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To contact me, please click here: Rep.EmersonLevy@oregonlegislature.gov

Friends,

The legislative session has officially come to a close, and I wanted to take a moment to share an update on the work we accomplished in Salem over the past five weeks. It was a fast-paced session with many long days on the House floor as legislators worked to move priorities across the finish line.

I am proud to share that we achieved the goals we set for this session, including:

• Passing both of our priority bills: the Battery Recycling Program and protections for students experiencing homelessness 
• Addressing recreational liability, an issue that has challenged Oregon since 2014
• Advancing an AI chatbot bill to protect children who are engaging in conversations with chatbots about mental health
• Maintaining our Natural Resource Agency budgets without major program cuts

Reaching an agreement on recreational liability waivers is a particularly significant accomplishment. This issue has been debated in Oregon for years, and finding a path forward required extensive negotiation and collaboration among legislators, advocates, and community partners.

I am incredibly proud of our office and of the Representatives, Senators, and stakeholders who worked together to make this progress possible. Our team worked hard throughout the session to stay responsive to constituents and responding to casework requests, such as unemployment, paid leave, or insurance issues, within 24 hours.

Thank you to everyone who reached out, testified, and made your voices heard this session. Your engagement is an essential part of the legislative process.

It is truly an honor to represent you in Salem. When I look around the House Chamber, with its green chairs and Douglas fir carpet, I’m reminded of the history that has taken place there and the responsibility we share to serve our communities well.

My door is always open.

Warmly,

2026 Legislative Session Highlights

Protecting Our Outdoor Industry

On the second to last day of the legislative session, I rose on the House Floor to carry SB 1517, a bill protecting outdoor recreation in Oregon, one of our state's main economic engines.  

I have spent significant time this session working on this legislation, aiming to provide clarity around liability waivers for businesses like gyms, ski areas, and many other recreation providers - many of them who call Bend home. This issue has brought together a wide range of perspectives, from small businesses to consumer advocates, and has required extensive negotiation. Throughout the process, I emphasized the importance of finding a workable path to push for productive compromise and protect Oregonians who live to recreate like you and me.  Oregon may be approaching an insurance availability crisis, and the Legislature must continue working toward solutions that keep recreation, small businesses, and community organizations accessible to Oregonians in our beautiful state.  I’m so proud of this bill, the way it came together, all the people and volunteers who take care of our trails.

State Funding Secured for OSU-Cascades Student Health & Recreation Center

The Legislature approved $42 million in state-backed bonds to help build a new student health and recreation center at Oregon State University, Cascades, an important investment in the growing campus and in students here in Central Oregon.

Right now, students only have access to a small fitness room in the residence hall. The planned 40,000-square-foot facility will create the first dedicated space on campus focused on health, wellness, and recreation.

The new center will include:

• Indoor fitness and recreation spaces
• On-site clinical health services and mental health counseling
• Two outdoor recreation fields

The project also includes remediating 24 acres of land, creating space for the recreation center and future campus growth like academic buildings and student housing. Students helped make this project possible. In 2017, they voted to increase student fees and committed $20 million toward building a recreation and health center. Construction is expected to begin in 2028 after site preparation is complete. This investment will help support student success and strengthen OSU-Cascades’ role in our region.

Lowering Costs and Supporting Working Families

The Legislature passed several measures to help Oregonians manage rising costs while protecting funding for essential services by:

• Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, the largest increase in state history, providing tax relief to more than 200,000 low- and moderate-income Oregonians
• Preserving $291 million for schools, health care, and public safety by closing select tax preferences that lacked clear evidence of creating jobs in Oregon

We also passed legislation to:

• Help Oregon homebuyers compete for single-family homes.
• Improve transparency in ticket sales
• Eliminate cost-sharing for cervical cancer screenings
• Protect families from unsafe car seats sold online

Together, these bipartisan efforts support working families and strengthen economic stability across Oregon.

Expanding Housing Opportunities Across Oregon

Oregon continues to face a shortage of affordable homes. This session, we passed laws to help more people find safe, stable, and affordable housing:

• Making room for more housing – Cities can add land for housing, including for older adults and manufactured homes, while keeping affordability rules in place (HB 4035 & HB 4082)
• Protecting existing affordable homes – $100 million is dedicated to preserving affordable homes that might otherwise be converted to market-rate
• Supporting mixed-income communities – These loans help developers build neighborhoods with both affordable and market-rate units (SB 1567)
• Stronger protections for renters – Policies ensure non-digital application options and strengthen disaster recovery assistance
• Safer, more inclusive housing – Smoke-free multi-unit buildings and accessibility standards ensure housing is healthy and welcoming to everyone (HB 4120, SB 1576)

