Note:  Education reports after January, 2024, are included in Social policy reports. Education reports prior to February, 2024, can be found HERE.

Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2026 Social Policy bills.

Jump to topic:

• Child Care

• Criminal Justice

• Education

• Gun Policy

• Healthcare

• Housing

• Immigration

• Reproductive Healthcare

• Summer Learning

Child Care

By Katie Riley

The Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee on Education held a work session regarding SB 1535 A  related to  the Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) lack of funding to meet the needs of their extensive waitlist. It would make it optional to give TANF recipients priority  and the bill would establish a work group to study the cost and availability of liability insurance as well as other liability issues affecting child care providers.  

The work group is to provide a report by November 1, 2027. The Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) also has a surplus of approximately $78 million due to a lack of use of the Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten (Oregon Head Start) and Preschool Promise federal funds.  The possibility was discussed to have the surplus be used to help address the ERDC deficit of approximately $80 million. It was recommended that the existing programs be reviewed for possible changes. The two programs with surpluses may have lower enrollments due to their partial day coverage for enrollees vs the ERDC coverage for all day care.  A “do-pass” recommendation was approved.  

Criminal Justice                       

By Marge Easley & Sharron Noone

Immigration Bills

Several key House bills related to Oregon’s pushback on federal law enforcement and immigration actions have successfully passed Senate Judiciary and await a vote on the Senate floor. These include HB 4114A (allows civil suits for warrantless actions), HB 4138 A (establishes police ID policies and rules for public employee when interacting with federal and out-of-state law enforcement), HB 4111 A (prevents immigration status from being admissible in a civil proceeding), and HB 4091 (establishes mobilization rules for Oregon National Guard). The following Senate bills are still alive but sit in Rules Committee, where session deadlines do not apply: SJR 203 A (forbids secret police in Oregon), SB 1563 (allows for civil action against law enforcement officer who violates constitutional rights), and SB 1594 (establishes immigration policies for schools, health facilities, and other public bodies). See the League Action Alert for HB 4114A and HB 4138. 

Other Criminal Justice Bills

The League is also closely following HB 4045 A (requires communication responders to respond quickly to a search warrant when related to domestic violence), which  passed Senate Judiciary on 2/25, and SB 1515 A (modifies provisions for wrongful convictions), which unanimously passed the Senate on 2/24 and is scheduled for a hearing in House Rules on 3/2. 

Education

By Jean Pierce

HB 4079 A  requires public schools to inform parents, students, and community members when ICE is present on the campus. This would assure immigrants that they have accurate information to base decisions to protect their children. The Senate Education committee is giving a DO PASS recommendation to the version that was passed in the House.   The League submitted testimony in support of the bill.

SB 1538 A  creates a new protected class in educational antidiscrimination law (schools cannot discriminate based on immigration or citizenship status), and guarantees admission to Oregon school districts’ instructional programs  The bill passed both chambers,   The League submitted  testimony  in support. Thank you for all who responded to our Action Alert. 

HB 4149 directs school districts to enroll and provide services for homeless students. The bill codifies provisions of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act in Oregon law.   LWVOR submitted testimony in support.  The Senate Education committee is giving a DO PASS recommendation to the version that was passed in the House.   Please see the League’s Action Alert. 

Gun Policy  

By Marge Easley      

The League is very pleased to report that HB 4145 A successfully passed the House on 2/25 on a party-line vote of 33 to 19, despite a contentious floor vote and several days of delay. The bill provides much-needed implementation details for Measure 114 (2022). According to a 2/25 press release from Representatives Finger McDonald, Tran, Grayber, and Dobson, “HB 4145 responds to unresolved legal and implementation issues by clarifying statutory language, adjusting timelines and procedures, and delaying the permit-to-purchase requirement to allow for orderly implementation once court proceedings conclude.” The bill had a hearing in Senate Rules on 2/27. Please see the Action Alert. 

Healthcare

Christa Danielson

SB 1527 classifies colposcopy as a preventive screening procedure, eliminating patient cost-sharing. The bill advances preventive care access and removes financial barriers to early detection. It passed the House unanimously following an emotional bill presentation by Rep. E. Levy, who reminded legislators that the Chief Sponsor, Rep. Hartman, is currently in the hospital fighting cervical cancer.  The League wrote testimony.

