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More than 200 people take their fight against Oregon’s addiction crisis to the statehouse
People from around Oregon brought their heartaches and triumphs in the state’s drug and alcohol addiction crisis to the Capitol on Wednesday. Many stories were shared: A partner lost to a fentanyl overdose. A son forced to move out-of-state to find drug addiction treatment. A legislator who has stayed sober for nearly half a century. […]
Oregon lawmakers seek to expand sorely needed child care facilities
With a shortage of child care options in Oregon, state lawmakers want to put $100 million into a new program to increase capacity. House Bill 3005 is aimed at child care providers who want to expand but cannot get the financing. It would create a new $100 million fund to be available during the next […]
Oregon lawmakers propose bills to tamp down prescription costs
Oregon lawmakers are considering legislation to rein in soaring prescription drug prices for Oregonians and help rural independent pharmacies stay open. Prescriptions are an expensive part of Oregonians’ health care, especially for specialty or cancer medications necessary to treat life-threatening illnesses. The highest priced drug in Oregon in 2022 was Carvykti, a new drug that […]
Oregon bill would expand state’s intoxicated driving law
A proposal in the Legislature would expand Oregon’s intoxicated driving law to cover all drugs, including legal medications that can be abused and impair drivers. Oregon is one of four states that fails to include all drugs in its law that dictates when a driver can be charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants. […]
Lawmaker proposes legislation to address opioid overdoses
Oregon lawmakers will consider legislation this session aimed at preventing opioid overdoses that kill hundreds of Oregonians each year and account for a growing part of the state’s addiction epidemic. Opioid overdoses killed 280 Oregonians in 2019, a figure that more than doubled in 2021 with 745 deaths, according to Oregon Health Authority data. National […]
State audit calls on health authority to fix problems with Measure 110 addiction program
Oregon’s first-in-the-nation initiative to address the state’s drug addiction crisis with treatment instead of jail had a rocky start, but it’s too soon to gauge whether the program will be successful, state auditors found. The Secretary of State audit, released Thursday, said more time is needed to determine whether Measure 110, which voters approved in […]
Lawmaker concerned about ‘dangerous’ conditions at OHSU primate center
A state lawmaker is calling for more transparency and accountability at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, which conducts medical research for human benefits and has thousands of primates in its care. Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, is backing a proposal that would require the center, run by Oregon Health & Science University in Beaverton, to […]
Oregon hospital industry group floats alternatives to nurse staffing bill
The Oregon hospital industry wants the Legislature to increase the number of nurses – in part by using state money for incentive programs to help hospitals hire and train nurses. The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, which represents the state’s 62 hospitals, on Wednesday released details of its proposals for addressing the nursing […]
Oregon Legislature will consider hospital nurse staffing levels
Oregon’s largest nurses union and the hospital industry are gearing up for a push – and potential fight – in the Legislature to bolster the ranks of nurses that have dwindled over the past three years. COVID-19 pushed hospitals into a crisis, with nurses reaching a breaking point as the pandemic dragged on. They also […]
Oregon’s attorney general focused on consumer privacy, labor trafficking, crime victims, ghost guns
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wants the Legislature to address consumer privacy, labor trafficking and sales of untraceable firearms this session. Rosenblum released on Tuesday her legislative agenda, which stems in part from task forces on consumer privacy and labor trafficking. Rosenblum also said she wants to ensure abortion rights in Oregon are preserved in […]
2023 Oregon legislative preview: What you need to know
The Oregon Legislature begins its 2023 work in earnest on Tuesday, with just more than five months to pass a budget and tackle pressing issues including homelessness, addiction and a public defender shortage that has left hundreds of people without their constitutionally guaranteed right to an attorney. The 90-member Legislature must end its work by […]
Oregon State Hospital largely passed recent inspection but violations remain
Oregon State Hospital largely passed its latest federal inspection but fell short of requirements for cleanliness, food storage and safety and following up on patient grievances, inspectors said in a report. The 39-page December report, which the Capital Chronicle obtained in a records request, was part of a follow-up to serious violations found earlier in […]