By Debi Ferrer
This is the third of five weeks for the 2026 Oregon Legislative Session. Several COIN-endorsed bills have made it through the first hurdle – passing out of committee and to the floor of the first chamber for a vote. Your phone calls and emails to legislators can truly make a difference.
Here are three bills that need help from you (two bills to support, and one to oppose):
SB 1598 Vaccine Availability
✓ COIN ENDORSES THIS BILL
Oregonians should not face higher costs or new barriers to preventive care due to shifting federal guidance. SB 1598 ensures continued access to evidence-based preventive health services. This bill allows public health departments to require vaccines be covered by health plans as a benefit. It also allows the public health authority to issue a standing order to pharmacies to administer vaccines. This bill passed out of committee on a party line vote and now it will go to the Senate floor for a vote.
Contact your state senator (click here to look them up) and urge them to vote YES on SB 1598.
More info on SB 1598:
SB 1541 Oregon Climate Resilience Superfund (AKA “Make Polluters Pay”)
✓ COIN ENDORSES THIS BILL
In 2024, Vermont and New York became the first states to pass a climate superfund bill that would raise billions of dollars from fossil fuel companies to help pay for climate damage and resiliency programs. In 2025, the fight expanded across the country, with nearly a dozen states, including Oregon, proposing their own legislation.
It didn’t pass in Oregon in 2025, but it’s back for 2026. By making polluters pay their fair share for climate damages, climate Superfund laws can help raise new revenue to pay for critical infrastructure needs and prepare for extreme weather events.
This bill passed out of committee last week on a party line vote. Now it moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for a fiscal analysis.
Click here for a list of all committee members to copy and paste into an email address bar and send them a message urging that they pass this important bill out of Ways and Means and to the Senate floor for a vote.
For more info on SB 1541:
HB 4046 Nuclear Energy Study Bill
✘ COIN OPPOSES THIS BILL
This bill would require the Oregon Department of Energy to conduct a study of the efficacy of nuclear power for Oregon. It evades the fiscal dilemma by establishing a fund into which entities (with an interest in establishing small modular nuclear reactors – SMNRs – in Oregon) can pay to support the study.
COIN opposes this bill because of the serious potential for a biased study that will open the doors to nuclear power to satisfy the ever-increasing energy needs of data centers. Plenty of evidence already exists and no further study is needed. Nuclear energy remains the most expensive route available to achieve reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy generated.
Further, there is still no federal repository in Oregon for nuclear waste. Voters banned nuclear energy in 1980 until such a repository was available. Unfortunately, this bill passed out of committee with a unanimous vote, and now moves to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for a fiscal analysis.
Click here for a list of all committee members to copy and paste into an email address bar and send them a message urging that they DO NOT PASS this dangerous bill out of Ways and Means. Oregon does not want nuclear power for data centers.
For more info on why COIN opposes SB 1541:
- COIN Worksheet for HB 4046
- COIN / SOCAN Testimony opposing HB 4046
- Oregon Conservancy Foundation HB 4046 Testimony
For more legislation that needs your support, be sure to check the COIN 2026 Legislation webpage regularly. Your voice matters.
Debi Ferrer is a member of the COIN Legislative Team, and of Protect Oregon’s Progress (POP).