Smokers paying higher taxes would help buy health insurance for low-income Oregonians under a plan being advanced by Gov. Kate Brown. Brown is proposing tax increase of $2 a pack of cigarettes, currently taxed at $1.33. Backers say the increase would price thousands out of smoking. It would save lives[Read More…]
Tag: STATE GOVERNMENT
Secretary of State Dennis Richardson further reduces workload amid cancer battle
A screenshot from Richardson’s latest health update video, posted to Facebook Dec. 13. Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson announced Monday he is further scaling back his workload to focus on treatment of his brain cancer. Richardson didn’t provide details about his new schedule. “I will, of course, continue to[Read More…]
Long-awaited carbon cap bill is released
SALEM — After nearly a year of work by a legislative committee, a bill released Thursday afternoon outlines how Oregon would drastically cut its greenhouse gas emissions and become the second state to implement a cap and trade system. The anticipated legislation – criticized before it even appeared – instantly[Read More…]
For a measure of cap and trade success, look to the northeast
SALEM — As Oregon considers limiting carbon emissions to spare the environment, experience in Canada with a similar effort yields clues to what might happen. The province of Quebec’s cap and trade program, started in 2013, has proven a boon to the economy and technological innovation while cutting emission levels,[Read More…]
Lack of oversight has led to legal marijuana seeping into the black market, audit finds
SALEM — Oregon’s system for regulating legal cannabis likely fails to prevent spillover to the black market, state auditors said Wednesday. That increases the risk that the state could be subject to more federal scrutiny, said Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, whose audits division released a report Jan. 30 on[Read More…]
Oregon lawmaker pushes stronger job protections for pregnant and nursing workers
Rep. Karin Power (Jaime Valdez/Portland Tribune) By Claire Withycombe – Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Most people who testify at the Capitol bring slide presentations, graphs or official letterhead to make their point. State Rep. Karin Power, D-Milwaukie, brought a breast pump as she talked in support of her proposals[Read More…]
Republicans say consideration from Democrats has eroded in first week of legislature over carbon reduction
(Photo by Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) SALEM – Just a week into the 2019 Legislature, unrest between Democratic and Republican legislators has surfaced over landmark legislation to reduce Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions. Legislators have been anticipating the environmental push as a major issue in the session, putting Oregon in[Read More…]
Legislature looks to bolster education funding – with strings attached
Sen. Lew Frederick talks with Portland students during a tour of the state by the Joint Committee on School Success. (Pamplin file) A small group of legislators spent a year compiling their wish list of improvements to Oregon’s failing education system. Now they have five months to whittle it down[Read More…]
Repaving to slow I-5 traffic from Salem to Woodburn in summer months
The Oregon Department of Transportation will use new pilot programs to increase worker safety during its summer repaving project on Interstate 5. (Oregon Department of Transportation Flickr) The Oregon Department of Transportation has received more money to repave a 12.5-mile stretch of Interstate 5 between Salem and Woodburn after the[Read More…]
Business group analysis finds Oregon state employees contribute less to health care than in neighboring states
(Photo by Caleb Wolf/Special to Salem Reporter) SALEM — Oregon’s public employees typically pay less for health insurance than their peers in neighboring states, a new study finds. The study by the actuarial firm Milliman was commissioned by The Oregon Business Council, an association of business leaders, as part of[Read More…]
