Legislative Report: Short but Critical 2026 Legislative Session Convenes

Convening on Groundhog Day could be taken as an ominous portent to the beginning of the short 2026 session of the Oregon Legislature. Legislators have just 35 days to figure out how to close a $297 million gap in the Oregon Department of Transportation Budget brought on by the Trump administration's devastating 2025 budget bill that reduced revenues—especially to Democrat-controlled states—and increased costs. The Democrats, who control both houses of the Oregon legislature, have also vowed to craft a reponse to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda.

Though the transportation funding bill is going to take up much of the oxygen in the legislature this year, there are issues around our food system that you can take action on.

Farm Store Bill (HB 4153): This bill seeks to limit who can operate a farmstand based on acreage and sales, giving vast privileges to large operations while elbowing out beginning farmers and smaller-scale farms and producers. Friends of Family Farmers (FoFF), an advocacy organization for small and beginning farmers in Oregon, opposes this bill because it limits who is allowed to have a farm store for their operation and makes no specific protections for the simplest type of farm stand . Valley Flora Farm in Langlois posts on their website that, if passed as written, the bill would "close existing farm stands [of farmers] who are following the law right now but are too small to meet these [new] requirements" and implies that "folks with an honor system stand at the end of their driveway supplied with garden overflow (zucchinis in August, a couple pints of berries, or a sign saying 'eggs $6') would be outlawed by this approach."

As background, this bill is a result of Governor Tina Kotek's "pausing" the work of a Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RAC) that had become a target of the Oregon Property Owners Association (OPOA), which describes its mission as "protect[ing] the right of private property owners to make use of their property." The OPOA launched a disinformation campaign featuring a farm couple wailing that "if you enjoy u-pick, if you enjoy farm-to-table dinners, if you enjoy pumpkin patches, if your kids enjoy a hayride or cow train, these are the kind of things that we and other farms are going to lose"—none of which was true.

Once the viral video campaign had done its job and pressured state officials to derail the work of the committee, the OPOA admitted they were behind this new legislation, stating on their website "since we announced HB 4153…" and listing all the reasons that it's a great leap forward for the state's agricultural sector.

FoFF sums it up nicely: 

• What this bill makes legal as a farm store: 100-acre Exclusive Farm Use property with 45 acres of hay field and 55 acres of outdoor concert venue where events can be held on an unlimited basis with no impact test to the farms around it or a need to get an agritourism permit.
• What this bill makes illegal for a farm store: 10-acre property where 5 acres is under production and the farm makes $4,000 per year in farm income to supplement their income and occasionally teaches a class on preserving their farm product.
• This bill makes farm stores easier and more permissive for large property owners while penalizing small land holders for having less to work with. Even if you support the 100-acre farmer example above, should it come at the expense of the 10-acre farmer example?

TAKE ACTION:

• Submit written testimony by Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 1 pm. Submission form here. Sixty percent of folks who've submitted so far are opposed. Make yours count!
• Call your state legislators and tell them you oppose HB 4153. Find your legislator by clicking here and typing your address into the search bar at the top of the page.

Disproportionate cuts to OSU Statewides & Organic Agriculture Program: Due to a budget shortfall of $63 million, the legislature is proposing a one percent to five percent cut to most agencies, but the OSU Statewides Programming, which includes the Organic Agriculture Program, is facing a 7.1 percent cut. Advocates, while acknowledging the need to trim budgets, are asking the legislature to "rightsize" the cuts to the program to match those being asked of other agencies. The Organic Agriculture Program at OSU now has six extension specialists across cropping systems working throughout the state, working to enhance the viability of Oregon agriculture through improved soil health, cover crop adoption, ecological pest management, locally adapted cultivars, farm viability, and transition to organic and other ecological methods.

TAKE ACTION:

Sign the letter asking the legislature not to disproportionately cut the OSU Statewides & Organic Agriculture Program.

Budget for Programs in the Immigrant Justice Package: The Trump administration and Republican congressional leaders are targeting immigrant communities. The Immigrant Justice Package provides the Oregon legislature with a critical opportunity to invest in proven solutions and support immigrant families now, including:

• Immigration Legal Services ($5M): Deportation defense and legal help to keep families together
• Children’s Stability Fund ($5M): Support for families when a caregiver is detained
• Protect Healthier Oregon: Maintain health coverage regardless of immigration status
• School Meals for All: Free breakfast and lunch for every student
• Anti‑Hunger Investments: Emergency food benefits and funding for food banks
• Support for bills to limit harmful immigration enforcement actions, protect personal data, prevent discrimination, and ensure transparency and accountability in law enforcement operations.

TAKE  ACTION: 

Call your state legislators and tell them you support the Immigrant Justice Package. Find your legislator by clicking here and typing your address into the search bar at the top of the page.

Photos: Farm stand at Shimanek Bridge Farm in Scio; Commonplace Farm from Oregon Organic Coalition; Farm workers from Community to Community.