Bill > HB2811

This bill establishes the Imagination Library of Oregon Program, designed to provide free books to children from birth to five years old in Oregon. The program aims to encourage early literacy by mailing one free, age-appropriate book each month to eligible children at no cost to their families. The Department of Early Learning and Care will implement the program by financially supporting a nonprofit organization exempt from federal taxes, which will manage the initiative. This nonprofit entity must work with a national nonprofit foundation to distribute books and will be responsible for promoting local book-gifting programs, conducting community outreach, recruiting partners, and developing public awareness campaigns to increase program enrollment and attract donations. The bill creates the Oregon Imagination Library Account within the Department of Early Learning and Care Fund to support the program's operations, with funds continuously appropriated for this purpose. The bill includes an emergency clause, making it effective on July 1, 2025, with the ultimate goals of fostering a love of reading among young children and potentially improving third-grade reading proficiency and high school graduation rates.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB2811