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To contact me, please click here: Rep.LucettaElmer@oregonlegislature.gov
End of Session Update 2025
House District 24,
On Friday night, just before midnight, the 2025 Legislative Session came to an end or what we call "Sine Die." Sine Die is Latin for without a day. In the final hours of session, House Republicans stopped what could have been the largest tax hike in Oregon’s history—a huge win for Oregon’s workers and businesses! This bill would have tripled the payroll tax, hiked car sales taxes by 350%, and raised gas taxes by 12 cents. The process was rushed, bipartisan voices were ignored, and Oregonians across the state made their opposition loud and clear—over 70% of online testimony was against it. Your voices made the difference. The victory belongs to you.
This session, House Republicans remained focused on the issues Oregonians care about most — affordability, housing, education, and homelessness. We had legislation to cut taxes and bring down costs. We had legislation to restore graduation requirements and expand education options for families. We had legislation to end tent cities and reunite families. And we fought to bring down property taxes and help families buy a home they can afford. However, much of this did not move or get scheduled for a public hearing simply because we are in the superminority. Having single party control in the executive branch, and both chambers of the Legislature, does not lend itself to a collaborative process.
Keep reading below for an overview of the 2025 Legislative Session - the wins, and the disappointments.
Team Elmer on the House Floor Following "Sine Die"
A New House Republican Leadership Role
One highlight of the session was having the opportunity to serve as the House Republican Deputy Leader alongside former gubernatorial nominee and my friend, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan. I appreciated the opportunity to work with her closely each day, allowing me to understand another layer of the legislative process.
Rep. Elmer, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, and Rep. Boshart Davis.
$3 Million Secured For The McMinnville Fire District
State Senator Bruce Starr (R-Dundee) and I are thrilled to announce $3 million in funding for a new fire station for the McMinnville Fire District. This funding will allow the McMinnville Fire District to procure land, design, and build a new fire station in NW McMinnville.
The transition from a city fire department to a Fire District has been a significant success but has also presented new challenges. With a Fire District serving 100 miles, an additional fire station is necessary to better serve our residents. I am thrilled to see this funding secured for House District 24 and look forward to seeing this project through to completion.
House Bill 5006A now heads to the Governor’s desk for her signature.
Established Oregon Youth Suicide Awareness Day
One of the things I am post proud of this session is helping to establish Oregon Youth Suicide Awareness Day. On June 16th, Governor Kotek signed House Bill 3643 into law which designates October 9th of every year as Oregon Youth Suicide Awareness Day. This is a tragedy that has touched many lives in House District 24. I am hopeful that this day can help raise awareness about this very real, but devastating topic and ultimately save more lives.
Established Oregon Adoption Day
On May 22nd, Governor Kotek signed House Bill 2019 into law which established August is 25th of every year as Oregon Adoption Day. This bipartisan legislation was also Chief Sponsored by Representative Rob Nosse (D-SE/NE Portland), Representative Virgle Osborne (R- Roseburg), and Representative Dwayne Yunker (R-Grants Pass) – each who share their own personal adoption stories.
The day this bill recognizes is not just a date on a calendar, it is my day— the day I was adopted. A day that forever changed my story, gave me a future, and placed me in the arms of a mother who chose me as her own. Adoption is an act of courage. It requires sacrifice, selflessness, and a whole lot of faith— from all sides. It weaves together lives in ways that reflect the best of our humanity. And it is worthy of recognition.
Increased Insurance Coverage For Menopause
Another bill I was proud to Co-Chief Sponsor, alongside my friend Representative Shelly Boshart Davis (R-Albany) was House Bill 3064 which requires health insurers to provide treatment for people experiencing perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. I am hopeful that the bill helps advance the conversation about women's health, and post-reproductive health, so that they are no longer just the butt of jokes.
Stopping A Few Bad Bills, Making A Few Bad Bills Better
As initially introduced, House Bill 2548 would have established an Agricultural Workforce Standards Board - allowing a board of unelected bureaucrats to dictate the wages and schedules for the entire agriculture sector. While I am grateful this legislation was amended to only a study bill, and that Oregon State University (our primary agricultural college) is included in the conducting of the study, I remain concerned about the intention behind this study, considering how this legislation started. This legislation passed both chambers, and is now headed to the Governor for a signature.
I am also grateful that House Bill 3838, which would have established a Long Term Care Workforce Standards Board, did not move forward this session. Just like the initial legislation described above, this would have allowed unelected bureaucrats to dictate the wages and working schedules for long-term care facilities across the state.
