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To contact me, please click here: Sen.CourtneyNeronMisslin@oregonlegislature.gov
The 2026 Short Legislative Session has come to a close. Over 35 days, we worked to protect essential services, address the rising cost of living, and defend the rights and wellbeing of Oregonians.
A few highlights from the session to begin:
- Pushed back against federal overreach with a robust immigrant justice package.
- Protected reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare for patients and providers.
- Expanded the Earned Income Tax Credit for 200,000 Oregon families.
- Invested in housing, childcare, and wildlife conservation.
Below you’ll find a summary of the bills I worked on, plus a broader list of key accomplishments from the legislature, and updates on projects in our community.
 Four TTSD grads in the Capitol Rotunda on the final day of session: Senator Courtney Neron Misslin; House Legislative Aide to Representative Hartman, Kavi Shrestha; House Majority Leader, Ben Bowman; and House Member Services Director & Policy Advisor, Abdirahim Mohamoud.
Before I review more legislation details, first let me remind you of tomorrow's Town Hall. Please join me, House Majority Leader Ben Bowman, Representative Sue Rieke Smith, and Tigard Mayor Hu this Saturday, March 14 from 2:30-4 at the Tigard Public Works Auditorium (8777 SW Burnham St, Tigard). RSVP by clicking on the image or this link: http://bit.ly/4aAN7ae
For the 35-day session, legislators were able to introduce two bills. I continue to pursue education and climate policies that meet the moment and so introduced two important policies: School Meals for All (SB 1581), and Community-Based Power (SB 1582).
- Thanks to legislative and federal efforts over the past decade, including setting up the Hunger Free Schools Account as part of the Student Success Act in 2019, Oregon has universal school meals in all but 3 of our 197 school districts. This year, the Trump administration rolled back SNAP benefits from immigrant and refugee families. Combined with soaring grocery prices and data that shows school meals help address chronic absenteeism, nutritional needs, and stigma, it is clear that it is time to become a universal school meals state. We will try again in 2027.
- My Community-Based Power bill hit a snag mid-session, so we will also return after watching Colorado implement their program. I will be attending multiple conferences this summer to continue building my understanding of energy strategy and grid modernization, but I look forward to returning in 2027 to pass a well-worked version of our bill. If you would like to learn more about Community-Based Power, or Virtual Power Plants, I highly recommend listening to the VOLTS podcast which goes in depth about its current and future potential.
 My days were packed with committee hearings, constituent meetings, policy work, and Senate floor voting sessions. I’m grateful for all the people who come to the People’s House to make their voice heard.
My team and I passed several important measures in partnership with colleagues. Here is a article from OPB summarizing the session, and here are a few highlights of the bills I co-chief sponsored and carried in the Senate that are now headed to the Governor's desk for signature:
We Protected Reproductive Healthcare Patients and Providers: HB 4088 upholds patients and providers rights in Oregon (when they seek or provide already legal reproductive or gender-affirming healthcare in Oregon) from legal attacks originating out of state.
We Established Oregon’s Battery Producer Responsibility Program: HB 4144 will reduce costly fires in our landfills, protect human health, and improve materials recovery by requiring battery manufacturers selling in Oregon to be responsible for collecting and recycling used batteries.
We Put Oregon Homebuyers Before Billionaires: HB 4128 ensures that Oregonians will not be competing with Wall Street to buy a home. This bill gives local homebuyers a fair shot at purchasing homes by making private equity firms wait 90 days for local buyers to make first offers when homes come on the market. .
We Stabilized Animal Rescues: HB 4034 fixes oversight structures for animal rescue entities so that they do not have such steep fines for benign paperwork violations. It allows more resources to go directly to animal welfare.
We Responded to the Severe Lack of Accessible Housing for People with Disabilities: SB 1576 expands accessible housing options so people with mobility challenges and disabilities can more easily find safe, affordable homes that meet their needs.
We Strengthened Wage Theft Protections: HB 4089 cracks down on wage theft by bad actors who see penalties as simply a cost of doing business. It establishes targeted criminal accountability for contractors who knowingly work with unlicensed labor brokers and increases the likelihood that workers will receive the pay they earn.
We Closed a Predatory Lending Loophole: HB 4116 reaffirms Oregon’s longstanding 36% ceiling on consumer loans. Out-of-state digital loan sharks will no longer be able to prey on vulnerable customers with triple-digit interest rates. More on our significant consumer justice accomplishments here.
We Established Stable Revenue Wildlife Conservation and & Wildfire Mitigation: HB 4134 ensures that for every $100 spent on hotel stays, a $1.25 will be directed to protect wildlife habitat and reduce wildfire risk. This modest increase to our statewide transient lodging tax will safeguard Oregon’s animals, communities, and natural resources heritage.
We addressed the need for Mixed Income Housing Development Loan Fund: SB 1567 creates a revolving loan fund and directs $20 million to it in order to increase low-income and mixed income housing supply and make more homes more affordable.
We Disconnected from harmful components of Federal Tax Code: SB 1507 expands the Earned Income Tax Credit for 200,000 Oregon families, created a new tax credit for businesses that bring jobs to Oregon, and helped the legislature mitigate the harms of the federal tax provisions that passed immediately following our 2025 legislative session. Passing SB1507 is a first step to reducing harmful cuts to services Oregonians rely on. Its partner bill, HB4014, did not pass, so we still need to have a critical conversation around international multimillion-dollar corporations who may unfairly benefit from legislative inaction. Addressing this issue further in future sessions could help Oregon avoid leaving hundreds of millions more dollars on the table each biennium.