Making Health Care More Accessible and Affordable

We passed a series of laws to make health care more accessible, affordable, and safer:

• Support for moms and babies – Medicaid now covers doula and lactation services, and cervical cancer screenings are free, helping families have healthier pregnancies and early detection of serious health issues (SB 1527, SB 1568)
• Protecting rural and emergency care – Rural hospitals can now qualify as rural emergency hospitals, keeping services and ambulances close to home (HB 4047, HB 4156)
• Clearer services and better rural access – Urgent care centers must clearly list the care they offer, and mobile pharmacies must deliver prescriptions to rural areas (HB 4107, HB 4131)
• Easier mental health care – Less paperwork, clear credentialing, and safety plans for behavioral health staff means faster, safer care for people with mental health or substance use needs (HB 4069, HB 4070, HB 4083, SB 1547)
• Financial protections for patients – Expanded screening for financial assistance at hospitals, and patients have more choice in providers, helping prevent surprise medical bills (HB 4040)

These laws help families get the care they need when they need it, protect patients from surprise costs, and make our health system stronger for everyone.

Strengthening Care and Protections for Seniors

This session, we passed important laws to protect some of Oregon’s most vulnerable residents, seniors in long-term or hospice care:

• Stronger rules for care facilities: Residential and hospice facilities now face clearer safety standards, better licensing, and more oversight to prevent abuse, fraud, and substandard care (SB 1532 & SB 1575)
• Medical marijuana in hospice and palliative care: Facilities must now allow patients to use medical marijuana safely for comfort and pain management, with staff trained on proper administration (HB 4142)
• $7.77 billion in dedicated funding for the Department of Human Services, supporting child welfare, aging services, and self-sufficiency programs

These laws help give families peace of mind that our seniors are safe, cared for, and treated with dignity. 

Supporting our Youth

This session, we passed a wide range of measures to support students from early childhood through higher education, strengthen school safety, and make sure every Oregon student has the tools to succeed.

Free books for kids from birth to age 5: The Oregon Imagination Library will send monthly books to young children, helping build literacy and a love of reading from the very start Support for students experiencing homelessness: (My priority bill!) By codifying the federal McKinney Vento Act, ensuring homeless students have equal access to education

Stronger school safety: All schools will have cardiac emergency response plans and new options for administering life-saving epinephrine, keeping students safe in emergencies Better data and oversight: Schools will now report attendance quarterly, and higher education governance will be studied to improve access, collaboration, and efficiency across Oregon colleges and universities Online safety for children: New rules for AI chatbots and digital tools help protect kids from harmful online content As a mom and your State Representative, I know how important it is that our kids have the support and protection they need to grow up safe, healthy, and happy.

Addressing ODOT’s Budget Challenges

This session, the Legislature approved a bipartisan plan to stabilize the budget for the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). While no one is happy with the cuts included, lawmakers agreed this short-term compromise was necessary to address the agency’s $288 million budget shortfall.

The plan includes:

• Pausing some transportation projects and temporarily redirecting funds to operations and maintenance
• Reducing vacant positions and shifting funding across several programs
• Closing the gap through a mix of 27% reductions and 73% budget shifts and redirected funds

Importantly, the plan avoids layoffs or cuts to filled positions, helping maintain core transportation services. While this does not solve ODOT’s long-term funding challenges, it provides short-term stability as work begins on a long-term solution for Oregon’s transportation system.

Ballot Referendum Vote

One of the most closely watched bills this session, SB 1599, moves the statewide vote on transportation funding to the May 19 primary election rather than the November ballot.

Throughout the session, I heard from many constituents about this proposal. I received hundreds of emails asking me to oppose moving the vote to May, and listening to the people I represent is one of the most important parts of this job.

While there are budget reasons for holding the vote earlier in the year, it was important to me to reflect the feedback I heard from our community. Looking ahead, the Legislature will return to this issue in 2027, when we will need a bipartisan approach to ensure stable, long-term funding for Oregon’s transportation system so we can continue maintaining safe and reliable roads across the state.

A Note from Our Congresswoman: The Congressional Art Competition page is live!

The 2026 Congressional Art Competition is officially under way. Students from all over Representative Bynum’s district are encouraged to submit their art and be considered for this prestigious award. The form to Apply to the 2026 Congressional Art Competition is live now, check it out here! 

The Congressional Institute facilitates the competition and you can learn more about the history of the program here.

The deadline for students to submit their artwork is April 10, 2026. 

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1453
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-486, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.EmersonLevy@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/levye​