Author

Julia Shumway has reported on government and politics in Iowa and Nebraska, spent time at the Bend Bulletin and most recently was a legislative reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times in Phoenix. An award-winning journalist, Julia most recently reported on the tangled efforts to audit the presidential results in Arizona.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek proposes $32.1 billion 2023-25 budget
By: Julia Shumway - January 31, 2023
The $32.1 billion state budget Gov. Tina Kotek proposed Tuesday redirects hundreds of millions of dollars that would have gone to the state’s reserves to build houses, teach kids to read and improve access to mental health services. Education and human services, including funding behavioral health and homelessness, make up a combined 75% of the […]
Renters urge Oregon legislators to restore pandemic protections from eviction
By: Julia Shumway - January 30, 2023
Renters and tenant advocates on Monday urged Oregon lawmakers to revive some pandemic eviction protections, while critics warned that restoring those regulations would make landlords raise rent or stop leasing altogether. Senate Bill 799, discussed in the Senate Housing Committee, would postpone evictions for not paying rent for up to 60 days while tenants seek […]
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek shares details of $130 million homelessness spending plan
By: Julia Shumway - January 26, 2023
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is asking the state Legislature to quickly spend $130 million to build 600 shelter beds, keep 9,000 families housed and help 1,200 homeless people find shelter. Kotek released the details of her plan, which she first announced during her Jan. 9 inaugural address, in a statement late Thursday afternoon. Lawmakers who […]
Oregon mayors, city officials lobby for more money for homelessness
By: Julia Shumway - January 25, 2023
Hundreds of mayors, city councilors and city employees from around Oregon descended on Salem on Wednesday to lobby lawmakers for hundreds of millions of dollars for homelessness and housing shortages. Local leaders are pushing a proposal from the Oregon Mayors Association for nearly $125 million in annual funding for cities to address homelessness. They face […]
Oregon Senate Republicans describe hopes for bipartisanship, won’t stop delaying tactics
By: Julia Shumway - January 24, 2023
Oregon Senate Republicans described hopes of a bipartisan legislative session on Tuesday – but they also have no plans to stop forcing every bill to be read in its entirety on the Senate floor, a delaying tactic to hinder the work of the Democratic majority. For the past two years, a droning computer has read […]
Oregon launches new free hotline for abortion legal advice
By: Julia Shumway - January 23, 2023
The Oregon Department of Justice has launched a hotline to provide free legal advice to people with legal questions about abortions. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s Monday announcement came the day after the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights nationwide until the court overturned the […]
Oregon Secretary of State didn’t investigate residency complaint against new Rep. Hai Pham
By: Julia Shumway - January 20, 2023
State election officials opted not to investigate a complaint alleging that a new Democratic state representative doesn’t actually live in the district he represents, citing the complaint’s proximity to the November election. Hai Pham, a pediatric dentist and Vietnamese refugee, was elected in November to represent the strongly Democratic 36th House District in Hillsboro. A […]
Oregon in a good position to compete for federal semiconductor money, legislators hear
By: Julia Shumway - January 19, 2023
Oregon is better positioned than many states to receive billions of dollars from the federal government to expand the semiconductor industry, but it still has work to do, according to legislative testimony this week. The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Semiconductors, a 14-member group of Democratic and Republican senators and representatives that discussed the situation Wednesday, […]
Housing, semiconductors, budget take center stage as Oregon legislators hope for bipartisan session
By: Julia Shumway - January 18, 2023
Housing, homelessness, behavioral health and expanding Oregon’s semiconductor industry will take center stage in the 2023 legislative session against the backdrop of a challenging budget. Senate Democrats and House leaders from both parties laid out the broad strokes of their plans for the session in separate media briefings Tuesday. Details – including how much money […]
Oregon Republican representative accused of sexual abuse stripped of committees
By: Julia Shumway - January 17, 2023
Oregon House Speaker Dan Rayfield removed a freshman Republican state representative who’s under a restraining order from serving on committees. Since Nov. 7, Brian Stout, R-Columbia City, has been subject to a five-year order of protection from a former campaign volunteer who reported that he had sexually assaulted her and threatened her life. A Columbia […]
2023 Oregon legislative preview: What you need to know
By: Julia Shumway, Alex Baumhardt and Ben Botkin - January 17, 2023
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 Secretary of State Fagan lays out legislative agenda
By: Julia Shumway - January 12, 2023
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan is seeking to expand automatic voter registration to returning prisoners and Medicaid recipients, along with more funding to oversee elections and respond to records requests. Fagan laid out her legislative agenda in a letter to lawmakers and a press conference Thursday morning. She’s also seeking millions of dollars to […]