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To contact me, please click here: Rep.TravisNelson@oregonlegislature.gov
A Busy Fall!
I am honored to be re-elected to represent the people of House District 44! Now that the election is over, I will be sending regular newsletters again. This newsletter highlights some of events and meetings I have had over the last the last 60 days.
I know that there is a lot going on across the nation right now. Please know that I will do all that I can to ensure that Oregon is insulated from new initiatives that come down from the federal government that aren't in alignment with our values.
I have a lot of updates for you! You can use this index to navigate to specific updates:
This summer, I was elected Chair of the Joint Task Force on Improving the Safety of Behavioral Health Workers. We have continued this work throughout the fall to have the Final Report and Recommendations due to the Legislature in December. We currently have the Draft Recommendations and a draft of the report.
We have a meeting tomorrow November 7th, to discuss the recommendations and report, and will be taking public comment. If you would like to sign up to give public comment, please sign up here as soon as possible. Registration closes 30 minutes before the meeting, but it would be helpful to know who is testifying by the end of today, November 6th. I know this s a quick turnaround but there will be opportunities to have input on any bills that we move forward with in the 2025 Legislative Session.
On September 13th, I hosted a meeting with several community members, Legislators, leadership at OLCC and folks from ORBC to talk about the future of the St. Johns Bottle Drop. In this meeting, I made it clear that I do not support a redemption center at this location.
I wanted OLCC folks to join the meeting to talk about their process for redemption centers. ORBC has still not submitted an application to OLCC so they cannot comment on that specific application. They assured us that if there is an application, they will be engaging with the community to get official public comment. I am hoping that we do not even get to this point and that ORBC will find an alternate location. IF they do submit an application, I will submit official public comment in opposition to this location and will let my constituents know how to submit their own public comment.
I am currently working on legislation about siting of redemption centers and will share the details of this legislation once I have the Legislative Concept back from our bill drafters. The deadline to get bills back is December 4th.
I Stood on the picket line in support of Boeing workers on September 19th. I fully supported their fight for a fair Union contract! I’m happy to hear that they have ratified a new contract!
There were many important topics covered during September Legislative Days, but I would like to highlight one topic that left me deeply concerned. You may have seen one of the many news stories about the Bureau of Labor and Industry’s (BOLI) large backlog of wage theft cases. In case you missed these stories, here are some that might be helpful to read:
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Oregon Public Broadcast
- Statesman Journal
- Salem Reporter
- KOIN
In addition to their backlog of wage theft cases, I have been concerned about the backlog of many of BOLI’s investigations including harassment and discrimination cases. I have shared these concerns with BOLI and I am currently looking at a few pieces of legislation to address these issues. I will have more details on my legislation in future newsletters, but I want you to know that I will do what I can to help BOLI and their employees to get the resources they need.
It was a pleasure to attend the Oregon Center for Nursing’s Oregon Outstanding Preceptor Event. You can watch the event here.
I was able to get a sneak peek at the hayu alqi uyxat building this summer. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend their grand opening ceremony on September 21st. My staff was able to attend and got to see the final product. This new building will serve students who have historically been spread around different campuses and in random classrooms. This will be a space for students who are facing the biggest challenges to call home and be proud of their space.
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I joined other healthcare focused legislators for the final panel at the 11th Annual CCO Oregon Conference in early October. There were nearly 400 health care leaders who attended the conference about the future of coordinated care in Oregon. Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO) are networks of all types of health care providers who have agreed to work together in their local communities to serve people who receive health care coverage under the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid). The conference was put on by CCO Oregon. You can learn more about CCO Oregon here.
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 During the panel discussion, I highlighted some of my priorities around healthcare worker safety, hospital financial transparency and healthcare workforce. Salem Reporter covered our panel in their article Oregon lawmakers preview health care priorities for 2025 session.
I had the honor of being the keynote speaker at the Carrington College graduation ceremony. The ceremony had about 160 graduates from Medical Assisting, Dental Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, Massage Therapy, and Veterinary Assisting programs. These graduates are the future of healthcare and are vital to helping us meet our workforce needs.
I shared my story of becoming a nurse and then a legislator to show how medical professionals can make a difference in their community. I was touched by the student speakers who shared the struggles they had to overcame to complete their programs. I can relate to these students because my journey to becoming a nurse was far from smooth. I wanted these graduates to know that even though they may struggle along the way, they can come out of it on the other side stronger.
Their commitment to the well-being of others, often in the face of significant challenges, exemplifies the very best of human compassion and resilience. Congratulations to all of the graduates of Carrington College, and may their future be filled with success, joy, and endless possibilities.
