Last year the Oregon Legislature saw a historic number of new bills – 3400 to be exact!
January 1, 2026, the new laws passed by the State Legislature took effect. Here is a summary of some of the new major bills — now passed into law — that affect Oregonians statewide.
- Senate Bill 430: bars convenience charges and service fees added to online purchases without warning.
- Senate Bill 688: allows the Oregon Public Utility Commission to “provide incentives and penalties” to utility companies to reduce emissions, or to reduce costs and provide access to low-income Oregonians.
- House Bill 3521: landlords will have to return deposits to tenants for undisclosed issues such as leaks in windows or roof, heating problems, unsafe drinking water, or locks that don’t work.
- Senate Bill 605: keeps hospitals and clinics from informing credit agencies of patients’ medical debt. The ban also prevents agencies from adding known medical debt to a credit report.
- Senate Bill 916: guarantees unemployment benefits to striking public and private sector workers.
- Senate Bill 906: requires annual updates from employers to new hirees detailing their earnings and deductions on pay stubs. The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries must provide model guidance in English and Spanish and other languages on request.
- Senate Bill 548: Raises legal marriage age to 18 (exceptions for 17-year-olds with parental permission no longer apply).
- House Bill 2299: address non-consensual pornography by adding AI-generated images (such as deepfakes) to laws that ban image abuse.
- Senate Bill 170: increases penalties for assaulting others based on their occupation or during performance of their duties.
The above summarizes the Oregon Capital Chronicle Jan. 1, 2026 article “From stronger consumer rights to harsher criminal penalties, these Oregon laws are now official” by Shaanth Nanguneri.