Finance

Oregon Legislature passes controversial campaign finance changes

Published

5 days ago

March 6, 2026

Oregon Legislature passes controversial campaign finance changes

Legislators passed a bill March 5 to modify forthcoming changes to Oregon’s campaign finance system despite outcry from good government groups who say the bill creates new loopholes.

Those groups were key in creating House Bill 4024, which was created and passed in 2024 in place of warring ballot measures seeking to overhaul the system.

That legislation included new limits on contributions, including capping individual spending on statewide candidates each cycle at $3,300, and other changes. Parts of the bill were set to go into effect in 2027 and 2028.

Under the new proposal, House Bill 4018, the limits would still begin in 2027, but disclosure requirements and penalties would be pushed to 2031. It also gives the Secretary of State money to update the campaign finance system, but far less than the office previously thought it might need.

Representatives voted 39-19 to pass the bill. A few hours later, the Senate passed it 20-9.

Fourteen of the “no” votes in the House were Democrats, including Reps. Tom Andersen, D-Salem, and Lesly Muñoz, D-Woodburn.

Muñoz told the Statesman Journal she voted against the bill after hearing from people upset with the bill’s process.

Six Democratic senators cast a “no” vote on HB 4018.

Oregon campaign finance reform advocates say they were left out of negotiations

After working together in 2024, advocates said Speaker of the House Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, “ghosted” them.

Good government groups said the bill does far more than address necessary technical fixes to HB 4024.

HB 4018 is “a complete betrayal of the deal that was made two years ago,” Norman Turrill of Oregon’s League of Women Voters said.

Should the bill be signed by Gov. Tina Kotek, the groups said they will push their own changes through a 2028 ballot initiative.

Those advocates have outlined at least 11 different changes they believe the bill creates. The bill’s contents were first shared through a Feb. 9 amendment that was posted after 5 p.m., hours before it received a public hearing in an 8 a.m. work session on Feb. 10 and later, Feb. 12.

Secretary of State Tobias Read told legislators in January his office was requesting $25 million as a placeholder to fund a new campaign finance system for the state. Read was not secretary of state when House Bill 2024 was passed and his office is now working to implement the bill’s changes on a fast approaching deadline.

An additional amendment to the bill instead gives the Secretary of State’s Office $1.5 million for staff, some of whom would be tasked with updating the state’s current system.

House members agreed March 4 to send the bill back to committee, presumably to be amended. A 5 p.m. committee meeting was canceled about an hour after initially being announced.

A work session on HB 4018 was moved to the next morning. After an hour of delay, legislators convened and finished the meeting, moving the bill back to the floor without any changes, in less than three minutes.

A new campaign finance bill, Senate Bill 1502, was introduced and scheduled for a public hearing and work session March 4.

The bill is “very simple,” Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said. It tells the Secretary of State’s Office to draft a bill for the 2027 session with necessary campaign finance improvements from HB 4024 and HB 4018.

Three senators voted against the bill March 5. It now moves to the House. Legislators have a March 8 deadline to end the session.

“SB 1502 would not correct the severe damage to campaign finance reform that will occur, if HB 4018 B is enacted in this session,” Dan Meek of Honest Elections Oregon wrote in submitted testimony.

Lawmakers appear unsatisfied, but supportive, toward Oregon campaign finance bill

House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, D-Tigard, said HB 4018 made positive changes but acknowledged it was “a challenging vote for many of us.”

“We are implementing this whole new system that is new for all of us, and there are a lot of opinions and there are a lot of details to figure out,” House Minority Leader Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, said. Elmer and Bowman carried the bill in the House. “With that being said, we’re moving forward in good faith, knowing that we’ll also be coming back next year to make sure that those details and all those kinks are worked out.”

Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, said he was concerned about the bill and the “non-inclusive process” that led to it.

Gamba pointed to a letter from the Washington, D.C.-based Campaign Legal Center that states in part that the bill “would substantially revise critical campaign finance reforms enacted two years ago in Oregon” and weaken the state’s campaign finance law.

The current bill is not the only possibility for moving forward, Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, told lawmakers. Proposed amendments that would have extended implementation timelines without the additional changes were ignored, he said.

“House Bill 4024 and this bill, 4018, have two things in common. One, they were thrown together in a few days behind closed doors, mostly by organizations who dominate campaign funding in the current system,” Golden said. “And two, very few legislators understand what is actually in these bills.”

He urged lawmakers to abandon the system created in House Bill 4024 as an “uncomfortably expensive learning experience” and develop a new plan based on successful programs in other states.

Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, also spoke against the bill on the Senate floor.

“The concern that I had and that my constituents had was technical changes are one thing, but it should not be increasing the amount of money that candidates can take in or hold or carry over,” Gelser Blouin said. “Unfortunately, as it’s drafted, this bill does all of those things.”

HB 4024 is too complicated and “unimplementable” without the fixes in HB 4018, Starr said.

Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, agreed, saying HB 4018 and SB 1502 give reassurance about a system he has concerns about.

“If there were no cameras and the lights were off, I think most people would agree this is not the bill we want,” Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, said.

Some lawmakers expressed similar feelings of discontentment with the bill in Ways and Means and one of its subcommittees on March 3, but said they felt it was important to make some progress on the issue. Discussions could happen again in 2027, they said.

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, who ultimately voted in favor of the bill, said March 3 supporting it “is a very painful choice to make.”

Statesman Journal reporter Dianne Lugo contributed to this report.

Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.

