Oregon lawmakers met for 32 days this year -- gaveling out and going home March 3, three days before the constitution would have required.

That turned out to be just enough time for Democrats to deflect headline-grabbing Republican stalling tactics and send Gov. Kate Brown the biggest items on their wish list for 2016.

Fights broke out over measures on the minimum wage and renewable power, among the first bills Brown has signed this month. Intrigue and walkouts almost doomed bills on renter protections, affordable housing mandates, wolf management and hotel taxes.

Eventually, all of them passed -- and almost all of them with at least some Republican support. (Except for the minimum wage bill, the only measure passed purely along party lines.)

Those battles, given their potential for far-reaching change, deserved the attention they received. But quietly, in the background, lawmakers also churned through dozens of other bills, sending more than 120 -- not including resolutions and other ceremonial measures -- to Brown's desk in all.

To help readers make sense of the session that was, we've rounded up 25 of the most interesting or consequential bills, both big and small. Some have already been signed by Gov. Kate Brown. Others could spend weeks on her desk while she makes up her mind.

Minimum wage increases: Senate Bill 1532 creates a three-tiered, regional system for wage increases stretching to 2022. It gives Oregon the highest rates in the nation: $14.75 inside Portland's urban growth boundary, $13.50 in midsize counties and $12.50 in rural "frontier" areas. The first increase, across all three regions, takes effect July 1. Oregon's current $9.25 wage will climbs to $9.50 in rural areas, $9.75 everywhere else. Lawmakers may come back next year and revive plans to help rural employers offset the cost of wage hikes through tax credits.

No coal power: Brown says she's "proud" to have signed Senate Bill 1547, which will eliminate coal power and require Oregon's two major power companies, Portland General Electric and Pacific Power, to use more solar and wind energy. The no-coal requirement takes effect in 2030. Rules that spell out dramatic increase in renewable sources will come to bear in 2040.

Affordable housing and renter relief: House Bill 4143 bans rent increases in a month-to-month tenant's first year and requires 90-day notice for increases after one year. Senate Bill 1533 ends Oregon's 17-year-old ban on inclusionary zoning, allowing local governments to require affordable housing in new multifamily developments so long as they also offer incentives to defray builders' losses. House Bill 4079 will let two cities in Oregon experiment with growth-boundary expansions for affordable housing. Senate Bill 1573 will change annexation laws in Oregon, blocking citywide votes so long as all property owners in a tract of land agree to be annexed.

Marijuana regulation: Senate Bill 1511 allows tax-free medical marijuana sales at recreational marijuana stores. It also expands Oregon's informal "early sales" program, for people 21 and older, to edibles and marijuana concentrates. House Bill 4014 ends a rule approved last year that created a two-year residency requirement for recreational marijuana producers, processors and retailers. And Senate Bill 1598 will exempt some smaller medical growers from rules that might keep them from the recreational market.

Tax credits: Senate Bill 1507 will add millions of dollars to the state's cap on tax credits for film and television productions. The current $10 million cap, set in 2013, will rise to $12 million in 2016 and then to $14 million in 2017. The increase comes after lawmakers, last year, extended the credit to 2024. House Bill 4110, approved with bipartisan support, increases a state tax break for an estimated 58,000 lower-income Oregonians with children younger than 3 years old. The bill raises Oregon's match of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit to 11 percent from 8 percent, at a cost of $10 million.

Foster care reform: Senate Bill 1515, approved unanimously and written with help from Brown's office, is the beginning of state officials' answer to a scandal over foster care abuse. The measure would require quarterly reports on abuse, tighten licensing rules for providers and make it a crime for officials to knowingly ignore neglect. House Bill 4080 creates a foster care advisory commission -- including advocates, foster parents, lawyers and others -- tasked with giving advice to the governor and Department of Human Services.

Lodging tax: Among the last measures approved in the 2016 session, House Bill 4146 raises the state's hotel tax to 1.8 percent over the next four years. After four years, it will fall to 1.5 percent. The current rate is 1 percent. The measure, by funneling money to state tourism programs, will help fund the controversial 2021 World Track and Field Championships, coming to Eugene for the first time.

Rape kits: Senate Bill 1571 directs police agencies to adopt rules for testing sexual assault evidence kits. The Oregon State Police did a count last year that found more than 5,000 untested rape kits languishing on evidence shelves across the state, some for decades. Almost half of the kits were from Portland.

Statute of limitations: Senate Bill 1600 allows an out to Oregon's 12-year statute of limitations for serious sex crimes, including rape, sodomy and child sex abuse. Prosecutors could bring charges at any point so long as new, corroborating evidence appears.

Veterans spending: House Joint Resolution 202 will ask voters this fall to divert 1.5 percent of Oregon Lottery revenues to programs that help veterans connect with federal services -- including housing, health care and pension income. This year's success came after lawmakers repeatedly tried and failed to pass similar measures in recent years.

Whistleblower protection: House Bill 4067 affirms that public employees and workers at certain nonprofits can legally share information showing potentially illegal behavior with state and federal regulators, police officers or attorneys.

Gray wolves: House Bill 4040 ratifies the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission's decision to delist gray wolves from the endangered species list. It would effectively kill a lawsuit by wildlife conservationists challenging the delisting.

Voter turnout: Senate Bill 1586, approved by lawmakers March 3, requires the state to make sure public universities and community colleges have at least one ballot drop site within four miles. The bill also says those institutions must link to the state's online voter registration portal on their websites. An earlier version of the bill would have required free postage for the state's mail-in ballots.

School safety tip line: House Bill 4075 sets aside $1 million to revive a statewide tip line where students, parents and others can report threats before they lead to violence.

Political lifeline: Oregon's shift to opt-out, automatic voter registration has already added thousands of people to state voter rolls this year. That surge of voters will make it more difficult for the Independent Party of Oregon to retain it's recently acquired status as Oregon's third major party. Why? Major parties must maintain membership equal at least 5 percent of all registered voters. Senate Bill 1599 pushes off that reckoning for the Independents until the 2020 election cycle.

Courthouse funding: House Bill 4093 gives circuit courts in Multnomah, Tillamook and Jefferson counties -- where new courthouses are in the works -- permission to levy $5 surcharges on parking and traffic fines to help fund construction costs.

Sworn statements: Lawmakers, worried a witness might commit perjury, have long had the right to insist on sworn oaths during committee hearings. But those oaths, which include the phrase "so help you God," have given pause to members of religious sects whose beliefs allow legal oaths but not promises that invoke the name of God. Senate Bill 1595 lets lawmakers administer oaths without that phrase.

-- Denis C. Theriault

503-221-8430; @TheriaultPDX