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To contact me, please click here: Rep.TravisNelson@oregonlegislature.gov
Final Stretch Before Session
The legislature wrapped up the final legislative days of the 2025/2026 interim last week, our focus has been on preparing for the upcoming 2026 legislative session, which begins Monday, February 2nd. Committees have been reviewing agency budgets, preparing for the introduction of legislative concepts, and laying the groundwork for the policy debates ahead. This preparation helps ensure we’re ready to move efficiently once the gavel drops.
Here’s a look at what we’ve been working on and what’s coming next.
Execution of Alex Pretti
Before I get into my legislative update, I have to talk about the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents. His death was a senseless act at the hands of thugs sent by the federal government.
This hits home for many nurses in our county. Like Alex, I have a background in critical care nursing and have spent a lot of my adult life protesting in the streets. Alex was a nurse who worked with veterans. Given his skill level, he could have chosen to work anywhere, but he chose to work as a critical care nurse saving the lives and extending the lives of veterans in our country. He died trying to protect a woman that ICE was attacking. He was NOT a domestic terrorist who wants to overthrow the United States government and kill cops. He was a nurse protecting the rights of others.
I do not buy what I am hearing from the Trump administration, and I cannot trust an administration that is coming to conclusions before there is even an investigation. We have to band together and stand stronger than ever because we have a federal administration that does not care about every single American.
They want us to be silent. They do not want us speaking up, but it is more important than ever that we use our voices to push back against this ridiculousness that is coming from the federal government. I am joining others across the country in demanding that ICE be abolished. We have to have a system in place to deal with immigration and I think there is a way to do that, but this is NOT the way. As it stands today, ICE must be abolished!
It is important to remember Alex and that we continue to use our voices to protect the rights he was fighting for on January 24th.
Town Hall Reminder!
A reminder that my upcoming town hall with Senator Frederick and Representative Sanchez is approaching soon. We hope you’ll join us to share your questions, priorities, and ideas as we head into session.
Saturday, January 31st, at PCC-Cascade in the MAHB Auditorium starting at noon.
Legislative Days
Committees convened earlier this month to introduce committee bills and learn more about what to expect during the short session. You can learn more about my committees below.
This work is central to ensuring Oregon’s health and human services systems are adequately funded and responsive heading into session. You can watch the full committee meeting here.
Meeting Topics
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Non-State Employee Collective Bargaining at the Department of Human Services and Oregon Health Authority
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Department of Human Services Fall 2025 Rebalance
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HR 1 Implementation Costs for DHS and OHA
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Oregon Health Authority Fall 2025 Rebalance
Committee Members
-Co-Chair Senator Winsvey Campos
-Co-Chair Representative Andrea Valderrama
-Senator Sara Gelser Blouin
-Senator Cedric Hayden
-Representative Ed Diehl
-Representative Cyrus Javadi
-Representative Travis Nelson
-Representative Anna Scharf
You can watch the full committee meeting here.
 Informational Overviews
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Mandatory subjects of collective bargaining for school districts
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Regulation of labor contractors
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Strengthening child labor law protections
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Additional legislative concepts related to labor and workforce development
Committee Members
-Chair Representative Dacia Grayber
-Vice-Chair Representative Lesly Muñoz
-Vice-Chair Representative Anna Scharf
-Representative Shelly Boshart Davis
-Representative Matt Bunch
-Representative Lisa Fragala
-Representative Travis Nelson
-Representative Sue Rieke Smith
Health care policy will again be a major focus this session, especially as Oregon navigates budget constraints and federal changes. As Vice-Chair I will be ensuring the voices of Oregonians and House District 44 do not get lost in the process. You can watch the full committee meeting here.
Informational Meetings
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2026 Committee Omnibus Bill Preview (LC 241)
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HR 1 implementation updates from the Oregon Health Authority
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Overview of the Affordable Care Act in Oregon
Committee Members
-Chair Representative Rob Nosse
-Vice-Chair Representative Travis Nelson
-Vice-Chair Representative Ed Diehl
-Representative Darin Harbick
-Representative Cyrus Javadi
-Representative Emily McIntire
-Representative Lesly Muñoz
-Representative Hai Pham
2026 Session Bills Sneak Peak
Each legislator can only introduce two bills during short session. Both of my personal bills focus on worker protections.
House Bill 4093 - Workplace Disability Protections
Compared to other states, Oregon ranks in the middle for people with disabilities who are employed. This still leaves people with disabilities disproportionately unemployed, poor, and with few options. Employees with disabilities are still being discriminated against, not receiving accommodation or are losing their employment because of their disability. HB 4093 addresses four ways that Oregon can improve working conditions for people with disabilities to increase participation in the workforce.
1) Informational Resources about Reasonable Accommodations:
- The Bureau of Labor and Industry will put resources for workers on their website to help employees know their rights and protections. Similar to their Disability accommodation toolkit for employers.
2) Physical Requirements in Job Postings:
- Employers cannot use minimum physical requirements in a job posting to screen out people with disabilities without connecting the physical requirements to the essential functions of the job.
3) Assistance in Reasonable Accommodation Meetings
- An employer must allow an employee to have a support person join them in any meetings about reasonable accommodation. The support person must keep the employee’s personal health information confidential. The support person includes:
- The employee’s union representative.
- The employee’s authorized legal representative.
- The social worker assigned to the employee.
- An organization or individual who advocates for people with disabilities.
4) Adding Local Governments to Unlawful Discrimination Statutes
- It is an unlawful practice for state or local government to exclude an individual from participation in or deny an individual the benefits of the services, programs or activities of state or local government to make any distinction, discrimination or restriction because the individual has a disability.
