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Replies to this message are sent to an unmonitored mailbox. To contact me, please click here: Sen.FloydProzanski@oregonlegislature.gov. If you're having trouble viewing this message, please visit my legislative web page at http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/prozanski/ then click "News and Information" on the left.
Dear friends,
I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and fun Fourth of July while celebrating America's 250th birthday! Despite the erosion of rights and the division being sowed by the current federal administration, I believe our country has a bright and equitable future because Americans share more values than current news stories indicate. I believe most Americans still value neighborliness, honesty, integrity, respect, kindness and character, and that those values can help us work together for a better future for us all.
From June 15-17, the Legislature met for "Legislative Days" to hold informational hearings in advance of our 2027 session. The Senate Committee on Judiciary, which I chair, met on June 15 to take up multiple issues, including a report from the Oregon Sunshine Committee, which is tasked with making recommendations to make state government more transparent. The Senate held a floor session on June 17 to approve a slate of appointments by the Governor to various boards and commissions. Agendas, meeting recordings and materials are available for review on the Legislature's website (OLIS).
Also during Legislative Days last month, the Governor held a series of bill signing ceremonies during which advocates for significant legislation from the 2026 "short" session came together to observe signings of legislation they worked on. Among the bills that Governor Kotek ceremoniously signed were several that passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee including HB 4045 ("Kristil's Law"). You can read about Kristil's Law in my e-bulletin from March.
I spoke during a bill signing ceremony for SB 1515 (wrongful conviction) attended by Senator Anthony Broadman, Representative Willy Chotzen, Senator James Manning, Senator Kim Thatcher, Senator Bruce Starr, Representative Hai Pham, and Senator Sara Gelser Blouin (left to right) with advocates and exonerees, recognizing Sen. Thatcher for her important work on the bill.
Finally, I am humbled to share that, in addition to being nominated as the Democratic nominee for Senate District 4 ahead of the November general election, I also received the Republican nomination by write-in vote. Throughout my time in the Legislature, I've been proud to work across the aisle to find common-sense solutions for our district and state.
Below you will find information on:
- Session Accomplishments: Jobs, Economy & Workforce
- Planning a Summer Road Trip? Learn About Highway Construction
I hope this information is helpful and informative for you or someone you know. As always, feel free to share your comments, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail.
Session Accomplishments: Jobs, Economy & Workforce
Following the 2026 short Legislative Session, I'm sharing in-depth summaries of bills passed by subject area. Below is a comprehensive listing of accomplishments related to jobs, economy & workforce — by Senate/House bill and in numeric order:
Senate Bills
SB 1507 - Closing Tax Loopholes for Billionaires and Large Corporations: When the Trump administration enacted massive tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthy in 2025, hundreds of millions of dollars for key Oregon services like health care, education, and public safety were stripped away. This legislation puts more money into working Oregonians' pockets by cutting taxes on low- to moderate-income families. The measure encourages job creation by businesses in Oregon.
SB 1510 - Omnibus Tax Measure: This legislation expands tax credits for film production in Oregon, modifies property-tax exemption filing exceptions, extends property tax exemptions for cargo containers, modifies the allowable uses of tribal fuel taxes in order to give tribal communities more autonomy, and modifies pass-through entity alternative income tax provisions.
SB 1512 - Expanding Prosperity 10,000: In 2022, the Legislature enacted a $200 million package of workforce development investments known as Future Ready Oregon (SB 1545). Of that investment, $35 million was directed toward local workforce development boards under a program known as Prosperity 10,000. This legislation bolsters Prosperity 10,000 by directing regional workforce boards to focus on labor shortages, targeted industries, and leverage of federal and private funding.
SB 1513 - Real Estate Terms: In 2025, HB 3137 allowed associated real estate licensees in a main real estate office or in a branch office to form a real estate team with the approval of the managing principal broker. This legislation pushes back the date to prohibit a real estate team using the terms "realty" or "real estate" in their registered business name in order to give real estate agents time to comply with HB 3137, as requested by the industry.
SB 1517 - Recreational Liability Waivers: Ambiguity around enforcement of recreational waivers led to insurance companies being reluctant to issue coverage or else charge steep rates to Oregon's recreational businesses. This legislation — on which I worked diligently with stakeholders to champion — gives new protections to business owners across Oregon who make their livelihood providing access to recreation, specifying that waivers for ordinary negligence can be enforced in Oregon.