We Delivered Critical Protections through our Immigrant Justice Package: HB 4079, HB 4114, HB 4138, and SB 1570 are among the many important bills that strengthen protections against unlawful immigration enforcement in homes, protect privacy and safety in hospitals and schools, and provide support to respond to ICE activities in our communities. We allocated funding to ensure the children of those detained or deported are provided the resources they need to stay fed, housed, and secure and we reinforced the right to due process by funding immigration legal services. A quick summary of Immigration Justice Session Accomplishments can be found here and news coverage here.
 This was my view of the thousands of student protesters who walked out of school to demonstrate on the capitol lawn against harsh immigration enforcement tactics and in support of bills like HB4079 (alerts if ICE is confirmed on campus.)
Click here for the Statesman Journal article covering the Febr 27 student protest in the picture above: https://www.statesmanjournal.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2026/02/27/see-photos-from-salem-keizer-student-walkout-for-immigration-rights/88901278007/
The investments I've secured in past sessions are supporting infrastructure in our community:
- The Sherwood Pedestrian Bridge opened last year and is getting a significant amount of foot traffic. ($4 million to support the total funding needed)
- Transit Oriented Housing is nearing completion, so our Wilsonville Community Sharing food bank will move into its new space next month. (Nearly $2 million for ground floor services infrastructure.)
- Just Compassion has expanded to deliver services and safe shelter to more community members in need. ($500,000 toward construction of the new facility)
- The new Wilsonville Public Works building has resilient broadband. ($1 million state dollars for broadband improvements in the region)
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Tigard is gearing up for the May decision when voters will decide whether or not to Build a Safer Tigard. In partnership with Reps Bowman and Rieke Smith, I delivered $3 million in state dollars for early preparation efforts because I understand that it is time for Tigard to replace aging and inadequate public safety facilities for our growing city.
 Tigard has made a strong case to fund this new public safety facility, ensuring modern and efficient emergency response, and embedding accountability oversight by community members.
We are now focused on guarding recent state investments in Senate District 13. Thanks to collective advocacy, we successfully protected 2025 investments this session, including:
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I-5 "Boone" Bridge Seismic Improvement Project: I secured $1 million from the state for initial study and design work. We are leveraging those dollars in partnership with Congresswoman Andrea Salinas for $4 million additional federal funding to ensure the project is shovel ready. Even though it was high on the cuts list, we successfully defended this investment from getting cut this session.
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Washington County Courthouse Replacement Planning: Also in 2025, the Washington County caucus secured $1.25 million in matching funds for planning the replacement of our ageing and seismically unsafe courthouse. During this challenging budget cycle, we defended that investment and preserved the $1.25 million in state matching funds that were on the early cuts list.
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Employment Related Day Care (ERDC): We hear a lot about access to affordable childcare for working families. These investments are essential for a healthy local economy. We worked with partners to secure $68 million to stabilize the program. We will continue to look at solutions to stabilize childcare across the state.
One primary purpose of Oregon’s short legislative session is to adjust the state budget.
Shortly after the 2025 legislative session ended, Congress passed H.R.1, reducing federal support to Oregon by roughly $900 million. That meant we had to revise the budget to maintain essential services.
As Chair of the Natural Resources Ways and Means Subcommittee, I worked with colleagues and agencies to:
- Strategically delay hiring where possible
- Reduce spending while maintaining essential programs
- Protect jobs and core services
Thanks to a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast and the passage of SB 1507 to disconnect from portions of federal tax code, Oregon preserved $311 million for key services including health care, childcare, education, and public safety.
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My fantastic team who makes this work possible. Chief of Staff Marcella Martinson and Legislative Assistant Gianluca Scoppa are a dynamic duo who manage my schedule, offer constituent services, and help me move my policy agenda forward. We have collaborated with SO many offices this cycle. Our office is often humming with activity and problem solving. I am grateful for the way they welcome people to the Senate District office and serve with such wisdom and compassion. Thank you, Team! |
 I also want to give a shout out to the amazing Senate Majority Office staff, President’s Office staff, and our Enviro Caucus Chief of Staff, Kathryn Duvall. They have all worked incredibly hard to produce, monitor, and inform policies and processes this session. What an incredible crew to work with!
 When the final gavel of session falls, these double doors open so the Speaker of the House and the Senate President can see across the building to each other. Members of the Senate and House then meet in the middle of the rotunda to shake hands. Due to walkouts, COVID, and construction, this tradition hasn't been part of most of my sessions. It was wonderful that we were able to revive that tradition this year.
Although the session has ended, legislative work continues throughout the year.
Key upcoming dates include:
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Legislative Committee Meetings in Salem: June 15–17, Sept 8–10, Dec 1–3
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Revenue Forecasts: May 20, Aug 26, and Nov 18
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Bill concepts due: Sept 11 for the 2027 session
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Elections/Ballots Due: May 19 and Nov 3
During this interim period, I’ll be attending conferences, engaging with community members and meeting with stakeholders to work grouping policy ideas for the 2027 legislative session.
 I was thrilled to have so many Senate District 13 students visit me in the capitol this session. Cassie Brooks’s Sherwood Middle School Civics class visited, and I also welcomed many district students participating in our Senate floor sessions through the wonderful Honorary Page Program run by our Sergeant at Arms, Misty McCord.
 As we move into spring, I encourage everyone to spend time outdoors and find the beautiful places we have close to home. Here are some Oregon grape and daffodils blooming in my neighborhood this week. Do the things that help you stay hopeful and connected in this broken world. Keep nurturing growth and understanding in these very divided times.
We are stronger together.
As always, please reach out if you have questions, ideas, or concerns about issues affecting our community.
Sincerely,
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1713
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, S-425, Salem, OR 97301
Email: Sen.CourtneyNeronMisslin@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/neron
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