Category State

In a dramatic afternoon, the Oregon House of Representatives voted 31-29 on a bill to cut retirement benefits for the state’s public employees. It was reform most seemed to find distasteful, regardless of party. Democrats considering supporting the bill risk losing campaign dollars from public…

Oregon’s new state librarian, Jennifer Patterson, among the stacks at the Salem institution. (Jaime Valdez/Portland Tribune) SALEM — Jennifer Patterson loves libraries. She always has, she says. Now, she’s Oregon’s state librarian — the person in charge of supporting every library in the state, as…

Shortly after her death was announced, a single candle was placed on Sen. Jackie Winters’ desk in the Oregon Senate, flickering in the otherwise dim room. (Claire Withycombe/East Oregonian Media Group) State Sen. Jackie Winters, a Salem Republican who spent decades in public service, died…

Students from March For Our Lives, a group advocating for tighter gun laws to prevent school violence, were at the Capitol Thursday to voice their disappointment over the failure of SB 978, which would have increased state restrictions on guns. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM…

People rally outside of the Capitol to support cap and trade. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) If Oregon’s proposed cap-and-trade program is approved and effective, it could decimate the State Highway Fund over the next 30 years. An analysis by a nonpartisan legislative economist found that if…

Left to right, Capt. Tim Fox and Superintendent Travis Hampton stand and clap as Trooper Nic Cederberg is awarded the Medal of Valor from President Donald Trump. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) SALEM – Oregon State Police Trooper Nic Cederberg stood in the White House on Wednesday…

Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem. SALEM — A veteran Republican senator absent for a month from the Capitol said Wednesday that her health is improving and that she is “working hard” to return to the 2019 Legislature. State Sen. Jackie Winters of Salem issued a statement…

(Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) A Senate-approved Measure 11 reform bill passed out of a House committee Tuesday, signaling the stars have aligned to pass one of the most significant changes to Oregon’s criminal justice system in decades. Senate Bill 1008 would stop juveniles charged…

SALEM — Oregon has come into an unexpected windfall, and now it’s up to lawmakers to figure out what to do with it. Personal and corporate income tax collections during the 2019 tax filing season were dramatically higher than state economists expected, according to a…