The Quarterly Focus - March 2026

Advocating for Wildlife Conservation at the Capitol

by Lily Yao and Zev Wacks, LWV of Lane County and LWVOR Youth Council Members 

On February 11, we visited the Oregon State Capitol for a Wildlife Action Day in support of “1.25% for Wildlife,” or HB 4134. This bipartisan bill would raise Oregon’s transient lodging tax by 1.25% to secure dedicated funding for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is expected to raise roughly $30 million each year, while maintaining Oregon’s rank as having the third lowest transient lodging tax in the country. Such funding would go toward Oregon’s State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund, the Oregon Conservation Corps, invasive species response, anti-poaching efforts, and other programs.

At the Wildlife Action Day, we met with Representative Fragala and a member of Senator Prozanski's staff.  Representative Fragala was Lily’s second grade teacher, so it was wonderful to "reconnect" with her while advocating for an issue we all care deeply about!

Our climate work has largely been informed by our role as Regional Leaders with Our Future, a statewide youth climate action network.  We are both members of Our Future’s Legislative Team, where we have hosted Testimony Workshops for high school youth and created testimony guides for climate-related legislation.  This session, we hope to encourage members of the LWVOR Youth Council to submit testimony for climate-related bills on the docket.

YOUTH VOICES FOR IMPACT ON LEGISLATION: SB1574 FIRST TIME VOTERS ACT

by BROOKLYN CARR HEUER, ELIZAVETA ROTT,  MARWA DAHER, AND OLIVIA HAN

SB 1574 would permit 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the date of the consecutive general election to participate in primary elections.  The League believes that elections should be conducted in a manner that encourages voter participation.  Youth Council members who feel strongly about this issue researched, formulated and submitted testimony to Senator Kayse Jama, Chair, and Senator Bruce Starr, Vice Chair and Members of the Senate Rules Committee.   

There were a few political reality checkpoints to the process however!  The public hearing on SB 1574 was cancelled for opportunities to speak remotely or in person in Salem at this time,  though they welcomed written testimony to the campaign and to the Senate Rules Committee.  Everyone on this team is hopeful to be included in an Informational Hearing that the Senate Rules Committee will schedule BEFORE the 2027 Oregon Legislature.

The message from the First Time Voters Act campaign illustrates even more:

We had a very insightful, constructive, and intensive conversation about the issue of public disclosure laws regarding minors (as it relates to this bill), as well as a general conversation about what it will take to build some consensus on this topic. The folks on the call, including Next Up Action Fund, felt that convening an informal workgroup makes the most sense to further research what other states do, understand the full scope of potential consequences, and make an informed decision about a policy approach. Ultimately, the short session has not been conducive to the time needed to explore this further.

After debriefing the coalition conversation as an advocacy team, as well as discussing with our key Chief Sponsor's office (Sen. Gorsek's Chief of Staff), we feel that it’s best to ask for an informational hearing post-session rather than move forward with a public hearing this short session.

While it is unfortunate, we feel that this pivot will offer a more strategic, effective, and aligned approach next time. All the conversations and work that took place these past few months have been invaluable and will only set us up for success down the road. 

If you have any concerns about this decision, please reach out. We are truly grateful for your time and energy on this effort, and look forward to convening a workgroup with even more stakeholders (including more political parties, more impacted young people, etc.), as well as creating a formal committee structure for the next iteration of this effort. 

If you were working with any young people who took the time to write testimony about this bill, please connect them with us. We still want to ensure they can share their story on why youth voting matters to them with their legislators and are happy to support Brooklyn Carr Heuer, Elizaveta Rott, Marwa Daher and Olivia Han with appreciation. The conversation to lower the voting age is still very much alive!