In the 2023 session, my team and I worked tirelessly to reform our debt collection laws to protect those who are struggling financially. While we came very close to moving HB2008 forward, we ran out of time at the end of the session.  

During the 2024 session, we brought the Family Financial Protect Act back in partnership with Senator Chris Gorsek from Gresham. Senate Bill 1595 passed the Oregon Senate 22-8. This week, I was honored to champion it on the floor of the House where it passed 45-9. It is now headed to the governor’s desk. 

This bill is going to help hundreds of thousands of Oregonians – most of whom are struggling due to medical debt. It also cracks down on illegal debt collection practices that prey on vulnerable Oregonians. I am so proud of the work we did on this bill and am grateful for the support of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle.  

You watch view my floor speech here   

In 2023, I served on the Joint Committee on Semiconductors. The work we did is spurring growth in advanced manufacturing and creating thousands of good-paying jobs for Oregonians. One of the things we left undone, however, was workforce development.  

This session, I teamed up with three of my colleagues on HB4154. This bill creates an ongoing partnership between the public, private, and non-profit sectors to fund career pathway programs that will expand our semiconductor workforce. It will fund these programs in our K-12 schools, community colleges, and public universities. Earlier this week, I was one of the representatives championing it on the floor of the House.  

The bill passed the House 52-4 and passed the Senate 24-4.  

You watch view my floor speech here.  

In 2023, I led the effort to strengthen our public meetings laws by extending the jurisdiction of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. We were successful and passed HB 2805.This session, I brought HB 4117 to give OGEC the additional authority to issue advisory opinions to help public officials comply with our public meetings laws.  

The bill passed unanimously out of the House and Senate and it is now headed to the governor.  

This week, we’re spotlighting one of Portland’s most beloved YA fantasy writer, Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin was born in Berkeley, California in 1929.  After graduating from Berkeley High School, she received her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College and her MA from Columbia University. While on a Fullbright Scholarship, she met her husband Charles Le Guin and they were married until her death. Le Guin and her husband relocated to Northwest Portland in 1958 to raise their three children and for Charles to take a teaching position at Portland State University. 

 An author and poet for nearly six decades, she is widely known for her usage of “magical realism”, pulling inspiration from Taoist's principles of duality and Jungian dream and shadow concepts. While she hesitated to promote or define her political ideology, she did not shy away from defying gender stereotypes in her characters and touching upon the intersectionality of race, sex and nationalism mixed within her fictional worlds. 

Le Guin remained an active voice in the Portland literary community until her death in 2018. She was supportive of young writers, educators and book sellers. When Powell’s Books employees decided to organize their workplace in 1999 and receiving backlash from the Company, Le Guin wrote Michael Powell a letter urging his support and recognition of the union.    

Don't forget to contact my office with any questions or feedback. You can do so via email at Rep.NathanSosa@Oregonlegislature.gov or by phone at (503) 986-1430. Feel free to also stop by in-person, at office H-280. I look forward to hearing from you! 

Take care!