good idea?

Sen. Jama: I think the question is going to be, what’s the level that we wanna limit? And the reality is that everybody that I talked to really struggles with the sheer numbers of bills that we are putting forward. And I think, in my personal opinion, it’s not fair to the staff members who are also working hard, trying to navigate the thousands of bills that have been produced.

So I think, whether 25 is the right number or 50 is the right number, I think it’s going to be seen. We will have that discussion through the legislative process. But ultimately, I think we need to have some sort of a limit with the bills. I think that’s definitely something that I am willing to work with my colleagues and other members as well.

Norcross: Well, you’ve been through many of these lawmaking sessions and you know what the work is like. Do you have a number in your head of what is a good number of bills?

Sen. Jama: I would just really leave that to the discussions with my colleagues and their leadership as well. I don’t want to give you a specific number. But I think ultimately, the bill is in front of us, and hopefully we can have a public discourse and good dialogue about it, and come up with the right numbers. Hopefully, we’ll land in the right place. I think, again, at face value, I don’t totally agree that we need to reduce the number of bills that we are dealing with because, as I said earlier, the sheer number [is] not an effective way of trying to legislate.

Norcross: Well, you have two more weeks to do the work. What do you think you will most remember this session for?

Sen. Jama: I think the most memorable thing for me will be the amount of the bills that we produced. But also, how the session is going to be remembered, like we’re working hard, but I think that the federal mayhem that is taking place is going to be one way that will be remembered. Because I remember the beginning of the session, we couldn’t even try to figure out how to make budget decisions because of the chaos that’s taking place on the federal level. And that definitely will be something that will be remembered because [of] the challenge, as I said earlier, that’s posed by the chaos that’s happening at the federal level.

Norcross: Yeah, it’s strange. I mean, how do you even make plans when you don’t even know what your federal funding is going to be like, you don’t know how the tariffs are even going to be structured, let alone how they would hit the economy? How do you even make a budget in this environment of uncertainty?

Sen. Jama: We have two strong co-chairs and also legislators who are part of the Ways and Means Committee, who are really committed to trying to figure it out. And if you remember, they produce scenarios of potentially dealing with this issue. And of course, we’re gonna be coming back in February as well. So there’s a lot of work ahead of us, but I think ultimately, we are planning the best we can with what we have in front of us, the information that we have in front of us right now. But ultimately, it’s an ongoing process that we will adjust as needed, as we learn more about what’s happening at the federal level.

Norcross: You mentioned you’re coming back in February. Could there possibly be some work between now and then? Do you think it’s likely that there will be a special session at some point in the summer and the fall, given all the uncertainty about the federal budget that you mentioned?

Sen. Jama: We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. But the most important thing is that if we’ve been called by the governor and we need to be coming back, we will come back, because ultimately, we want to serve Oregonians as best we can.

Norcross: Senator Jama, thank you so much for your time.

Sen. Jama: Thank you so much.

Norcross: That’s State Senator Majority Leader Kayse Jama, a Democrat from Portland.

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