Housing

 Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona

Senate Committee on Housing and Development

SB 1523 Enrolled The House and Senate both passed this bill, and it’s awaiting the Governor’s signature. The bill requires landlords to provide tenants and prospective tenants with non-electronic means of conducting business. Tenants will have the option of submitting rental applications on paper rather than through a tenant portal. SB 1523 also requires landlords to provide access to common areas other than software loaded onto smartphones, such as keys, access codes, fob, etc. 

SB 1576 A this bill would require two state agencies to set rules for making housing easier to access and use for people with disabilities. The Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services and the Housing and Community Services Department are to adopt rules to conform to the state building code so that it aligns with federal fair housing accessibility requirements and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. It requires the Housing and Community Services Department to meet specified accessibility standards when funding new subsidized rental housing developments. The Senate passed this bill on February 19. The House Committee on Housing and Homelessness gave a do-pass recommendation. It is on the Senate floor

House Committee on Housing and Homelessness 

HB 4123 A would add clear provisions to Oregon’s Landlord Tenant law regarding the disclosure of confidential information on certain personally identifying, financially sensitive and other private information. On February 17, the House passed this bill. The Senate Committee on Housing and Development held a public hearing and work session on February 24 and was sent to the full Senate with a do-pass recommendation. The third reading is scheduled for March 2. The amendments would allow landlords to share tenant contact information with repair and maintenance workers and release confidential information if required by an administrative or judicial warrant. (See also the Privacy and Protections Section of the Governance Legislative Report.)

Subcommittee on Capital Construction 

HB 4036 A would establish a Housing Opportunity, Longevity and Durability (HOLD) Fund to support the preservation of affordable housing that is at risk of loss. It would authorize the use of $100 million in Article XI-Q general obligation bonds into the fund. Money could be used for acquiring, constructing, remodeling, repairing, equipping, or furnishing affordable housing that is or will be operated by the state. Preserving existing low-income housing is a cost-effective and efficient way to maintain our supply. On February 25, the bill was assigned to the Subcommittee on Capital Construction.  

Immigration

By Claudia Keith

News and Resources

- Portland advances plan to cover legal services for immigrants and refugees - OPB

- Oregon launches multi-agency effort to protect state’s immigrants and refugees - OPB

- Senate Majority Office PR  -  February 24, 2026

Experiences of Immigrant and Refugee Oregonians Will Inform State

Responses to Federal Immigration Practices

Senate Bill 1594 directs the Oregon Department of Justice to consult with Office of Immigrant

and Refugee Advancement

- 2026 ImmigrantJustice Package – Oregon Worker Relief

Bills with League testimony

Other Bills

Reproductive Health

Trish Garner

HB 4088A Engrossed declares that it is Oregon’s policy to ensure that people are allowed to get reproductive health care and gender identity treatment services. Several protections are given to providers of these services, including directing public bodies not to cooperate with investigations into reproductive and gender affirming care and a ban on extradition by the Governor related to a person’s engagement with these activities. Disclosure of public records regarding providers of these services is expanded from a person’s name, and home or professional address to also include images and home telephone numbers. The League provided testimony.

After consideration of amendments which would have denied the protections to providers when patients were under the age of 18  or would have forced providers to honor a criminal investigation of another state for an action that is considered legal in Oregon, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to recommend DO PASS the version passed by the House. 

Please see the League’s Action Alert. 

Summer Learning

By Katie Riley

The Ways and Means Joint Subcommittee on Education held an information session regarding the report from the Oregon Department of Education on the results of implementation of the 2025 legislative session SB 2007 which provided funding over three summers for summer school care (2025-2027).   The results have received praise both in print and from legislators in the committee, although there were many questions in the hearing asking for more detail on findings and a separate article asked if the expenditure was worthwhile.  Approximately 74% of the recipients reported meeting their literacy-based goals and an additional 24% reported partially meeting them.  The goals were set by each recipient and were not the same across the board.  This issue will be addressed by ODE in the future.  Representative Wright recommended that the programs should be available to all students who need them.  Currently ODE is soliciting proposals for the 2026 allocations which will be competitive.  There is no explicit mention of the participation of students in after school hours programs although some community-based organizations administered the grants. 

Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2025 Social Policy bills for which the League submitted testimony.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: What is your passion related to Social Policy? You can help. Volunteers are needed.  We particularly need help tracking legislation concerning 

• Basic Needs: Food

• Basic Needs: Income

• Juvenile Justice

• Public Safety

Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency, Governance, and Natural Resources, and Revenue report sections.