|
Oregon News
POLITICS
Democratic Oregon House members celebrate Black drag performers, as nearly all Republicans boycott
Oregon Live | By Sami Edge
Isaiah Esquire danced his way through the Oregon House of Representatives on Wednesday to the sounds of Aretha Franklin, followed closely by fellow Black drag performer Aqua Flora, who held a pride flag aloft as they sashayed down the chamber’s center aisle.
Esquire and Flora were featured performers in the House the day before Juneteenth, exemplifying the artistry called out in a resolution by Portland Rep. Travis Nelson honoring the history of Black drag in Oregon.
House lawmakers adopted the resolution 34-9, with all no votes cast by Republicans. Only one Republican lawmaker, Cyrus Javadi of Tillamook, sat at their desk during Esquire and Flora’s performance. Several left the chamber and at least two sat at the back of the room.
House Republican Dwayne Yunker, from Grants Pass, decried the planned performance on social media the day before it took place, calling it a “complete waste of taxpayer money.”
Drag queen performance celebrating Democratic resolution on Oregon House floor draws backlash: ‘Political theater’
New York Post | By Anna Young
Two drag queens sashayed onto the floor of the Oregon House of Representatives and delivered an awkward, over-the-top performance for lawmakers Wednesday morning — with one Republican official decrying the charade as pure “political theater.”
Video of the flamboyant display captured the two queens — one sporting a bright yellow shimmery jumpsuit, with the other rocking a rainbow-hued one-piece with a blue wig — lip-synching to Aretha Franklin’s “A Deeper Love” while dancing wildly and jumping up and down around the chamber for nearly five minutes.
“I’m not sure the Founding Fathers envisioned taxpayer-funded legislative chambers being turned into platforms for political theater,” Rep. Dwayne Yunker posted on X, with footage of the cringeworthy act.
Oregon lawmaker says he's 'frustrated to the highest level.' Here's why
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
Tensions rose in the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment on June 17 as committee members discussed potential amendments to House Bill 2025, a package to fund the Oregon Department of Transportation and direct money to counties, cities and some major projects.
"I don't see how anybody can expect us to vote on this tomorrow or the day after based on everything that was presented and the time we have to digest this and even to amend it or correct it and make sure it is accomplishing what we are looking at," said Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone.
The text of House Bill 2025 was not publicly released until June 9, when committee Republicans criticized it for lacking promised bipartisanship. Some former Republican lawmakers have proposed referring the bill to voters.
Oregon lawmakers considering nicotine pouch tax to help pay for wildfire costs
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
As time ticks down for lawmakers to come up with a plan to fund the fight against wildfires, they are considering a tax on oral nicotine pouches as a potential new plan.
"Right now, we are getting towards desperate on funding wildfire for the coming biennium," said State Senator Jeff Golden (D-Ashland).
The plan is part of an amendment to a bill that initially would have added a non-refundable fee to the bottle bill deposit. That fee is now off the table, as many lawmakers expressed hesitancy to make changes to a successful program like the bottle bill.
The new tax on products like Zyn and Rogue would add .65 cents to each pack with 20 or fewer pouches. For packs with more than 20 pouches, a three-cent fee will be applied per pouch.
Governor Kotek said Wednesday that she supports the plan.
"I do think we should tax nicotine products, and we're talking about the types of new products that have nothing to do with smoking. They're about pouches in your mouth. That is a highly addictive substance, and I do think it should be taxed," said Kotek.
Both Senator Golden and Representative Pam Marsh (D-District 5) said this tax could generate up to $30 million to fight fires across Oregon over the next two years.
A third of the money would be allocated towards mitigating costs, while the remainder would be dedicated to wildfire prevention.
Kotek Says Preschool for All Tax Imperiling Oregon Tax Base
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
In a letter sent June 10, Gov. Tina Kotek urged Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson to consider easing the tax burden on some of the county’s highest earners by restructuring the Preschool for All tax.
But in her letter to Vega Pederson, Kotek outlined a trend she saw as “unsustainable” in the county. Multnomah County’s high income earners shoulder the second-highest income tax rate nationwide, at 13.9%, she wrote. She added that the Preschool for All tax seemed to be discouraging these top earners from calling Portland—and Multnomah County—home.
In a response to Kotek dated Wednesday, Vega Pederson disputed the governor’s 1,700 number, saying that during tax year 2023, the county had not yet done any outreach to potential payers. “Based on updated data that we received in May, the total number of filers in Tax Year 2023 is now 38,370, a 5,429-filer increase from revised Tax Year 2021 numbers,” she wrote. (Kotek’s letter notes her data is from May 16.)
Cities let housing permits age like ‘fine wine,’ lawmaker says. A new law seeks to speed approvals
Oregon Live | By Jonathan Bach
A new Oregon law aims to speed housing construction by reducing local authority to scrutinize aesthetic details in applications and setting a “shot clock” for some other development decisions.