Click to comment

Finance

By the Numbers: Financial report reveals scale of financial costs, growth

Published

5 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

By the Numbers: Financial report reveals scale of financial costs, growth

Following a year marked by financial turbulence, Northwestern’s financial report for fiscal year 2025 revealed the University’s struggles and growth as they navigated a tumultuous landscape in higher education.

The latest report detailed fiscal year 2025, which began Sept. 1, 2024 and ended Aug. 31, 2025. It did not include the University’s stipulated $75 million payment to the federal government, which was part of the agreement struck in November 2025.

According to the University’s 2025 financial report, net assets sit at $16.2 billion, up from 2024’s $15.6 billion. However, the University spent almost $148 million more than it brought in during fiscal year 2025.

In the last five fiscal years, the University has increased steadily in operating costs for assets without donor restrictions.

Year-to-year increases in operating costs hovered around 10% in the past five fiscal years. Simultaneously, revenue growth has decreased year to year, from 12.8% between 2021 to 2022 to only 3.9% between 2024 to 2025.

Amanda Distel, NU’s chief financial officer, identified “rising benefits expenses, litigation, new labor contracts, and rapidly unfolding federal actions” as key challenges in fiscal year 2025 in the report.

Before the deal, NU invested between $30 to $40 million each month to sustain research impacted by the federal freeze, interim President Henry Bienen confirmed in an Oct. 24 interview with The Daily.

In an attempt to reduce costs, the University announced a switch in July to UnitedHealthcare from Blue Cross Blue Shield as the University’s employee health care administrator, effective Jan. 1. However, faculty and staff have reported increased out-of-pocket costs for certain services like mental health care.

Financial aid increased from $618.3 million in fiscal 2024 to $638.3 million in fiscal year 2025. Among undergraduate students in the 2024-25 school year, 15% are first-generation college students and 22% receive federal Pell Grants. According to the report, most families earning less than $70,000 per year attend at no cost, and most families earning less than $150,000 per year attend tuition-free.

Tuition is the second largest source of revenue behind grants and contracts. By the end of the fiscal year, the University held $778 million in outstanding conditional awards, an increase from fiscal 2024’s $713.5 million, according to the report.

Distel wrote that the number of gift commitments above $100,000 reached its highest in University history, calling it a “strong year of philanthropic support.”

Donor funds are categorized by whether or not restrictions were imposed on the time, use or nature of the donation. In fiscal 2025, University net assets without donor restrictions totaled $9.59 billion, or 59.1%, while net assets with donor restrictions totaled $6.65 billion, or 40.9%, of total net assets.

The University’s investment in construction efforts saw an immense uptick from $275.2 million in fiscal 2024 to $750.5 million in fiscal 2025.

This cost is spread across multiple projects, such as Ryan Field, which started construction in 2024 and is slated to open October 2026. The project operates with a $862 million budget, including a $480 million contribution from the Ryan family.

The Ann McIlrath Drake Executive Center, Cohen Lawn and Jacobs Center renovations also continued during the fiscal year.

Email: [email protected]

Related Stories:

— The Daily Explains: How does Northwestern spend its money?

— Northwestern NIH, NSF grant cessations total more than $1 billion

— Northwestern announces 3.3% tuition increase ahead of 2025-26 academic year

Finance

When should kids start learning about money? Advice from local financial advisor

Published

17 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

When should kids start learning about money? Advice from local financial advisor

REDMOND, Wash. — When should kids start learning about money, and preparing for adult expenses like rent, car payments, and insurance?

It’s a question asked recently by an ARC Seattle viewer.

We took the question to Adam Powell, Financial Advisor at Private Advisory Group in Redmond. Powell talked with ARC Seattle co-anchor Steve McCarron to share insights on the right age to form money habits, common financial mistakes parents unknowingly pass down to their children, and practical tips to set kids up for long-term financial success.

Find more ARC Seattle stories on our YouTube page.

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT

Watch ARC Seattle weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KUNS, The CW Network.

Finance

Soft-saving era? Gen-Z embraces new financial trend that puts experiences over long-term planning

Published

2 days ago

March 9, 2026

Press Room

Soft-saving era? Gen-Z embraces new financial trend that puts experiences over long-term planning

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Many Gen-Zers are adopting a financial approach that prioritizes quality of life in the present, a trend that’s being called “soft saving.”

Bob Wheeler, a CPA, described the mindset as a shift in how young adults balance their current lifestyle with longterm planning.

“It’s really a financial approach of ‘I want to make sure I have a good quality of life, and I’m thinking about the future,’ but not as much as the present,” Wheeler said.

For many Gen Z consumers, that can mean spending more on experiences – like vacations or concerts – rather than saving for major purchases like a car or home.

Wheeler said the approach can offer emotional benefits.

“I think there are definitely benefits, I mean, less anxiety, feeling like life is what you want it to be, fulfillment, versus saving for later on,” he said.

Still, financial experts caution against ignoring longterm stability. Wheeler encouraged young workers to take advantage of employer-sponsored retirement plans.

“They’re not going to do the max. They’re going to do enough to make sure they’re getting the match from your employer, so maybe they’re doing 3% or 5%. Maybe they’re not maxing out their IRAs. Maybe they’re doing $2,500,” he said.

He also stressed the importance of building an emergency fund, typically enough to cover six months of expenses.

“I want people to enjoy their life now because tomorrow is not promised,” Wheeler said. “I also just really reiterate to them ‘and you need to have some money set aside because we don’t know.’”

But saving for a home may not be practical for everyone. In some places, renting can be cheaper, and tenants avoid maintenance costs.