Oregon Legislature Halfway Through "Short" Session
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The Oregon Legislature is halfway through its 35-day "short" session in Salem and has been considering several animal-related bills. The short sessions, which are held in even-numbered years, were originally intended for emergency housekeeping measures but now include major policy proposals - often proposals vetted but not passed in previous sessions. Legislators are limited to two bills each.
In the 2026 short session, we have been tracking and engaging on the following animal-related bills:
House Bill (HB) 4134 would add a 1.25% charge to "transient lodging" (hotels, motels, Airbnbs, etc.) to fund a variety of wildlife-related activities, including implementation of a state wildlife conservation plan, rehabilitation of injured wildlife, and enforcement of anti-poaching laws. We strongly support this bill because it would lead to more humane treatment of wildlife in the form of better habitat, rehabilitation of injured animals, and better enforcement of laws against poaching. This bill was passed Monday by a House committee and is expected to get a vote of the full House of Representatives as early as Thursday. For more information, see our earlier post.
HB 4034 would ease regulatory requirements on animal rescues – including record keeping requirements and potential fines – in favor of rules to be adopted by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. We support this bill because it would continue regulation and inspections to ensure humane treatment of animals at rescues, but would likely lead to more practical and reasonable requirements (and fines) that would not unduly burden the rescues, most of which operated with very limited resources. This bill has been passed by the House of Representatives and is being considered by a committee in the Senate.
SB 1577 would have required plant-based foods that imitate animal eggs or animal meat to include specific disclaimers on their labels - such as "cell cultivated," "fake" or "imitation." We opposed this bill as unnecessary and burdensome to plant-based foods that are generally better for the environment and animal welfare. This bill received a public hearing before a Senate committee but was not passed by the committee, meaning it will not move forward this session.
For a bill to become state law, it generally must be approved by a majority (3/5 in the case of a bill to increase taxes) of both the House (60 members) and Senate (30 members), and must then by signed (or at least not vetoed) by the Governor. Approval in the House and Senate generally requires approval by a committee before a vote of the full House or Senate.
What You Can Do
To support a good bill or oppose a bad bill, contact your state legislators (everyone has one representative and one senator). To find out who your state legislators are and get their contact information, click here and enter your address (you have one state representative and one state senator). When you write or call your legislators, be sure to let them know you are a "constituent," meaning you live in the area they represent and vote on whether they are elected or not.
The main bill that could still use additional support this session is HB 4134. If you haven't done so, please contact your legislators and ask them to support the bill. Representatives may vote on the bill as soon as Thursday and Senators are likely to take it up soon after that (assuming it passes the House). For more information on the bill and what to say to your legislators, see our earlier post on this bill.
Please also watch for our email alerts. We will let you know of other strategic times to comment on the pending legislation we consider most important.
Thank you for helping us advocate for animals!