House Bill 4094 - Earned Vacation Payout
Employees who leave a job may be paid for unused vacation or PTO only if their employment policy provides for it. If an employer fails to pay despite such a policy, the employee can file a complaint with BOLI, but typically only a warning is issued. To obtain the payment, the employee must pursue the matter through the courts. This leaves inconsistency in vacation and PTO payout policies with employees having little recourse to receive their earned leave payments. Workers lose out on valuable income during a potentially challenging time.
HB 4094 will require employers who offers earned vacation or paid time off to treat those hours as wages and must payout at 100% of current salary to the employee at the end of employment.
Considerations made for employers:
- All sick leave is exempt unless otherwise stated in employment policy.
- Personal business days, holidays and floating holidays are also exempt.
- Employers may limit how and when vacation hours are used, known as “use it or lose it” policies, provided employees receive reasonable opportunities to take vacation leave. Employees must receive 90 days’ notice before leave hours expire to allow for vacation to be taken with proper job coverage. The end of employment is not to be treated as forfeiture of earned vacation leave under these policies.
- The bill only applies to vacation leave earned on or after the effective date and to contracts entered into, renewed, or extended on or after the effective date.
HB 4094 will raise revenue for the state and help workers when they need it the most.
Honorary Page Program Applications Open!!
The 2026 House Honorary Page Program is now open for applications. This one-day program gives students a hands-on opportunity to learn about the legislative process at the Oregon State Capitol.
Program Details
Apply by filling out the 2026 House Honorary Page Application
For questions, contact Civics.Education@oregonlegislature.gov or call the Chief Clerk’s Office at 503-986-1870. Please feel free to share this opportunity with students and families.
Legislative Breakfast wit the City of Portland
I joined other legislators, Mayor Wilson, and City Councilors to talk about the city's legislative priorities for the 2026 session.
We discussed the need to be unified in responding to federal overreach and protecting our communities. I signed on as a sponsor of several bills to address concerns with ICE. We also discussed economic development, the proposal for renovating the Moda Center, the transportation package, and all of the hard budget decisions we will be making this session and in future sessions. I reminded everyone that we need to keep an equity lens at both levels of government when making budget and policy decisions.
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Community Resources and Updates
I would like to provide a few resources and updates that you might find helpful.
How to Identify a City of Portland Utility Worker
Like many of you, I have been concerned about ICE agents posing as utility workers to detain immigrants. The City of Portland has put together this guide to identify utility workers. Here are some key takeaways:
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Call 3-1-1 to better understand why City of Portland employees might be in your area. If you feel unsafe or threatened by a person on your private property, call 9-1-1.
- City of Portland workers will not ask to enter your home or business without an appointment. It is also not common for a City of Portland worker to ask you to exit your home.
Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers
Senate Bill 916 that allows for Unemployment Insurance for worker who are on strike, went into effect on January 4th. The Oregon Employment Department has created a website with information about Unemployment Insurance benefits for striking workers.
If you are out of work because of a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute, you may be eligible for benefits from the Unemployment Insurance Program.
- When you are involved in a strike or lockout, you can file an initial application for benefits or restart your existing claim.
- Answer the question about why you are out of work by noting that you are still working for the employer involved in the strike. Under reason for separation, choose “strike or lockout.”
Update on St. Johns Day Center
After my visit to the center, my office reached out to the City and Trimet to ask them to work with the county and Do Good to address some of the concerns we heard. I was glad to hear that the city's Bureau of Planning and Sustainability was able to get an extra garbage can for the New York side of the building. They are also looking into ways to shift clean up crews to the site more often. I am hoping that Do Good and the staff at the center will be able to make use of the extra garbage to keep the area clean.
Trimet is aware of the issues with the bench in front of the center. They have an established process for removing advertising benches and the request for this bench is moving through that process. They will keep me updated on this request.
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Recent Community Events
As usual, I tried to make time to get out to community events these last few months. I attended several events honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Portland Trail Blazers Nurse Night
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It was an honor to be invited Nurse Night with Nurse.org and the Portland Trail Blazers recognizing nurses for their dedication and impact. Becoming a registered nurse was one of the most meaningful decisions of my life, and it continues to guide the work I do in the legislature. Thank you to the Trail Blazers for honoring the nurses who show up for our communities every day! |
American Federation of Teachers Winter Meeting
I attended the American Federation of Teachers winter meeting, joining educators and labor leaders to discuss the challenges facing schools and education workers across Oregon. These conversations help ensure education policy reflects the real experiences of those working in classrooms every day.
Urban League MLK Day Event
I was grateful to join community leaders, advocates and change makers at the Urban League of Portland’s MLK Day Brunch, honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For over 80 years, the Urban League has worked to advance equity in education, economic opportunity, health, and justice. The event served as both a celebration of Dr. King’s vision and a renewed call to action for meaningful, justice-driven change.
You can learn more about the Urban League and the incredible work they do here.
Rip City Remix MLK Day Game
I ended my MLK Day by attending Rip City Remix's celebration game to honor Dr. Kings life and legacy. The Remix partnered with Black Parents Initiative for the evening to raise funds for the organization.
I was interviewed on the live broadcast during the second quarter to talk about the importance of the Remix being located in our community.
I also had an opportunity to chat with Secretary of State Tabias Read during half time. Secretary Read is one of the few Oregon politicians who is actually taller than me. I am glad he had a chance to catch a game in the district.
I can't wait to see more games at the Chiles Center and the impact having a G League team will have on the Blazers.
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NAACP: The Pillars and Intersections of Racial Equity
It was a pleasure to join several other Black community leaders at the NAACP Vancouver Branch for the Four Pillars of Racial Equity panel. We had a robust conversation about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and the importance of continuing the fight for equity and inclusion.
As always, thank you for staying engaged, and I look forward to keeping you updated as session gets underway.
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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