SB 1518 - Codifying Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Home Care Workers: This legislation ensures home care workers will continue to earn at least minimum wage and qualify for overtime pay. SB 1518 is in response to a U.S. Department of Labor proposed rule.
SB 1519 - Total Disability Payments: Current law provides workers with time-loss benefits equal to 66 and two-thirds percent of their average weekly wage or the state's average weekly wage, whichever is lesser. Oftentimes, this means that workers on temporary disability get paid just over half of what they would earn if they were working. This legislation addresses the problem by increasing the amount of compensation a worker on temporary total disability receives from workers' compensation insurance to 75 percent of their average weekly wage.
SB 1520 - Paid Leave Oregon Rulemaking: In January 2025, the Internal Revenue Service issued a ruling on the federal tax treatment of paid family and medical leave insurance benefit. The ruling states that any portion of medical leave benefits funded by employer contributions is subject to payroll taxes, leaving the state to pay these payroll taxes or transfer the cost to employers. This legislation gives the Oregon Employment Department the authority to adopt rules that bring the Paid Leave Oregon program in compliance with tax reporting and withholding requirements without additional costs to the program or the worker.
SB 1525 – Blue Economy Task Force: This legislation supports Oregon's rural coastal communities by establishing the Blue Economy Task Force. The task force will study and report on existing economic development plans, strategies, and opportunities to support the growth of sustainable blue economy businesses while maintaining the health of Oregon's coastal ecosystems.
SB 1544 - Modernize and Streamline Transportation Oversight: The Statewide Transportation Improvement Fund (STIF) supports public transportation investments but operates within a broader transportation system overseen by the Oregon Transportation Commission and the Oregon Joint Committee on Transportation. However, current laws governing transportation funding and related industries have created regulatory and funding structures that require periodic updates to ensure effective oversight, compliance, and transportation system support. SB 1544 improves transportation accountability and efficiency by directing the Oregon Department of Transportation to establish a "transportation university," enhance performance reporting, refocus regional offices on core highway functions, streamline dismantler certification requirements, and update STIF fund distribution processes.
SB 1556 - Representation in the Oregon Tax Court: This legislation creates a single statute that makes explicit the current standards on who may represent a party in front of the Magistrate Division of the Oregon Tax Court.
SB 1565 - Increase Snowmobile Registration Fees: Current state law sets the snowmobile registration fee at $10 for a two-year period, which has not kept pace with the costs of maintaining winter recreation infrastructure. As a result, funding for programs such as the Oregon Sno-Park that support snowmobile access and parking is increasingly insufficient. This legislation increases snowmobile registration and renewal fees from $10 to $30 to ensure adequate funding for program administration, safety, and related services.
House Bills
HB 4004 - Small Tract Forestland Special Assessments Program: This legislation pushes back the imposition of certain taxes under the Small Tract Forestland Special Assessment Program otherwise required due to the inability of landowners to meet stocking and species requirements due to Douglas fir mortality.
HB 4007 - Regulate Powered Micromobility and Launch Milk Truck Pilot: Rapid growth of micromobility devices has introduced new transportation uses that are not clearly addressed within existing vehicle size and weight regulations under Oregon current laws. As Oregon reviews transportation cost allocation and system impacts, policymakers face a need to ensure current laws appropriately reflect emerging transportation modes. This legislation establishes clear safety standards for powered micromobility devices, authorizes local regulation, creates new violations and penalties, directs the Oregon Department of Transportation to launch a five-year overweight milk truck pilot program, and adjusts reporting timelines for the Highway Cost Allocation Study.
HB 4012 - Targeted Assessments: This legislation requires the Construction Contractors Board and the Bureau of Labor and Industries to carry out a targeted assessment initiative on the use of unlicensed labor contractors and unlicensed construction labor contractors from January 1 through July 1, 2027, and make suggestions for future legislation, with the goal of better supporting working Oregonians.
HB 4013 - Protecting Labor Standards for Minors: This legislation solidified Oregon's protections for minors in the workforce by ensuring the hours they may work may not be less restrictive than the requirements set out by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. This would be the prevailing rule should the federal government decide to change the rules governing the hours a minor may work.
