BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- In a Tuesday morning vote, the Senate shot down a bill to ban the chemical bisphenol A in baby bottles and sippy cups. The bill, carried on the floor by Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, lacked just a single vote to pass in the legislature’s smaller body. Failing on a 15-15 margin, [...]

BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- Hundreds of citizen activists met on the steps of the state’s legislature Monday afternoon, calling for smaller government and less government spending. Between 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, rallies hosted by the activist groups Americans for Prosperity and Freedomworks drew a variety of participants and speakers, including [...]

BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- An amendment to guarantee health care to all Oregonians narrowly failed in a House floor vote Friday morning. The amendment proposed by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, would have put forth a constitutional amendment to be voted on by the Senate and then brought to the ballot for a statewide vote from [...]

BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- A bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in vehicles under 10,000 pounds moved from the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Thursday, following the release of a fiscal report finding the bill would cost between $2.1 and $2.3 million to implement. The bill, introduced by Senate President Peter Courtney, would create [...]

BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- The House Committee on Consumer Protection and Government Accountability heard testimony Wednesday on a bill to establish a task force for instituting Core Functions of Government for the state. The concept of establishing Core Functions of Government was used in Washington State to create state budgets using a system of government [...]

BY JACOB SZETO A Secretary of State Audits Division audit report questions if $1.46 million used by the Oregon Commission for the Blind was spent prudently or lawfully. This audit was not random. It was initiated in March 2007 after the Secretary of State received allegations of mismanaged operations and misused funds. After substantiating several [...]

BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- A constitutional amendment allowing law enforcement to establish sobriety checkpoints was given a public hearing Monday morning in the Senate Judiciary Committee. While the bill, proposed by Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, was given this public hearing, it has not been scheduled to receive a work session and thus is not likely [...]

BY JACOB SZETO PORTLAND- In his 2010 State of the City Address on Friday, Portland Mayor Sam Adams focused on jobs and sustainability as both his short- and long-term goals for Portland. “This year, of all my many years of public service, has been unique for its singularity; for the first time, almost everyone shares [...]

BY JACOB SZETO PORTLAND- Flyers distributed by the Oregon Student Association (OSA) to students on university campuses contained incorrect information about Oregon ballot Measures 66 and 67. The flyer in question was intended to educate students about the impacts of Measures 66 and 67. It was passed out to students in classrooms during presentations and [...]

Update- Bill passed the House Floor on Monday morning and will now move to the Senate. BY SARAH ROSS SALEM- The House Committee on Environment and Water approved a bill Thursday which will ban offshore drilling in Oregon for a period of 10 years. The original bill brought to the committee constituted a lifetime ban [...]