Gov. Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 974 into law this week after it passed with bipartisan support in both chambers. It will take effect at the end of September, with some provisions going into effect in July 2026.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, and Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, represents a play by state lawmakers to spur local governments to action as Kotek chases ambitious homebuilding goals that are meant to contain housing costs.
The League of Oregon Cities took a neutral stance on the bill, while the Association of Oregon Counties supported it.
Rep. Cyrus Javadi, R-Tillamook, said on the House floor that some view the bill as chipping away at local control.
“But if local control means you can stall housing for two years because you don’t like a window grid pattern, then maybe local control needs to be reined in,” he said.
Javadi and others stressed the need to get housing approvals moving.
“We’ve got a housing crisis, colleagues,” Javadi said, “and we’re treating permits like they’re fine wine that needs to age before anyone can live indoors.”
Rep. Virgle Osborne, R-Roseburg, raised the issue of Oregon’s heretofore failure to build anywhere close to Kotek’s goal of 36,000 new homes a year, a target established when she took office in 2023. He said he viewed SB 974 as a step toward realizing that goal.
“Our governor asked us to do 36,000,” Osborne said. “Let’s get out of her way.”
Oregon lawmakers advance bill to expand, accelerate middle housing
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo
The Oregon House on June 18 approved a measure aimed at easing land-use regulations to spur more middle housing, such as duplexes, triplexes and cottage clusters, in the state.
House Bill 2138 now heads to the Oregon Senate for further consideration.
Kotek and lawmakers say making it easier to build multifamily homes on lots zoned for single-family homes is necessary to address Oregon's housing supply shortage.
House Republican Leader Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, spoke in opposition during the House vote, saying she was supportive of some of the regulatory changes but opposed the way "this legislation runs over local communities."
"When we look at legislation like this, it screams a level of desperation that refuses to acknowledge the fact that what we actually need to do is have a much larger conversation on our 50-plus-year-old land use system in the state of Oregon," Drazan said.
Kotek’s Education Accountability Bill Moves Through Both Chambers
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
The Oregon House of Representatives passed Gov. Tina Kotek’s education accountability package on Monday with bipartisan support, by a vote of 39-15.
It now awaits her signature, as does a record $11.4 billion spending package for Oregon’s K-12 schools.
That the two bills arrive on Kotek’s desk together is no accident. The relationship between Oregon’s increased education spending and dismal student outcomes became a hot topic this legislative cycle, after a presentation from the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University presented data showing that student outcomes had worsened even as investments had grown.
That finding grabbed the attention of legislators and Kotek, who in March presented a pair of education accountability bills to both legislative chambers, telling reporters she didn’t believe in writing a blank check.
The accountability bill will give more specific responsibilities to the Oregon Department of Education, which will be empowered to intervene in and coach struggling school districts while establishing statewide education goals.
It will also lighten administrative burden at school districts, particularly around grant reporting, and track additional metrics for Oregon students.
Some Republicans have opposed Kotek’s accountability bill, arguing that the state needs less top-down control.
Bill to boost beavers, curb trapping to help restore waterways passes Oregon Legislature
Oregon Live | By Gosia Wozniacka
How to restore water quality in thousands of miles of polluted waterways in Oregon? Call in the beavers – the animals, that is, not the football team.
That’s what new legislation – approved this week – essentially seeks to do.
The bill has garnered passionate support and adamant opposition during committee hearings, with more than 1,600 people submitting written testimony.
“If we started from scratch to create a resource to improve water quality and quantity on our impaired streams, we couldn’t do better than beavers,” said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland.
Bill to strengthen Oregon’s electric grid, increase transmission capacity passes Legislature
Oregon Live | By Gosia Wozniacka
Oregon legislators have passed a bill that mandates alternatives to building new transmission lines and aims to save ratepayers money.
House Bill 3336 requires utilities to use so-called grid-enhancing technologies that can be installed on existing transmission lines to increase their efficiency, capacity and reliability.
“Not only do we need to keep the lights on, but we need to do so with renewable energy. Without additional transmission capacity, we will not be able to bring the renewable energy projects online that are needed to meet the state’s climate goals,” said the bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Mark Gamba, a Democrat from Milwaukie.
Oregon lawmakers to slash homelessness prevention funding; Gov. Kotek calls on them to reconsider
Oregon Live | By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
The proposed housing and homelessness budget making its way through the Oregon Legislature would cut eviction prevention funding by 74% compared to the current budget, to just under $34 million in the upcoming 2025-27 biennium.
Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, who co-chairs the Joint Ways and Means subcommittee responsible for advancing the proposed Oregon Housing and Community Services budget, said lawmakers had to make tough choices following a “lousy revenue forecast.”
