The Senate Rules Committee held public testimony on House Bill 3474 on June 12, a bill directing the Oregon Secretary of State to study changes to the United States Postal Service and assess how they may affect Oregon's vote-by-mail system. The bill, as summarized for the committee, requires a report to the Legislative Assembly by Sept. 15, 2026 and sunsets on Jan. 2, 2027.

Representative Christine Drazen, sponsor of the measure, told the committee that the study is narrowly focused on election logistics: “As advertised, many of you will remember this past election the issue was described at the time as an unexplained delay due to an error at the postal service,” she said, citing incidents in Douglas and Lane counties where ballots were delayed or returned to voters. Drazen said the intent is to identify risks to vote-by-mail and recommend legislative fixes if needed.

Drazen reviewed operational changes at the Postal Service, including the Delivery for America initiative and a regional transportation optimization plan that she said has reduced collections and routing, increasing transit times for many rural Oregon addresses. She told the committee that “more than 24,300 of the country's 33,700 post offices will be subject to the regional transportation optimization initiative.” She also referenced a multi-year USPS loss figure that was presented to the committee during testimony.

Senator Golden asked how broadly the Secretary of State might scope the study, noting the office could expand the review to many Postal Service concerns. Drazen replied that keeping the focus on elections will keep the study narrow while allowing findings to inform other areas.

Senator Manning described operational familiarity with postal operations and raised concerns about rural access to mail and medication delivery. Drazen and committee members discussed that the study is intended to elevate the issue and provide material the Legislature and Oregon’s federal delegation can use in follow-up.

The committee closed the public hearing on HB 3474 and moved on to other items on the agenda; no work-session motion or committee vote on the bill was recorded that day. A committee staff fiscal and revenue note was requested earlier in the docket and is available on the public legislative information system.

The Secretary of State would have discretion in how to do the study and is expected to consult county elections officials and other stakeholders as part of the review.