Economy
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek proposes $32.1 billion 2023-25 budget
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 […]
State lawmakers consider allocating $1 billion towards I-5 bridge
Oregon lawmakers this legislative session are considering allocating $1 billion toward replacing the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, a project that could represent an opportunity for bipartisan work on an essential piece of infrastructure for the region. The need to replace the bridge is not under debate: The current […]
Renters urge Oregon legislators to restore pandemic protections from eviction
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 […]
GOP U.S. House passes bill opening more public land to development if reserve oil is tapped
U.S. House Republicans passed a bill Friday to force the White House to make more federal land and waters available for oil and gas development if the president orders the withdrawal of more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The bill, passed 221-205, mostly along party lines, would strip the president’s power to remove oil […]
Affordable, reliable and sustainable: Report compares utility performance
A nationwide comparison of electric utility performance by an Illinois consumer advocacy group found that customers in states that are heavily reliant on fuel oil and natural gas, as in the Northeast and South, tend to pay more than those with larger amounts of carbon-free generation, among other findings. The report by the Illinois-based Citizens […]
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek shares details of $130 million homelessness spending plan
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 […]
Hundreds of thousands of Oregonians face drastic food budget cut
Oregon food banks are bracing for an uptick in demand in March when hundreds of thousands of state residents will face a drastic cut in their food budget. More than 720,000 Oregonians rely on the federal food Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eat. In April 2020, after the pandemic hit and many people lost wages […]
Oregon mayors, city officials lobby for more money for homelessness
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 […]
Taxpayers have free options for filing 2022 income tax returns
Filing taxes can be costly, but it doesn’t need to be: There are free options. Oregon taxpayers who prepare their own returns and file want to file electronically have several options, according to the state Department of Revenue. They include services by AARP, United Way’s MyFreeTaxes program, MFS-CASH Oregon and the IRS that provide tax […]
Oregon in a good position to compete for federal semiconductor money, legislators hear
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, […]
U.S. House agriculture leaders discuss anti-hunger measures in upcoming farm bill
WASHINGTON — The new Republican chairman of the U.S. House agriculture committee and a top Democrat on the panel have laid out anti-hunger initiatives Congress could tackle in the upcoming farm bill. During a panel discussion on Wednesday, Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania, the new head of the Agriculture Committee, said he believes members […]
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 […]