The spending package passed out of the Joint Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday and now heads to the House floor. Kotek said she would push to add more money for her homelessness priorities in an end of session bill.
Gov. Tina Kotek signs new Oregon laws on book bans, health care and veterans' services
KGW | By Alex Jensen
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed 27 new bills into law this week, advancing policies on education, health care, housing and veterans’ services — including a new law aimed at curbing book bans in schools and libraries.
The bill would essentially ban book bans by prohibiting school district and libraries from removing books or instructional materials based solely on the author or subject belonging to a protected class, such as race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, marital status, age and disability.
Parents, guardians and school staff can still file a complaint if they believe materials are inappropriate due to content, and a district committee will evaluate whether it should be removed or not.
Oregon farm group says rising immigration enforcement is disruptive to agriculture
OPB | By Alejandro Figueroa
The Oregon Farm Bureau says its members are raising concerns about targeted immigration enforcements in agricultural communities after U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement officials were sighted in Yamhill County.
Federal immigration officials arrested a Newberg vineyard management business owner and one of his employees on Thursday. Now the farm bureau, which is Oregon’s largest agriculture group, is working to connect farmworkers and farmers to legal resources.
There are no clear numbers, but in Oregon, as much as one-third of agricultural workers are in the U.S. without legal status.
Appeals court reaches decision in Grants Pass educators’ lawsuit involving gender policy
KOIN 6 | By Jashayla Pettigrew
Judges have sided with some claims from Oregon educators who alleged they were terminated from a school district due to their stance on gender identity policies.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted summary judgment to Rachel Sager and Katie Medart — who claimed the Grants Pass School District violated the Equal Protection Clause by ousting them in response to a social media campaign. The summary judgment means the plaintiffs’ case has been decided without a trial.
“Educators are free to express opinions on fundamental issues of public concern — like gender identity education policy — that implicate the freedoms of teachers, parents, and students,” Alliance Defending Freedom’s Mathew Hoffmann, who represented the plaintiffs, said in response.
ECONOMY
Oregon’s jobless rate hits another post-pandemic high: ‘real evidence of weakness in the state’
Oregon Live | By Mike Rogoway
Oregon’s unemployment rate nudged up slightly last month to its highest level in nearly four years, 4.8%, according to new data out Wednesday. It’s another sign of the state’s deteriorating labor market amid mounting economic pressure.
“There is some real evidence of weakness in the state,” Oregon state economist Carl Riccadonna told a legislative committee hearing Wednesday. He noted that the state’s jobless rate has risen slowly but steadily over the past year and is 0.6 points higher than the national rate.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Portland inches closer to establishing its new police oversight board
Oregon Live | By Zaeem Shaikh
It’s been more than four years since Portland voters overwhelmingly approved the creation of a new police oversight board, and the Portland City Council is finally poised to appoint its members Wednesday night.
Some of the names on the list of 21 volunteers and six alternates who are expected to serve will be familiar to Portlanders. That includes Karly Edwards, the former chief of staff to Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, who championed the initiative, and Terrence Hayes, a former City Council candidate who has been outspoken in favor of police.
Neighbors fear homeless shelter planned for Pearl District: 'We're going to see a destabilized community'
KGW | By Katherine Cook
Neighbors are sounding off over the city of Portland's plans to put an overnight homeless shelter in the Pearl District. City officials tell KGW the city leased the office building at 1435 Northwest Northrup Street next to Interstate 405.
"It's not going to be good," said Todd Zarnitz, president of the Northwest District Association, noting he believes addiction is the root of Portland's homeless crisis.
The shelter will help Portland Mayor Keith Wilson reach his goal of adding 1,500 new overnight shelter beds by December. Rob Layne with the city's Portland Solutions program said the site would have a maximum capacity of 200 beds and could open by September. He said the shelter would be low barrier, meaning adults who stay there can be drunk or high but they can't bring drugs or weapons into the shelter.
National News
SpaceX rocket explodes in new setback to Elon Musk’s Mars project
The Guardian
One of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starships has exploded during a routine test in Texas, authorities said, in the latest setback to the billionaire’s dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.
The Starship 36 underwent “catastrophic failure and exploded” at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11pm on Wednesday (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by the Cameron County authorities said.
A video shared in the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm, and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion.
Trump extends TikTok ban deadline by another 90 days
NBC News
President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the short-form video app to an American owner by another 90 days.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order granting a third extension for the Chinese company to sell its platform so it can continue to operate in the United States.
Trump to decide within 2 weeks whether to strike Iran, the White House says
Associated Press
President Donald Trump will decide within the next two weeks whether to strike Iran, the White House said Thursday, saying Trump still sees a “substantial” chance that negotiations can achieve U.S. and Israeli demands on Iran’s nuclear program.
|
