Oregon Nursing Legislative Tracker
Weekly updates on key bills affecting Oregon’s nursing and healthcare workforce.
Nonpartisan Insight on Workforce-Related Bills
The Oregon Center for Nursing maintains a nonpartisan tracker of state legislation that affects nurses, the healthcare workforce, and the systems they work within. During each Oregon legislative session, this page is updated as selected bills move through committees, floor votes, amendments, and final actions. Between sessions, it serves as a reference for recent outcomes and policy themes shaping Oregon’s nursing workforce.
This tracker is designed for nurse leaders, educators, policymakers, and partners who need a clear, concise view of workforce-related legislation. It is informational in nature and not a substitute for official legal or legislative guidance.
The Legislative Tracker focuses on bills that may influence:
Nursing education, licensure, and scope of practice
Workforce supply, demand, and distribution
Workplace safety, well-being, and retention
Compensation, benefits, and employment protections
Care delivery models and system-level workforce changes
The list is curated and not exhaustive. Bills outside this scope may not appear here even if they are of general interest to the healthcare sector.
Why Nursing Workforce Policy Matters
Legislative decisions directly shape the conditions in which nurses learn, work, and lead. Policy changes can influence clinical staffing, education pathways, scope of practice, reimbursement models, and investments in well-being and safety. Tracking nursing and workforce-related legislation helps organizations:
• Anticipate operational and staffing impacts
• Align internal strategies with evolving requirements
• Inform advocacy, testimony, and coalition work
• Ground decisions in a clear understanding of the policy landscape
For broader analysis of Oregon’s nursing workforce trends and challenges, visit OCN’s Insights and program pages.
Legislative Bills Monitored by OCN
The table below presents selected bills monitored by the Oregon Center for Nursing for their potential impact on the nursing workforce and related systems. It is updated during active legislative sessions and maintained as a reference after adjournment.
Bill No. | Title | Summary | Chief Sponsor | Location | Hearings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Relating to the health care workforce. | Requires the Oregon Health Authority to study the health care workforce in Oregon. | Sen. Patterson | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Ways & Means (4-15) | Public Hearing Held on March 18, 2025 Work Session Held on April 8, 2025 | |
Relating to health care. | Requires the Oregon Health Authority to study health care. | Sen. Patterson | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Ways & Means (4-15) | Public Hearing Held on April 3, 2025 Work Session Held on April 8, 2025 | |
Relating to the health care workforce. | Requires the Oregon Health Authority to study matters relating to the health care workforce in this state. | No Sponsor | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Ways & Means (4-15) | Public Hearing Held on March 18, 2025 Work Session Held on April 8, 2025 | |
Relating to health care. | Requires the Oregon Health Authority to study health care. | No Sponsor | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Rules on April 17, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on April 3, 2025 Work Session Held on April 8, 2025 | |
Relating to a wellness program for Oregon health care professionals. | Directs the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to distribute moneys to the Oregon Wellness Program for specified purposes. | Sen. Patterson | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Ways & Means on March 6, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on February 11, 2025 Work Session Held on February 27, 2025 | |
Relating to violence in health care settings; prescribing an effective date. | Creates workplace violence prevention requirements for certain health care entities. | Sen. Patterson | Referred to Sen. Health Care January 17, 2025 Referred to Rules on April 10, 2025 Referred to Ways & Means May 19, 2025 Assigned to Senate Subcommittee on Human Services June 7, 2025 Returned to Full Committee June 11, 2025 Referred to House June 23, 2025 Referred to Ways & Means June 23, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on March 20, 2025 Work Session Held on April 3, 2025 Public Hearing Held on April 23, 2025 Work Session Held on May 7, 2025 Work Session Held June 11, 2025 Work Session Held June 17, 2025 Passed Senate (18-11) June 23, 2025 Governor Signed July 17, 2025 | |
Relating to community health; declaring an emergency. | Directs the Oregon Health Authority and coordinated care organizations to contract directly with traditional health workers, community health registered nurses and community-based organizations to provide services to medical assistance recipients. | Sen. Patterson | Referred to Sen. Health Care Referred to Ways & Means on March 31, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on March 6, 2025 Work Session Held on March 25, 2025 | |