House Bill 3881 is another bill I am not disappointed to see left unpassed. This legislation would have required School Districts receiving Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching Grants (OSCIM) to have a 15% apprenticeship utilization rate on their projects, or else the school would be fined $15/hour if they could not meet this. This legislation would have done nothing except decrease the dollars available for school projects, particularly in rural Oregon.
Missed Opportunity For Workforce Housing
One of the biggest disappointments for me this session is that House Bill 3939, my public-private partnership bill to provide more workforce level housing, did not pass. This legislation was modeled after House Bill 4134 which successfully passed in the 2024 Legislative Session. Every project from that legislation is now under contract.
House Bill 3939 would have provided 3,080 new housing units in the communities of Florence, Baker City, Burns, Ontario, Hines, Dallas, Carlton, Wilsonville, Adair Village, and Grants Pass. Each of the 3,080 housing units was priced at under just $8,400 in public investment per door.
I will continue to bring this legislation forward in upcoming sessions because I truly believe in the success of the model. I am a firm believer that our publicly invested dollars go much further when attached to a commitment from private investment.
Legislation That Will Make Life More Expensive For Oregonians
While many of the bills I am most frustrated with this session are ones I saw up close as the Vice Chair of the Labor and Workplace Standards Committee, I believe they are all ones that will have detrimental impacts on the budgets of our public entities (schools, counties, and cities), will drive up costs for public infrastructure projects (doing less work with your tax dollars), and will make life more expensive for Oregonians.
Senate Bill 916B - Despite many committee discussions and lengthy floor debates, Senate Bill 916B passed both chambers and was signed into law by the Governor, making Oregon the first state in the nation to allow public employees to receive unemployment benefits while on strike. This decision came after the Superintendents of Oregon’s largest school districts asked legislators and the Governor to oppose this policy, stating that they simply could not afford it. While ultimately the policy was amended to allow 10 weeks of unemployment benefits instead of the original 26 weeks initially proposed, I remain disappointed that the Majority Party doubled down on a failed policy that will only hurt our cities, counties, schools, and private businesses.
House Bill 2688B - This legislation establishes a significant expansion of Oregon’s prevailing wage law, extending it from construction work performed on the job site to materials utilized for public works projects that are fabricated, assembled, preconstructed or constructed offsite. House Bill 2688B was opposed by nearly every major business entity in the state, as well as our public entities (schools, cities, and counties), and yet the Majority Party pushed it through. This bill was passed with many unanswered questions – technical terms in the bill with no definitions, and no assurance from the state agency managing the enforcement if they will or will not be able to enforce this out of state or internationally (only hurting Oregon manufacturers). We know that this legislation will increase the cost of projects, affect several state agencies' ability to secure contractors, and may lead to project delays. I believe Oregonians want their government to be efficient. This bill will not aid in accomplishing that goal.
Senate Bill 426B - This legislation makes owners and upper tier contractors potentially
liable for unpaid wages of subcontractor’s employees, with some limited exceptions.
Now that this has officially been signed into law by the Governor, Oregon is first state in the nation to hold owners liable for wages they already paid. I firmly believe this legislation will result in devastating lawsuits against Oregon businesses and property owners who did nothing wrong. There are better ways to target these bad actors, which my Republican colleagues and I highlighted through the form of several common sense amendments which were ultimately rejected.
House Bill 2944B - This legislation requires the Employment Relations Board (ERB) to impose new civil penalties against a public employer for not handing over payroll information or remitting dues to a labor union quickly enough. While I am grateful for an amendment that ensures "extenuating circumstances," such as a fire or a flood, can be considered prior to imposing a civil penalty - I believe there is already an existing legal process for handling these conflicts without imposing new fines on our budget strained cities and counties.
House Bill 3789B - This legislation weaponizes the legal system in favor of politically connected public-sector unions while providing no real protection to Oregon workers. HB 3789 claims to protect public employees from fraudulent impersonation of union representatives. However, the legislation is deliberately crafted to target a single nonprofit organization—the Freedom Foundation. Despite its claims, the bill’s sponsors failed to provide a single verified incident of false impersonation by the Freedom Foundation or anyone else. Oregon’s existing laws already criminalize impersonation of individuals or organizations, including unions.
During what we call the interim, or the time between now and the next session, I will continue to work on developing more policy that would benefit Oregonians. Have ideas about what would help your family or business the most? I would love to hear from you!
I am honored to serve you and our community. Please stay in touch and reach out if there are any issues you would like us to work on.
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All my best,
 Representative Lucetta Elmer
House District 24
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1424
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-390, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.LucettaElmer@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/elmer
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