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Friends and Neighbors,
I wanted to introduce myself as your new State Representative from House District 44, North and Northeast Portland. I was appointed to this position to fill the seat after former Speaker Tina Kotek resigned. I was appointed on January 27, 2022 and was sworn into office just five days later, on the first day of the 2022 Legislative Session.
It is a tremendous honor to serve as the new State Representative for House District 44 and I pledge to be a fierce advocate for health care reform, workers, climate change mitigation, real affordable housing, homelessness solutions, equity, and more. Our district encompasses North and Northeast Portland from Portland International Airport to the St. Johns peninsula. I have already hit the ground running to ensure a smooth transition for my constituents.
As the grandson of sharecroppers in Louisiana, my parents moved our family to the Pacific Northwest before I entered grade school. I put myself through college and earned my bachelor's degree in nursing by working in food service, landscaping, and janitorial positions. It is this strong work ethic that has carried me to where I am today.
Throughout my career as a Registered Nurse I saved lives by practicing constant attentiveness along with being a strong advocate. Serving as a union representative honed these skills and allowed me to begin tackling the many problems inherent in our health care system. I am a member of the Sierra Club, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the NAACP, our local Democratic Party, and more. I know health care is an intersectional issue that is entwined with our environment, housing policy, racial justice, and so many other social determinants of health. It is this intersectionality that initially drove me to run for office. All of these issues are deeply connected and must be tackled together if we are going to make any progress.
I have been involved in the ongoing fight to save the Columbia Pool and it is a perfect example of this intersectionality at the local level. The city has been moving towards closing the pool due to its funding priorities, but the community has loudly demanded that it be kept open. As a center for not only physical exercise, but also social interaction and togetherness, it is vital for our wellbeing on so many different levels. I am looking into role the state may have in assisting with this issue. This is just one of the many things I will be advocating for during this 2022 Legislative Session. You will find more of my legislative priorities in the next section.
I am proud to join the legislature as the first ever Black LGBTQIA+ member of this body and will work with my fellow colleagues to create a welcoming and just state for Oregonians of all backgrounds to live and thrive in our communities. As your Representative, I am working tirelessly to champion these issues as the legislative session begins this week.
 I was officially sworn in on the first day of Black History Month, February 1, 2022. I was joined by the new Representative for House District 30, Nathan Sosa.
We began this legislative session on the first day of Black History Month, a time to reflect on our history as the only state to enter the union with Black exclusion laws in our Constitution and the racial disparities that persist to this day. My new role in the House of Representatives carries deep significance for me and so many others in our community. While there is still so much work left to do, I believe we must do all that we can to bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.
 I was lucky to have my family join me for my swearing in ceremony.
There are many important policy discussions happening this session. I am following many bills and appreciate feedback from constituents. I have information below on how you can share your priorities for this session.
These are some of the bills that I am tracking for the 2022 Legislative Session:
HB 4001: Cost of Living Pay for Low-Income Workers
- Establishes a fund to provide appreciation pay to certain essential workers and low-income workers.
HB 4002: Farmworker Overtime Pay
- Prohibits employers from requiring agricultural workers to work overtime unless workers are compensated for overtime hours worked.
HB 4045: Community Violence Prevention
- Seeks to provide more certainty for hospital-based violence intervention programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in breaking the cycle of chronic community violence.
HB 4052: Racism as a Public Health Crisis
- Requires Oregon Health Authority to provide grants to operate two culturally and linguistically specific mobile health units, as pilot program, to serve priority populations with histories of poor health or social outcomes
HB 4067: Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District
- In 2019, the Legislature passed SB 431 which created the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District. This new special district role is to manage the levees, pump stations, and conveyances that reduce the risk of flooding along the Columbia River in northern Multnomah County.
- HB 4067 seeks to address the ambiguities to help speed up the creation of a revenue structure for the district and accelerate transition to a single, more modern, and sustainable district capable of meeting the region’s flood safety and climate resilience needs.
Senate Bills I am tracking:
SB 1510: Transforming Justice
- Requires police officer to inform stopped person of right to refuse consent to search. Prohibits police officer from initiating traffic stop based solely on specified traffic violations.
SB 1567: Fuel Storage Seismic Vulnerability
- Will give the Department of Environmental Quality authority to require fuel storage facilities (or bulk oils or liquid fuels terminals) to assess their seismic vulnerability and implement mitigation plans to reduce risks. This bill would also require the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) to develop an Energy Security Plan that recommends steps to improve community resilience by increasing geographic diversity of fuel storage capacity.
 I am excited to be a part of the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Caucus and joined the House members of this historic caucus after my swearing in ceremony.
Committees are where most of the important work is done in the legislature. I am fortunate to be serving on three committees this short session: the House Committee on Behavioral Health, the House Committee on Human Services and the Joint Ways and Means Sub-committee on Transportation and Economic Development.
In the Behavioral Health Committee we will consider legislation that addresses provides services for some of Oregon's most vulnerable populations and those who care for those folks
The Human Services Committee will look a wide range of policies related to social services to better the wellbeing of all Oregonians. I am committed to bringing an equity lens to all of these discussions and I will push to focus state resources on those who need them most.
In the Joint Ways and Means Sub-committee on Transportation and Economic Development we will delve into matters of the state budget that relate to keeping our economy moving. Most of this committee's work will begin later in the session, after policy bills are sent over from their originating committees; however, with the I-5 corridor, the Port of Portland, and the Portland International Airport all in our district I am certain the work will be both meaningful and relevant. I will be especially looking for opportunities to promote green infrastructure, to clean up our harbor and rivers, and to mitigate the poor air quality in some parts of our district.
 I look forward to having constituent meetings even if they are virtual for the time being.
I take seriously my duty to humbly represent you in Salem. Sharing your concerns, questions, and feedback helps me to better advocate for our community and I am eager to hear from you. Please feel more than welcome to respond directly to this e-mail with your thoughts or to request a meeting to discuss them in greater detail. My constituents are always my number one priority and I will do my best to find a time to meet with you as promptly as possible.
If you are not signed up to receive my digital newsletters, you can sign up on my website.
I plan to send regular newsletters like this to keep you updated on my work in the Capitol. In the meantime, I am rolling up my sleeves and diving into the start of a busy legislative session this week.
Kindly,
 Travis Nelson
State Representative
House District 44
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1444
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-275, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.TravisNelson@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/nelson
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