Category Legislature
City Club hosts inside look at Oregon Legislature from reporters
You’ve been reading the headlines out of the Capitol, and now you can hear the story behind the stories. Aubrey Wieber, covering the Legislature for Salem Reporter as part of the Oregon Capital Bureau, shares his insights this Friday in a program before the Salem…
Law changes seen as tool to boost affordable housing across Oregon
SALEM — It’s getting harder to find a place to live in Oregon, and state lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to address what some call a housing crisis. New housing construction isn’t keeping pace with population growth in Oregon, according to state economists. The…
Oregon workers could get more leave, and paid, under proposed legislation
SALEM — Expectant mothers, marijuana users and caregivers for ailing relatives could all benefit from worker protections that legislators are scrambling to write into law this year. Advocates say that state law doesn’t go far enough to protect workers in many cases, especially when they…
Governor want to tap state funds to spare Oregon schools from retirement costs
SALEM — Two elements make budgeting a painful math exercise for the Umatilla School District: employee health benefits and retirement benefits. Right now, the eastern Oregon district pays about 8 percent of its budget, or $1.2 million, to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System. In…
Should DAs defend record requests? Lawmakers tinker with complicated system
SALEM — Legislators are weighing a proposal that would put Oregon’s attorney general and district attorneys in the position of defending public records requests in court. Oregon law allows anyone to request records from any public entity, from school districts to state agencies. In some…
You’re one step closer to never having to ‘fall back’ with clock changes
SALEM — Oregon took a step toward moving to year-round daylight saving time on Thursday, as the state Senate overwhelmingly passed legislation that could stop the changing of the clocks for most Oregonians. Like 47 other states, Oregon “springs forward” by an hour every March,…
Governor, AG step up for gun controls in packed Capitol hearings
Visitors to the Capitol watch testimony on gun control legislation on televisions in the lobby Tuesday. (Claire Withycombe/EO Media Group) SALEM — When state Rep. Rachel Prusak was 16, she was dating a boy who she says became controlling and aggressive. Her parents helped her…
Oregon voters may get new chance to clamp down on money flowing to politicians
SALEM — Two constitutional amendments next year could bring the most dramatic changes in a generation to how Oregon conducts its elections. But first, they have to pass through the Legislature. The pathway for campaign finance reform looked relatively smooth until it hit a bump…
A long-ago execution and a modern apology from Oregon
Kintpuash, known as Capt. Jack, once leader of the Modoc tribe. He was executed with three others after a standoff with the U.S. Army (Photo: Klamath County Museum) SALEM — Nearly 150 years ago, the nation’s attention was fixed on a remote area near the…