Latest Oregon State Legislative Assembly News

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signs an executive order on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, ordering the state to lower greenhouse gas emissions, as students look on in Salem, Ore. In an end run around Republican legislators, Oregon's Democratic governor ordered the state on Tuesday to lower greenhouse gas emissions, directing a state agency to set and enforce caps on pollution from industry and transportation fuels. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Oregon governor takes sweeping action to cut global warming

Mar. 10, 2020 8:13 PM EDT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In an end run around Republican legislators, Oregon's Democratic governor ordered the state on Tuesday to lower greenhouse gas emissions, directing a state agency to set and enforce caps on pollution from industry and transportation fuels. Gov. Kate Brown's sweeping executive order, one...

House Speaker Tina Kotek, left, and Senate President Peter Courtney appear before the press on Thursday, March 5, 2020, after Oregon's 2020 legislative session abruptly ended early amid an impasse with minority Republicans over a climate change bill and their tactic of walking out to deny a quorum and prevent the Senate and House from voting on bills. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Oregon Legislature crashes over climate, leaving acrimony

Mar. 6, 2020 4:41 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A total of three bills passed while hundreds died as the Oregon legislative session went down in flames and cost taxpayers a half-million dollars, including $151 per diems to minority Republican lawmakers who went into hiding to kill environmental legislation. On Friday, a day after the...

House Speaker Tina Kotek, left, and Senate President Peter Courtney appear before the press on Thursday, March 5, 2020, after Oregon's 2020 legislative session abruptly ended early amid an impasse with minority Republicans over a climate change bill and their tactic of walking out to deny a quorum and prevent the Senate and House from voting on bills. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Oregon 2020 legislative session implodes amid GOP walkout

Mar. 5, 2020 9:57 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon's 2020 legislative session imploded Thursday amid a boycott by minority Republicans over a climate change measure, an action they have taken repeatedly and which Democrats say threatens democratic rule. In response, Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, is finalizing executive actions that...

Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney pauses after declaring in the state Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2021, that amid a boycott by Republican senators, not enough lawmakers were present to reach a quorum. The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlights how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. In an interview with The Associated Press, Courtney, the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history, said he has not found a way out of the impasse and is broken hearted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Oregon Democrats subpoena boycotting GOP lawmakers

Feb. 27, 2020 9:42 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Stymied by a walkout by Republican lawmakers in the Oregon Legislature over a climate change bill, Democrats on Thursday said they will issue subpoenas to try to compel their return. Oregon has become a front line in the battle over how to address global warming, with Democrats...

Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney pauses after declaring in the state Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2021, that amid a boycott by Republican senators, not enough lawmakers were present to reach a quorum. The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlights how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. In an interview with The Associated Press, Courtney, the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history, said he has not found a way out of the impasse and is broken hearted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Democrats: GOP walkout in Oregon is stalling key bills

Feb. 26, 2020 8:11 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Democrats in Oregon tried Wednesday to pressure boycotting Republican lawmakers back to the Statehouse by emphasizing bills that would help their constituents, but GOP senators stayed away for a third day to block a bill on climate change they say should go before voters. "I wish the...

Oregon state Senate President Peter Courtney pauses after declaring in the state Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2021, that amid a boycott by Republican senators, not enough lawmakers were present to reach a quorum. The drastic move by Republicans in Oregon highlights how pitched the debate over how to respond to global warming is becoming, with the GOP saying leaving the Capitol was the only way to halt legislation they view as too extreme in a Legislature dominated by Democrats. Democrats warn that doing nothing at this point is too dangerous. In an interview with The Associated Press, Courtney, the longest-serving legislator in Oregon history, said he has not found a way out of the impasse and is broken hearted. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

Oregon climate battle: GOP walkout reveals sharp divisions

Feb. 25, 2020 5:53 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A rebellion by GOP politicians in liberal Oregon intensified Tuesday when Republican members of the House joined their Senate counterparts in a walkout, freezing legislation on climate change, wildfire mitigation, homeless assistance and a landmark compromise between the timber industry...

Gov. Kate Brown of Oregon denounces a walkout by Republicans in the state Senate that prevented a quorum on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020 in Salem, Ore. Republican lawmakers are trying to doom a contentious climate change bill. Brown said the Republicans are not against the climate policy but are against the Democratic process. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky)

GOP lawmakers walk out after Oregon climate bill advances

Feb. 24, 2020 5:23 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republican senators slipped out of the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, preventing the state Senate from convening in an attempt to doom a bill aimed at stemming global warming. The walkout was a repeat of action the GOP took last year to kill similar climate change legislation, a...

FILE - In this July 22, 2019, file photo, Oregon State University's Marine Studies Building, which is under construction in a tsunami inundation zone, is viewed from the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport, Ore. The building, center right, is surrounded by Yaquina Bay. The Oregon Legislature appears poised to continue to allow construction of critical facilities in tsunami inundation zones, a move slammed by critics. (AP Photo/Andrew Selsky, File)

Oregon wrestles with building facilities in tsunami zones

Feb. 17, 2020 2:01 PM EST

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Experts say the big one is coming to the Pacific Northwest: a massive earthquake that will cause buildings and bridges to collapse and unleash a tsunami that will devastate the coast. But, doubling down on its decision last year to allow the construction of critical facilities in tsunami...

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