Senate Labor and Business committee advances package of consumer-protection, health and workplace bills

The Senate Committee on Labor and Business on Tuesday advanced a group of measures covering consumer pricing, credit reporting for medical debt, licensing verification for marijuana-related facilities, age restrictions on aerosol dusters containing difluoroethane (DFE), earned leave for blood donation, disability-insurance rules and public-employee overpayment recovery.

Why it matters: The bills address consumer transparency, debt reporting and public-safety and labor issues that can affect households’ finances and access to services. Several measures passed the committee and will move to the Senate floor or to Ways and Means, while others moved by unanimous consent.

Key actions and outcomes

Votes at a glance

- Senate Bill 430 (dash 3 amendment): Committee adopted the dash-3 amendment and moved SB 430 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. Roll-call votes on both the amendment and the final motion recorded three ayes (Senator Patterson, Senator Pham, Chair Taylor) and two no votes (Senator Hayden, Vice Chair Bonham). The bill prohibits online offers or advertised prices that do not include all fees or charges a purchaser must pay (except taxes imposed by government bodies and reasonable shipping charges). The measure takes effect 91 days after adjournment sine die and applies to transactions concluding on or after the effective date. (Transcript evidence: “I will open up a work session on Senate Bill 4 3 0” … “Taylor votes aye and the amendment is adopted.”)

- Senate Bill 605 (dash 6 amendment): Committee adopted the dash-6 amendment and moved SB 605 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation and a requested rescission of the subsequent referral to the Senate Committee on Health Care. Final roll call recorded three ayes and two no votes (Hayden opposed). The amendment prohibits reporting medical debt to consumer-reporting agencies and prohibits a reporting agency from reporting medical debt it knows or reasonably should know is medical debt. The bill leaves the underlying debt intact (it is not erased). (Transcript evidence: “it prohibits a person from reporting to a consumer reporting agency the amount or existence of any medical debt…”)

- Senate Bill 907 (dash 2 amendment): The committee adopted the dash-2 amendment by unanimous consent and moved SB 907 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The amendment requires that Oregon Health Authority (OHA) or the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) independently verify site ownership for manufacturers of psilocybin and for medical-marijuana processing/grow-site registrations; if the applicant does not own the premises, the applicant must provide a signed, notarized permission from the owner. Operative date is 2026-01-01. (Transcript evidence: “the applicant has to obtain signed and notarized permission from the owner…”)

- Senate Bill 1032 (dash 4 amendment): Committee adopted the dash-4 amendment and moved SB 1032 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The dash-4 narrowed a proposed retail ban to prohibit sale of aerosol dusters containing DFE to persons under 18 and allows sales by order/pickup/delivery only if the seller verifies the recipient is 18 or older. The amendment and the measure passed; roll-call votes recorded a 3–2 margin on final passage. (Transcript evidence: “the dash 4 amendment reduces that to prohibiting the sale…to persons under the age of 18.”)

- Senate Bill 1108 (dash 2 amendment): Committee adopted the dash-2 amendment (by consent) and moved SB 1108 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The dash-2 permits use of earned statutory sick time for blood donations made through programs accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks or the American Red Cross. (Transcript evidence: “permits the use of earned statutory sick time for blood donation…”)

- Senate Bill 1148 (dash 1 amendment): Committee adopted the dash-1 amendment and moved SB 1148 as amended to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. The amendment clarifies that disability income insurers may not require an insured to utilize or apply for Paid Leave Oregon benefits before being eligible for disability benefits; the prohibition applies to policies issued or renewed on or after 2026-01-01. (Transcript evidence: “an insurer…may not require a person eligible for benefits to apply for any benefits available under Paid Leave Oregon…”)

- Senate Bill 968 (dash 5 amendment): The dash-5 amendment was adopted; it replaces the introduced measure and narrows scope to public employers. Under dash-5, a public employer may deduct an erroneous overpayment from wages if the overpayment occurred within the 364 days before the employer provides a written statement; the employer must provide the statement at least 10 days before making the deduction. The committee requested referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means to cover a small fiscal impact. (Transcript evidence: “it specifies that when a public employee receives an erroneous overpayment…the deduction is for an overpayment that occurred in the 364 days immediately before…”)

Procedural notes and next steps: Several measures will move to the Senate floor with due-pass recommendations; SB 968 and SB 1061 will be referred to Ways and Means because of small fiscal impacts. Some items were adopted by unanimous consent; where roll-call votes were recorded, the committee’s majority carried the measures forward. Committees typically will add additional fiscal or technical adjustments on floor or in subsequent referral committees.

Quotes from committee members reflected both support for consumer protections and concerns about unintended consequences for seniors, insurers, small businesses and public employers during implementation. Several senators said they supported the bills’ aims but wanted narrower language or additional clarifications before final passage.