SALEM Ore. (KPTV) – Oregon’s legislative session officially kicked off Tuesday, one day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Throughout the state capitol, there were conversations about how decisions made in Washington D.C. could impact state government in Salem.

On day one, President Donald Trump signed nearly 50 executive orders. With so many to review, it will take a few days to see which are enforceable and which will face legal challenges.

But one executive order dealing with electric vehicles caught the attention of Oregon’s Joint Transportation Committee’s Co-Vice Chair.

The executive order is called “Unleashing American Energy.” It rolls back multiple executive orders from the Biden administration addressing climate change and clean energy, but it was specifically written to “Eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”

“As soon as I heard it yesterday I reached out to our legislative council to see how that is going to apply to what DEQ has done in this state,” Representative Shelly Boshart Davis said.

Rep. Boshart Davis has served on the Joint Transportation Committee for several years. She opposed the “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule, which was passed in 2021. That rule requires auto manufacturers in Oregon to make all new passenger cars “Battery electric or plug-in hybrid EVs” by 2035. Rep. Boshart Davis hopes Trump’s order might end that rule.

“Those can only exist because they rely on an EPA waiver and if the waivers get rescinded will that apply in states like Oregon, Washington, California New York,” Rep. Boshart Davis said, “But that remains to be seen, we are less than 24 hours into it, but it does put question marks on things that were passed in this state.”

But democratic leaders said these orders might not lead to major changes, pointing out challenges the Oregon legislature has faced before.

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“In his first administration, the first Trump presidency we took action when there were rollbacks on clean water or clean air regulations and we said we would like to keep those regulations in place here in Oregon. We also codified Roe v. Wade,” Oregon Speaker of the House Julie Fahey said.

While the state legislature has challenged executive orders coming from the Trump Administration in the past, Speaker Fahey said other executive orders will have to be challenged through the courts instead.

“I would specifically point to the executive order of birthright citizenship which is likely unconstitutional and I was glad to see the Attorney General Rayfield join on to the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of that order,” Speaker Fahey said.

While the executive orders coming down from the white house may impact future legislation here in Oregon, both Rep. Boshart Davis and Speaker Fahey said the main goal of the 2025 legislative session will be to tackle the cost of living in Oregon.

“I think top of mind for house Republicans and Oregonians is affordability in this state,” Rep. Boshart Davis said.

“We have heard loud and clear that those issues are driving what they want the government to be working on making housing more affordable, health care, utilities, there will be a number of big-ticket items like that the legislature will take up action this year,” Speaker Fahey said

All of President Trump’s executive orders are still very new and their impact is unclear. But there are some aspects that Oregon’s House Republicans are standing firmly behind, while House Democrats plan to challenge their legality.

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With the 2024-25 college football season over following Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the national championship Monday night, sportsbooks are already looking ahead and released favorites for the national title next season.

Oregon is among those teams following a historic first season in the Big Ten that resulted in a conference title but a disappointing loss in the Rose Bowl to the Buckeyes.

What are Oregon football’s odds to win national championship next season?

The Ducks opened with the fourth-best odds to win a national title next season, per BetMGM at +700. Only Ohio State (+450), Texas (+650) and Georgia (+650) had better odds.

Fellow Big Ten rival Penn State had the fifth-best odds at +850 and national runner-up Notre Dame was sixth at +1,200.

Oregon opens its 2025 schedule against Montana State on Aug. 30 at Autzen Stadium.

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.

OHA’s Healthy Homes Grant Program seeks improved housing conditions, health outcomes for low-income residents to prevent displacement

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon Health Authority has awarded $23 million to repair and rehabilitate homes of low-income residents to eliminate risks to residents’ health to the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon and 34 local organizations.

The funds are from the Healthy Homes Grant Program, established to improve health by rehabilitating living environments in Oregon.

In Central Oregon, NeighborImpact is receiving $750,000 in leveraged funding to expand the scope and capacity of its existing weatherization program to provide home repair services to households across the region.

Housing Works, meanwhile, will get about $583,000 to make health, accessibility, safety and preservation improvements to three properties it owns, totaling 33 units that serve disabled and very low-income people.

“Research has shown there is an inextricable link between a person’s health and housing status, and that quality of housing is a social determinant of health,” said Oregon Public Health Division Director Naomi Adeline-Biggs, MBBS, MPH. “With the Healthy Homes grants, Oregon is helping to prevent and reduce short- and long-term negative health outcomes by addressing the quality of housing as a public health issue.”

People living in poverty are more likely to live in substandard housing that is not healthy or safe and are at higher risk of losing homes that are not well-maintained or repaired. Older and substandard housing is more likely to contain hazards such as peeling or deteriorated lead-based paint. Delaying maintenance can lead to leaking roofs or pipes, which can cause mold. Uninsulated homes can be drafty and uncomfortable for residents and result in higher energy bills.

Homes that are not well-maintained or repaired can also lead to lead poisoning, asthma and other respiratory diseases, cancer, unintended injures, increased stress, poor school attendance for children and missed workdays for parents. Improved housing conditions for low-income families can prevent illness and reduce their health care costs, improve safety, conserve natural resources and reduce energy costs for occupants.

The organizations—nonprofits, local housing authorities, community action agencies and local governments serving communities in all areas of the state—are each receiving between $199,980 to $750,000 to use over a three-year period. The grants are intended to help homeowners and landlords repair and rehabilitate homes inhabited by low-income residents, including renters, to improve their environmental health and safety.

The Oregon Legislature established the HHGP in 2021. It directs OHA to provide grants to local organizations serving low-income residents to repair and rehabilitate homes, including rental properties, throughout the state.

Funding recipients

OHA is awarding nearly $20.4 million in HHGP funds to 34 organizations through a competitive grant process and were selected from a pool of 75 applicants.

The grantees with the strongest proposals for meeting the priorities set in state law include organizations experienced in improving the health or safety of occupants of residences, maximizing energy efficiency or extending the usable life of homes which serves eligible households in Oregon; and organizations serving historically unrepresented and underserved communities, including people of color, those who are low-income, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

In addition, OHA has set aside $3 million in HHGP funds for the Nine Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon, honoring government-to-government relationships. OHA is working with each Tribe to award this funding.

For a video highlighting this work and to hear from recipients, visit this link.

A full list of competitive grant recipients is available on the HHGP website, www.oregon.gov/healthyhomes.

Project examples

Examples of funded projects include home assessments to identify priority structural, health and safety repair needs; energy efficiency updates to protect against extreme temperatures; roof replacements; making homes less susceptible to wildfire damage; and abatement of radon, mold, mildew, and lead-based paint.

The projects will use HHGP funds to fill gaps and leverage other state and federal funding, such as Community Development Block Grants, Weatherization Assistance Program funding and the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.

Grant funding schedule

OHA sent letters of intent to successful grant applicants in August and has been working with individual organizations to finalize grant agreements. The agency hopes to finish executing the grant agreements by the end of January. Grant recipients will have up to three years to complete their projects.