By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — School kids still visited, their eyes drifting up toward the larger-than-life murals of settlers and farmers. A smattering of lobbyists could be seen chatting in the hallways, weaving in and out of legislative offices, on the phone, and quietly working away on laptops. Were it any other legislative […]
Oregon News
House Democrats will see if subpoenas can bring GOP lawmakers back to Capitol
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — Democrats in the Oregon House moved Thursday to force Republicans back to the Capitol Thursday, issuing subpoenas to 21 state representatives that could compel them to explain their disappearing act from Salem. A process server has been hired to track down the missing Republicans and deliver their subpoenas. […]
Democrats unwilling to refer cap-and-trade to voters as Oregon GOP walkout goes into a third day
By the Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — With Republican legislators absent from the Capitol for the third day over a proposal to reduce Oregon’s greenhouse gas emissions, Democrats in the House and Senate said they were determined to stand against demands to refer the proposal to voters. Although there are some faint hints of […]
Oregon House Republicans walk out Tuesday, joining GOP senators to bring Legislature to a halt
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — A day after their counterparts in the Senate vacated the Capitol, Republican representatives brought the House to a halt Tuesday, skipping a daily session in protest of a controversial climate bill. Their absence blocked the House from taking votes. If all Democrats are present, the House still needs […]
Oregon Republican senators walk out of Legislature on Monday in cap-and-trade dispute
By the Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The Oregon Senate came to an abrupt stop Monday when 11 of its 12 Republicans disappeared. For the second time in less than a year, they left the Capitol to protest a bill to cut the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Their departure prevents the Senate from taking […]
Oregon ‘Cap and Trade’ Legislation: Here’s an explanation of basic questions
By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE and JAKE THOMAS/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The arguments and critiques are flying across the state about Senate Bill 1530, Oregon’s plan to set limits on — and shrink — the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Proponents of the program say it’s needed in the face of federal inaction on climate change, […]
Key to forestry-environment settlement is an agreement on timber aerial spraying
By SAM STITES/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM — The fate of the landmark deal signed between a coalition of timber companies and environmental groups depends on lawmakers acting on legislation that would reform certain Oregon logging practices. The deal brokered by Gov. Kate Brown and announced earlier this month outlines a process for the two […]
Republicans in Oregon House walk out Tuesday night in protest of procedures, bills
By OREGON CAPITAL BUREAU SALEM — Republican legislators put the brakes on the Oregon Legislature, disrupting a Tuesday evening session of the House by leaving in protest because they said their members needed more time to consider contentious bills. The House needs two-thirds of its 60 members to take votes. With its current political makeup, […]
“Historic” forest agreement may add pressure on GOP senators to stay in session, not walk out
By SAM STITES/Oregon Capital Bureau SALEM – The deal between the timber industry and environmentalists is intended to end the war in the woods that has beset Oregon forestry issues for decades. But not everyone is cheering what Gov. Kate Brown described as a “historic” deal between timber and environmental groups. But critics now […]
Oregon legislators push ahead with climate bill without knowing its economic impact
By DICK HUGHES/For YachatsNews.com Oregon lawmakers are acting on a climate bill without knowing its economic impact. The Legislature’s 12 Republican senators recently asked for an economic analysis of SB 1530, the main carbon cap and trade legislation, and SB 1574, which is Gov. Kate Brown‘s version. In an email, which I obtained through a […]