Relating to occupational disease. | Adds certain health care employees to the list of workers for whom certain stress disorders give rise to a presumption that a workers' compensation claim is compensable as an occupational disease. | Sen. Campos | Referred to Sen. Labor and Business Referred to Ways & Means on April 7, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on February 18, 2025 Work Session Held on April 1, 2025 | |
Relating to part-time faculty at community colleges; declaring an emergency. | Requires community colleges to pay part-time faculty at the same rate, on a per-hour basis, as the community college pays full-time faculty to prepare for and teach a course. | Rep. Ruiz | Referred to Higher Education and Workforce Development Referred to Ways & Means on March 6, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on February 6, 2025 Work Session Held March 4, 2025 | |
Relating to the use of nursing titles. | Prohibits a nonhuman entity from using the title "nurse" or other similar titles. | Rep. Nelson | Referred to House Behavioral Health & Health Care on January 17, 2025 Referred to Oregon Senate on March 6, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on January 28, 2025 Work Session Held on February 20, 2025 Third Reading Held on February 27, 2025 Passed House 53-4 on March 4, 2025. Senate Public Hearing on March 17, 2025 Senate Work Session Held May 20, 2025 Third Senate Reading on June 11, 2025 House Concurred with Senate amendments (39-1) on June 13, 2025 Governor Signed June 24, 2025 | |
Relating to services provided by registered nurses; prescribing an effective date. | Prohibits the Oregon Health Authority under specified circumstances from requiring, as a condition of reimbursing the cost of the service, a primary care provider to order a covered care management service provided by a licensed registered nurse to a medical assistance recipient. | Rep. Nelson | Referred to House Behavioral Health and Health Care Referred to Oregon Senate on March 6, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on January 28, 2025 Work Session Held on February 20, 2025 Third Reading Held on February 27, 2025 Passed House 55-2 on March 4, 2025 Senate Public Hearing Held on April 22, 2025 Senate Work Session Held on May 13, 2025 Passed Senate (27-0) on May 21, 2025 Governor signed on May 28, 2025 | |
Relating to exceptions to prohibited use of official position or office. | Provides an exception to the prohibition against a public official using official position or office for financial gain or avoidance of financial detriment. | No Sponsor | Referred to House Rules Referred to Senate Rules on April 15, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on January 27, 2025 Work Session Held on April 2, 2025 Third Reading Held on April 4, 2025 Passed House 42-14 on April 14, 2025 Senate Public Hearing held May 14, 2025 Work Session Scheduled on May 19, 2025 Third Senate Reading on June 11, 2025 Passed Senate (20-4) on June 11, 2025 Governor Signed June 20, 2025 | |
Relating to schools. | Provides that only a registered nurse may supervise a nurse in a school setting with respect to the practice of nursing. | Rep. Nelson | Referred to House Behavioral Health and Health Care Referred to Senate on March 12, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on January 28, 2025 Work Session Held on February 27, 2025 Third Reading Scheduled for March 10, 2025 Passed House 54-0 on March 10, 2025 Public Hearing Held on April 24, 2025 Work Session Held on May 6, 2025 Passed Senate 29-0 on May 20,2025 Governor Signed on May 28, 2025 | |
Relating to nursing; prescribing an effective date. | Defines "Advanced Practice Registered Nurse," "diagnosing" and "medication aide. | No Sponsor | Referred to House Behavioral Health and Health Care Referred to Senate Health Care March 18, 2025 | Public Hearing Held on February 18, 2025 Work Session Held on March 6, 2025 Passed the House (53-0) on March 17, 2025 Senate Public Hearing Held on April 15, 2025 Work Session Scheduled for April 29, 2025 Passed Senate 27-1 May 13, 2025 Enrolled on May 15, 2025 Governor Signed on May 22, 2025 | |
Relating to nursing; and prescribing an effective date. | Directs the Oregon State Board of Nursing to establish an advisory committee to study the nursing educator shortage and make recommendations to address the issues identified by the committee. | Rep Nelson | Referred to House Behavioral Health & Health Care on March 4, 2025 Referred to Ways & Means April 16, 2025 Assigned to subcommittee for Capital Construction June 13, 2025 Returned to Full Committee June 16, 2025 | Public Hearing Scheduled for March 25, 2025 Work Session Held on April 8, 2025 Work Session Held June 16, 2025 |
Download this Legislative Bill Tracker as a PDF.
Last updated August 4th, 2025.
Legislation is one part of a larger workforce story. To stay connected to research, analysis, and discussion about Oregon’s nursing workforce, you can:
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Explore OCN’s Insights library for data, case studies, and thematic reports.
The Oregon Center for Nursing (OCN) provides independent, nonpartisan analysis of Oregon’s nursing workforce and related policy environment. Through research, convening, and strategic collaboration, OCN helps leaders understand how legislation, regulation, and system change affect nurses, care delivery, and the long-term health workforce pipeline in Oregon.