Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is approving state funding to help restore public access to Willamette Falls. She’ll also allow physical therapists in the state to begin offering an acupuncture-like procedure, despite strong protest from licensed acupuncturists.

But any non-veterinarians hoping to peddle their expertise checking cows for pregnancy are out of luck.

Kotek on Thursday announced her final veto decisions on a handful of bills she indicated last week she may reject, following the close of the 2025 legislative session.

The governor wound up backing off of two possible vetoes she announced last week after hearing more fully about the issues involved.

Perhaps most notably, Kotek signed off on $45 million for the Willamette Falls Trust, a tribal coalition hoping to build a new public facility at Willamette Falls south of Portland. That project has been the subject of conflict between regional tribes that have jockeyed for influence at the falls, a historically important fishing site.

Oregon Legislature adjourns 2025 session as Democrats’ transportation plans stumble

In approving the payment, Kotek offered a leg up to a coalition of tribal governments made up of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

The group is working to acquire land around the falls for a project expected to include “public walkways, spaces for interpretation, cultural events, community programming, viewing structures and other public amenities.”

Kotek’s predecessor, Gov. Kate Brown, leads the Willamette Falls Trust that is spearheading that effort. Over the last week, Brown offered assurances that her group would not seek any additional state funding for the project, along with other provisions designed to win Kotek’s support.

But the coalition has competition from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, which hopes to build its own facility near the falls. The tribe had urged Kotek to veto the $45 million payment.

“I want to thank Willamette Falls Trust for proactively reaching out to my office with additional information following my notice, and subsequently committing to a set of expectations I set to approve the funds,” Kotek said in a statement.

In its own statement Thursday, the group said it “deeply appreciates Governor Kotek’s confidence in the Trust and in advancing public access to one of Oregon’s most beautiful natural treasures.”

Kotek also wound up signing another bill she’d mulled vetoing. House Bill 3824 paves the way for Oregon physical therapists to offer a service called “dry needling” that licensed acupuncturists in the state say is indistinguishable from the service they provide.

While physical therapists in many states are allowed to offer such procedures, Oregon acupuncturists have argued that opening up the practice here is unnecessary and could lead to shoddy work.

In a signing letter, Kotek said she was directing the state board that governs physical therapy licensing to create rules limiting dry needling to “musculoskeletal pain and movement resolution,” rather than a broader set of conditions targeted by acupuncture. Kotek also said the state will issue a bulletin making clear that dry needling is not the same as acupuncture for insurance purposes.

As Oregon’s legislative session hits the midway point, plenty of big issues remain

Senate Bill 967 wasn’t so lucky.

The bill would have allowed people without veterinary licenses to perform pregnancy checks on cows as a paid service. State Sen. Todd Nash, R-Enterprise, introduced the bill, and said it was an attempt to solve a supply problem.

“We have a situation now where we don’t have enough large animal vets to cover many of the places in Oregon,” Nash said. He argued the bill would help the state better detect disease outbreaks in cattle.

But Kotek concluded that the bill might have the opposite effect if veterinarians are used less often to detect pregnancies.

“I recognize the need to increase access to key veterinary services in rural parts of our state, especially for large animals,” Kotek wrote in a veto letter. “I believe that we can have continued conversations about how to meet the needs of rural Oregon while also ensuring the health of our cattle statewide.”

Nash has suggested publicly the governor may have ulterior motives for wielding the veto pen. He told the Capital Press that he believes the decision is retribution for his role in killing an unrelated bill on water policy.

SB 976 passed both chambers with near-unanimous support. Nash told OPB on Thursday he is examining his options for getting Kotek’s veto overturned — perhaps in a vote at a special session scheduled for later this month.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/07/acupuncture-willamette-falls-cow-pregnancy-vetoes/