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I had an ambulance ride along with Chris Rourke from AMR to learn about the challenges facing EMS providers including safety concerns, patients that are using drugs and/or are experiencing mental/behavioral health challenges and workforce issues.
I am going to be following legislation in 2025 on workforce and balanced billing that will protect patients from unexpected medical bills when they have to call an ambulance.
Ballot Measure 109 passed in November of 2020, making Oregon the first state in the nation to permit licensed service providers to provide psilocybin therapy in a state regulated setting. Psilocybin is the compound in certain mushrooms that has hallucinogenic effects and is known to be therapeutic. After two years of in-depth rule making, Oregon’s first psilocybin service center opened their doors in May of 2023. Since that time, over 6,500 people suffering from depression, anxiety or addiction, have accessed this breakthrough therapy that has been demonstrated to provide healing and hope.
I toured one of these service centers, the Cora Center, in NE Portland in October and met with its co-founder Rebecca Martinez. The Cora Center was founded with a specific emphasis on serving BIPOC community members. They discussed their service model, and legislation for the next session that seeks to include existing health care providers into this program.
As a member of the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, I joined Commissioners from the four Oregon Advocacy Commissions with Governor Kotek. Oregon Advocacy Commissions Office assists the Oregon Commission on Asian & Pacific Islander Affairs, Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs, and Oregon Commission for Women in their work advocating for their communities. Governor Kotek brought us all together to celebrate the hard work and accomplishments of the commissions.
I had a blast at Gratitude Night! It is the yearly gala to celebrate the recovery community and raise funds for 4D Recovery. I was joined by Representative Tawna Sanchez and newly elected Representative Shannon Jones Isadore.
4D Recovery provides services in Multnomah County, Clackamas County and Washington County for youth and adults. They have a wide variety of services to help folks with their recovery journey.
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 Julia Mines, the executive director for The Miracles Club, received the Leadership Award for her work.
I joined some of my legislative colleagues at a briefing with PPS Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong. We learned about their literacy campaigns and the success of the summer learning programs. I look forward to visiting one of the early literacy sites next month and sharing more information on their literacy campaigns in future newsletters.
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On a lighter note, I had the pleasure of discussing the legislative LGBTQ Caucus and introduced Governor Kotek at the Basic Rights Oregon’s Ignite event!
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Next week, the City of Portland will be opening their first shelter that has a mix of individual shelter unites and RV parking off of Portland Road. The site will have 90 individual sleeping units and 70 RV spots. They will be able to house at least 200 people at this facility.
I was glad to hear that they have a plan to make Portland Rd. safer by lowering the speed limit from 45mph to 30mph, narrowing the road to allow room for cement barriers to protect pedestrians, and adding in crosswalks.
I had a long conversation with the Outreach Team about their work and how we can make some improvements to the process. We talked about how they help folks transition from living on the streets to being able to be housed in permanent housing. They try to meet people where they are, literally and figuratively. They help folks transition into shelter spaces where they will have to live within a community with certain community rules. Learning these skills can help them as they transition into their permanent housing situations and be successful once they do.
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I also had several conversations about the funding needs for these shelters. The shelters that have been set up over the last few years have been done with one time funding. There is a need for ongoing funds for shelter services. I am looking forward to engaging in that conversation during the session. I will also be setting up at meeting with Oregon Housing and Community Services staff to talk about how we are funding our shelters.
Resources from the Oregon Law Center
In a meeting with the Oregon Law Center I learned about their Oregon Public Benefits Hotline. This hotline is for low-income Oregonians to learn what state and federal resources they might qualify for. If you would like to learn more about benefits such as Unemployment Insurance, TANF, SNAP (formerly food stamps), Social Security and other programs, you can call 1-800-520-5292 Monday through Thursday.
Community Mediation Assistance
I met with Resolution Oregon to learn more about the work they do for all of Oregon. As someone who has gone through mediation training, I know firsthand that these services can help avoid more costly processes. They have Community Resolution Centers statewide that offer mediation assistance for conflicts in housing, personal and family disputes, and many other sticky situations.
They are still working on getting a Portland specific website. In the meantime, you can use their Mediation and Conflict Coaching Intake Form or email communitymediationpdx@gmail.com for more information.
I will be sharing my legislative priorities in the coming months. If there is a policy or issue you would like me to look at, please reach out to my office through email at Rep.TravisNelson@OregonLegislature.gov. I am looking forward to getting back to Salem for the 2025 Legislative Session. We will have December Legislative Days from December 10th to the 12th. Please reach out to my office if you are going to be part of a lobby day or are visiting the Capitol. I always look forward to meeting with constituents.
Best,
 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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