For Oregon counties, there is a collective sigh of relief as a bill that threatens economic development opportunities died in committee. The bill, House Bill 2408 A, expands the definition of ‘public works’ in relation [...]
A bill to make Oregon’s land use laws more flexible for rural Oregon has cleared the final hurdle in the legislative process before it goes to the Governor’s desk. Senate Bill 2 would [...]
Legislative discussions are ramping up and bills like House Bill 2007, the “diesel bill” are likely to be on the move soon with some key amendments. In a Monday afternoon hearing on the bill, Representatives Karin [...]
House Bill 3099A, introduced to address a local dispute between the City of Happy Valley and the North Clackamas Park & Recreation District cleared the House floor on April 23 on a vote of 37-22. [...]
Pressure is on for legislators to move on several large policy bills. This session, legislative leadership has set its sights on 1. funding Medicaid; 2. increasing investment in education; and 3. creating a carbon cap [...]
Lottery revenue distributions to counties support economic development opportunities that make Oregon communities vibrant and prosperous. Under Oregon law, counties are supposed to receive 2.5 percent of net video lottery proceeds. Unfortunately, since 2011, this [...]
A group of stakeholders were convened over the last three years to address land use flexibility in rural Oregon counties. Harney County Commissioner Mark Owens took a large part in discussions to craft and advance [...]
A bill to expand projects subject to Oregon’s prevailing wage requirements was moved out of the House Committee on Business and Labor on a 6-5 vote before the first chamber deadline. HB 2408 expands the definition [...]
In the wake of deadlines, legislators move bills to non-policy committees such as Rules or Ways and Means to extend their lives. This allows all tools to remain available as negotiations for adjournment begin. This [...]
In 1999, the Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Universal Service Fund (OUSF) to support and provide targeted investments for telecommunications service in rural areas of the state. OUSF receives revenue from a surcharge on landlines [...]