The COIN Legislative Team is, once again, watching and participating in Oregon State Legislature hearings, watching for bills that reflect the values of our members, and making recommendations for endorsement or opposition.  Use the buttons above to go straight to either category of bills we are currently tracking. 

Note that some of the bills may be ENDORSED by COIN, others OPPOSED by COIN, and still others are being WATCHED by COIN, as amendments and further work on the bills continue. COIN volunteers won't be able to track all of the bills, but will focus on those that potentially have the most impact on the things our members value.  Also, watch closely for any ACTION ALERTS for bills. We'll post these when there are bills that need some help from COIN members - calling your state senator or rep, submitting testimony, or spreading the word on social media.  Submitting testimony is really important and it doesn't have to be difficult or scary. It can be as simple as a couple of sentences about why you support or oppose a bill. For some excellent tips on how to provide written or oral testimony on a bill, check out SOCAN's Testimony Tips.  

If you know of a bill you think COIN should be tracking, email us at COINLegTeam@gmail.com.  Here's a description of the process that COIN uses to endorse or oppose legislation. Here's a Blank Worksheet that COIN Legislative Team members use to research their bills.  

To learn more about tracking legislation on the OLIS (Oregon Legislative Information System) website, check out this great  video by Cheryl Conway,  OLIS for Beginners, and also this great primer by Alan Journet, What's an OLIS?

You can also check out the legislation COIN endorsed and opposed in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Our volunteers are tracking a lot of bills on a variety of topics. In fact, this year, we have already identified more than 100 bills that we think are worth our attention and yours.  We've divided them into two different categores on two different pages to make for a bit less scrolling. Click the appropriate red button below to look at either Climate, Energy, and Environment Legislation, or Legislation for All Other Topics. 

According to the new Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink, 

"Even now, local constituent power is real. Democracy is imperiled but your electeds still care about re-election. The best way to combat Trump 2.0 is to identify which electeds - local, city, state, federal - you can influence.
Offer support or be a pain in the ass."

On the COIN Legislative Team, we believe our work for and against bills directly supports this idea. Our "blue" state legislature can potentially act as a "firewall" for Oregonians against the worst impulses of the Trump Administration, but only if we let them know what's important to us.  The Legislative Team is made up of members of local Indivisible groups from all over Oregon. Team members focusing on Climate, Energy, Environment bills meet via Zoom on Thursdays from 12-2 PM. Team members focusing on All Other Topics meet on Fridays from 11 AM - 12 PM. Then representatives from both sub-groups meeting on Monday mornings for final decisions on whether to endorse or oppose varioius bills. If you're interested in joining the work of the COIN Legislative Team, send us an email at COINLegTeam@gmail.com. 

Image Credit: https://oregoncapitol.com/