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Oregon Senate Republican walkout hits day 5, Knopp acknowledges ‘partisan’ bills as factor
Sunday morning in an all-but-deserted downtown Salem heralded the start of a new week and a routine that’s become all too familiar in the state Senate as Republicans entered their fifth day of a walkout. A small group of Senate staff joined the security guards who work around the clock in an otherwise empty Capitol. […]
Watered-down rent control bill clears Oregon Senate panel
A watered-down version of a proposal meant to prevent a repeat of the nearly 15% rent hikes allowed this year cleared a Senate committee on Thursday. Oregon’s 2019 statewide rent control law caps increases on many buildings to no more than 7% plus inflation. Last year’s high inflation cleared the way for landlords to hike […]
Oregon Senate Republicans, Independent stage walkout as divisive bills await votes
UPDATED at 5:31 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, with reaction from Gov. Tina Kotek and other information. Most Oregon Republican senators on Wednesday skipped the Senate’s floor session, bringing the upper chamber’s work to a halt without the required two-thirds quorum as they face votes on the most divisive issues of the session: reproductive […]
Republicans, Oregon Right to Life sue over abortion bill’s readability
Two Oregon Republican legislators and an anti-abortion group are suing top legislative leaders, alleging that they broke state law because the written summary of a major bill on abortion and gender-affirming care isn’t easy to understand. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Marion County Circuit Court by Rep. Emily McIntire of Eagle Point, Sen. Suzanne Weber […]
Fall of a rising star: Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan resigns over cannabis side job
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will resign next Monday, a little more than a week after news broke of her moonlighting for a troubled cannabis company that played a key role in an audit conducted by her office. It’s an abrupt fall from grace for Fagan, next in line for governor and long viewed as […]
Day after apologizing and dropping side job, Fagan resigns as Secretary of State
This is a developing story and will continue to be updated Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will resign next Monday, a little more than a week after news broke of her moonlighting for a troubled cannabis company that played a key role in an audit conducted by her office. Fagan’s emailed announcement on Tuesday followed […]
Oregon House passes sweeping bill to guarantee access to abortion, gender-affirming care
Democrats in the Oregon House passed a sweeping bill intended to guarantee access to abortion and gender-affirming care Monday evening after a grueling day of debate and parliamentary motions from Republicans who adamantly oppose the measure. House Bill 2002, a top priority for Democrats in the legislative majority, represents the state’s response to last year’s […]
Fagan apologizes and resigns from her cannabis consulting job
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced Monday she has resigned from her $10,000-a-month consulting side job and tearfully apologized for her “poor judgment” in moonlighting with a politically-connected cannabis company regulated by a state agency her office was auditing. Fagan also released a copy of her contract with Veriede Holding LLC, an affiliate of […]
Debate over tolls, design heats up as Oregon moves closer to pledging $1 billion to I-5 bridge
There’s widespread agreement that the Interstate 5 bridge connecting Oregon and Washington needs to be replaced. It’s old, it’s crowded, it’s a critical freight line, and, most importantly, it’s not built to survive an earthquake. But that’s where the agreement ends. As Oregon lawmakers move closer to contributing $1 billion to the bridge replacement project, […]
Oregon bill would let more people qualify to end post-prison supervision early
Billy Anfield spent years feeling like someone was walking behind him everywhere he went, watching and waiting for the chance to put him behind bars. Anfield, 74, is now the advocacy coordinator for Central City Concern’s Flip the Script program, helping Black people released from prison find housing, health care, employment and support they need […]
Oregon bills banning Styrofoam, allowing reusable takeout containers pass House
A pair of bills aimed at reducing the number of takeout containers thrown away in Oregon are headed to Gov. Tina Kotek. The state House on Wednesday morning passed Senate Bill 543, which would ban Styrofoam and other polystyrene takeout containers, on a 40-18 vote. A few minutes later, Senate Bill 545, directing the Oregon […]
Oregon Legislature set to pick Vermont attorney to handle workplace harassment complaints, training
This article was updated shortly after 5 p.m. with information and quotes from the committee hearing. Oregon legislators have tapped a Vermont human rights attorney to handle workplace harassment complaints and training at the state Capitol, almost two years after the position created in the wake of sexual harassment scandals went vacant. During a brief […]