While legislators are supposed to represent their constituents, it’s not often that a letter from an Oregon teen leads to a law.  However, Kailee Desmond, a Lake Oswego teen, sought to change this. As someone with severe allergies, she saw that EpiPens and other needle injections were the only ways for schools to administer the […]

Oregon Republicans ended a brief Senate walkout that threatened to derail Democrats’ plans to reschedule a referendum on controversial transportation tax and fee increases from November to May. Both chambers on Thursday gaveled in with enough Republicans in attendance to reach a quorum, despite a majority of Republicans in the House and all of the […]

It’s a common scene at the Oregon Legislature: Crowds filling committee rooms and hallways hoping to testify on legislation, only to miss their chance to speak, submit written testimony instead or face interruption by a committee chair with a reminder that they have two minutes or less to speak. Legislative chambers in more than a […]

Concerns over aggressive federal immigration enforcement dominated Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s final town hall of the year. About 150 people attended Wednesday night’s event at Portland Community College’s Sylvania Campus, where Senate President Rob Wagner, a Lake Oswego Democrat who represents the area in the state Legislature, joined Rayfield. Over the course of an […]

As Oregon lawmakers stare down a deficit of at least $373 million over the next two years — and brace for the possibility of a bigger shortfall in the state’s next quarterly revenue forecast expected Wednesday — they asked all state agencies to create lists of ways to cut 5% of their legislatively approved budgets. […]