Why It Matters: The 2026 legislative sessions in Oregon and Washington recently concluded, delivering a mix of victories and setbacks for sportsmen and women amid competing priorities and tight budgets in both states. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), Washington and Oregon Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucuses, and coalition partners helped secure protection and funding in some areas while defending against threats. Staying actively involved with lawmakers, agencies, and ballot measures remains essential to safeguarding hunting, fishing, trapping, and conservation traditions amid evolving policy landscapes and tight budgets.
Highlights:
- Oregon passed House Bill 4134, increasing the statewide transient lodging tax by 1.25% to deliver approximately $38 million in new funding for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) conservation work.
- Washington Senate Bill 5098 was defeated after CSF, Washington Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus members, and coalition partners highlighted the unintended consequences for legal hunting and fishing activities on public lands.
- CSF played an active role in advocating for sportsmen and women throughout both legislative sessions, ensuring that the sportsmen’s voice was not diminished by competing priorities.
The Oregon and Washington legislative sessions offered contrasting results for sportsmen and women, underscoring both the power of targeted advocacy and the persistent challenges that exist in both states.
In Oregon, the session included a funding victory with the passage of HB 4134 – the 1.25% For Wildlife Act, which adds a modest increase to the statewide transient lodging tax. This will deliver approximately $38 million each year to ODFW for habitat restoration, species recovery, and implementation of the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP). The new dedicated revenue stream will be additive to the vital contributions that sportsmen and women currently make through the American System of Conservation Funding, which sustain Oregon’s fish and wildlife populations, maintaining hunting and fishing opportunities for generations to come.
However, Oregon’s session also saw the passage of HB 4145, which adjusts timelines and provision of the controversial 2022 Ballot Measure 114 but does not repeal its core elements such as permit-to-purchase and large-capacity magazine restrictions. Despite the measure remaining entangled in state and federal courts over constitutional issues, HB 4145 extends implementation to 2028 while maintaining these restrictions. CSF and coalition partners advocated to protect law-abiding hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts, but the bill’s advancement underscores ongoing risks to Second Amendment rights and future participation in those activities.
Washington State delivered a clear victory with the defeat of SB 5098, a broad weapons restriction proposal that could have criminalized the use of common tools such as knives and hunting rifles on state lands that are used by hunters and anglers. Through targeted education efforts with the Washington Legislative Sportsmen Caucus and Coalition outreach highlighting the unintended consequences to legal outdoor recreation, the measure was stalled in committee, protecting access to millions of acres of public lands supported by funding from sportsmen and women.
On the funding front, the adopted state budget dealt a setback for WDFW, resulting in approximately $10 million per year in ongoing reductions. These cuts will strain critical areas, including fishery and wildlife monitoring, habitat maintenance, enforcement (including the direct loss of 11 enforcement positions), and population management. Compounding cuts from the 2025 legislative session and forcing the agency to begin adjusting existing and planned projects to accommodate the budget reductions.
Even though the legislative sessions have concluded, the work to protect sportsmen and women is far from over. In Oregon, CSF, Oregon Legislative Sportsmen Caucus members, and partners are closely tracking Initiative Petition 28 (IP-28), the so-called PEACE Act, a ballot measure that threatens to remove longstanding exemptions to animal cruelty laws which would effectively criminalize lawful hunting, fishing, trapping, and related activities under expanded animal cruelty laws. We will continue fighting against this ballot-box biology that endangers conservation funding, rural livelihoods, and outdoor heritage. In Washington, our efforts will focus on ongoing education with policy-makers and close monitoring of the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s actions to ensure science-based wildlife management and sustainable opportunities are prioritized. Through persistent educational advocacy and collaboration, we will defend and strengthen the traditions that define our outdoor way of life.
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