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Oregon enacts campaign finance changes, three other election bills in 2026


The Oregon Legislature adjourned its regular session on March 8 after enacting five election-related bills, all of which Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed in March and April.

Among those bills were two campaign finance measures. HB 4017 allows campaign funds to be used for reasonable security-related expenses, including security and alarm systems or monitoring services for a candidate, public officeholder, or their families.

Oregon is the fourth state in 2026 to enact a measure allowing campaign funds to be used for security-related expenses, joining Alabama, Kentucky, and Utah. Lawmakers in Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Tennessee have also advanced similar bills.

Kotek also signed HB 4018, which makes several campaign finance-related changes. Among other provisions, the bill requires a person who makes aggregate independent expenditures of $50,000 in a candidate campaign in an election cycle to disclose their donors, and increases campaign contribution limits for multicandidate committees and small donor political committees.

HB 4018 also delays the implementation of several provisions in a 2024 bill that amended the state’s campaign finance system, including the development of an online campaign finance dashboard.

Other election-related bills enacted in 2026 include:

  • SB 1502, which requires the secretary of state to prefile a bill for the 2027 session that proposes changes to the campaign finance system.
  • SB 1509, which lays out qualifications for presidential electors and establishes procedures for those electors to cast their ballots for presidential and vice presidential candidates.
  • SB 1599, which sets a May 19, 2026, election date for a ballot measure on repealing gas tax, payroll tax, and vehicle registration fee increases.

Oregon enacted three election-related bills in 2025, three in 2024, and eight in 2023.