HB 4031 - Energy Facility Siting: Recently, Congress changed rules around timelines that solar projects had to abide by in order to receive tax credits, making it much harder for these projects to receive the credits they were previously awarded. This legislation helps accelerate economic development in Oregon by exempting an energy facility from needing a certificate from the Energy Facility Siting Council if certain thresholds are met.
HB 4052 - Tax Credits for Oregon-Chartered Banks: Community banks are local institutions that take local deposits and reinvest those funds back into the communities they are located in. However, the regulatory, compliance and capital start-up costs make it difficult for community banks to open. This legislation makes it easier for community banks to open in Oregon by providing new, Oregon-chartered banks with a time-limited tax credit for each of the first three years that a bank does business in Oregon.
HB 4065 - Late Payments of Seed Contracts: This legislation protects Oregon's grass seed producers from predatory practices by revising provisions that govern a seed dealer's failure to make timely payment under a seed production or purchase contract. HB 4065 requires any seed dealer that receives a delinquency notice from the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to submit proof of payment within 30 days of receiving the notice. The bill also updates the interest rates applied to delinquent amounts and revises the maximum fees ODA may charge for payment verification and for issuing delinquency notices.
HB 4076 – Energy Facility Siting: This legislation helps accelerate economic development in Oregon by setting out the circumstances in which the Energy Facility Siting Council and local governments may justify an exemption to statewide land use planning goals.
HB 4084 - Establish Joint Permitting Council and Fast-Track Program: There is a shortage of market-ready industrial land in Oregon, and public and private owners of industrial land have limited financial tools to develop it for traded sector industrial use. In response, HB 2411 (2025) created the Industrial Site Loan Fund, administered by the Oregon Business Development Department, and SB 5531 (2025) dedicated $10 million in lottery bond proceeds for initial funding. This 2026 legislation creates a Joint Permitting Council to manage fast-track permitting, requires state agencies to catalog permits and report on delays, and expands enterprise zone eligibility.
HB 4086 - Industrial Symbiosis: Industrial symbiosis is an infrastructure approach to use one facility's waste as a resource for a different business. This legislation directs Business Oregon to support specified industrial symbiosis pilot projects across the state and to develop a roadmap for industrial symbiosis by May 1, 2027.
HB 4089 - Increased Penalties for Wage Theft: Wage theft in Oregon is currently widespread and increasing. From 2014 to 2021, the Bureau of Labor and Industries averages 1,400 wage theft claims per year. Since 2022, claims have reached nearly 3,500 claims per year. This legislation aims to solve this problem in a multipronged approach. The measure increases the penalty for wage theft, expands the definition of wage theft, and directs the Interagency Compliance Network to develop methods to investigate entities that might be committing wage theft and not complying with tax or employment laws.
HB 4102 - DEQ Regulatory Processes: Currently, the Department of Environmental Quality is experiencing significant backlogs in processing and awarding water and air quality permits, resulting in increased costs, delayed development, and delays in environmental protections. This legislation allows DEQ to enter into an agreement with businesses to expedite or enhance a regulatory process to address the current backlog.
HB 4116 - Protections from Predatory Lending: Current law allows lenders to partner with out-of-state banks in order to avoid Oregon's 36 percent consumer interest-rate cap and charge up to triple-digit interest rates. HB 4116 protects Oregonians from predatory lending by ensuring that consumer finance loans in Oregon comply with Oregon's laws around the maximum interest rate that can be charged to a consumer.
HB 4130 - Property Tax Special Assessments: According to the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture, Oregon lost more than 2,000 farms between 2017 and 2022. This legislation allows land under certain farm crop and farm product processing facilities that are currently employed for farm use to qualify for the farmland special assessment, which is a program designed to provide property owners with a financial incentive to keep their land in agricultural use.
HB 4148 - Transient Lodging Tax Local Flexibility: As Oregon reckons with a tight budget environment, our natural resource agencies and local governments are feeling the squeeze. This legislation gives cities and counties control over how they spend transient lodging tax dollars by allowing the revenue to be spent on resiliency grants for small businesses in the restaurant and lodging industry.
Planning a Summer Road Trip? Learn About Highway Construction
ODOT crews are working to make improvements to Oregon highways across the state this summer. Projects include several work zones along the I-5 corridor.
Click here to:
- Find out what work is happening;
- Check out our interactive map to see what projects are planned this year throughout the state; and
- Sign up for open houses and/or email alerts for the projects you're interested in.
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