Salem, OR - A second "Greater Idaho" bill was introduced in the Oregon State Legisalature on Tuesday. The bill, HB 3488, would create a state taskforce to "document the state and federal legal and legislative processes that must take place to relocate the Oregon and Idaho state boundaries..." The legislature is already considering a bill in the Senate, SJM7, which is a memorial inviting the state of Idaho to begin border talks. The Idaho Legisalture passed a similar memorial in 2023.

House Bill 3488, introduced by Representative Mark Owens of Crane and co-sponsored by Reps. Bobby Levy, Vikki Breese-Iverson and Emily McIntire, takes a different approach from the Senate bill. While SJM7 would begin border negotiations, the house bill would create a study group comprised of multiple stakeholders from across Oregon, who would then be tasked with attempting to answer some of the detail questions of a border change, like the impact on certain industries.

Greater Idaho Executive Director Matt McCaw praised the new legislation. "We are encouraged to see the representatives of Eastern Oregon coming together to advocate for their voters by bringing these bills to the Legislature. The people of Eastern Oregon have made clear they want to explore moving the border and joining Idaho. If the Oregon Legislature truly believes in democracy, they will honor those voters' wishes and move forward on making a border change happen."

President of the movement, Mike McCarter, agreed. "This movement has always been about the people of Eastern Oregon, getting their voice heard and helping those communities get the kind of state-level governance they actually want. We have asked the people and know which state they prefer. Now the Oregon Legislature has a chance to do the right thing, and let these people go."

The Greater Idaho movement began putting votes to counties in 2020 and seeks to move the Oregon/Idaho border westward so that the traditionally conservative eastern counties would join the state of Idaho, which the movement says better matches eastern Oregonian values. So far, 13 counties have passed their measures. The group believes that moving the border would create a win-win situation for both Oregon and Idaho by better matching voters to state governance and would lower political tension across the state. State lines can be moved through a process called an insterstate compact. In January, bills were introduced in the Indiana and Iowa state legislatures seeking similar border change investigations. Border changes require the approval of both states' legislatures, as well as the US Congress. In 2023 the Idaho house passed a Memorial resolution inviting the state of Oregon to begin border talks, and the Governor of Idaho has publicly supported border talks as well. The movement has previously reached out to the Governor of Oregon, as well as President Trump asking for support in getting border talks between the two states started.

Text of HB 3488 can be found at https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB3488

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