Article by Libby Dowsett & KGW: SALEM, Ore. — An Oregon bill aimed at increasing transparency around immigration enforcement at schools is now moving through the legislature. House Bill 4079 would require all public schools and universities to notify students, families and staff if federal immigration agents are on campus. Lawmakers have said word spreads quickly
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(Update: adding video) By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon Legislature yet again delayed a vote on one of the most politically contentious bills of the year’s short legislative session, to reschedule a referendum on transportation tax and fee increases from November to May. Lawmakers in the Oregon House on Thursday agreed
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A Democratic Oregon state senator who interrupted and raised his voice at a Republican state representative during a contentious debate last June was disrespectful but didn’t break the Legislature’s anti-discrimination policies, the Senate Conduct Committee determined Wednesday evening.
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Oregon private employers reported 58,500 job openings at any given time in 2025, according to new data from the Oregon Employment Department’s Job Vacancy Survey. Thats’s essentially unchanged from the 57,800 job openings seen in 2024. In research published Thursday, OED Senior Research Analyst Anna Johnson reports that the health care and social assistance industry
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Lawmakers in Salem are debating two competing bills aimed at addressing liability and insurance concerns for Oregon’s ski and outdoor recreation industries. Senate Bill 1517 and Senate Bill 1593 both seek to regulate how liability is handled as operators face rising insurance costs. The legislative push comes as many recreation providers
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Contract negotiations at four Oregon K-12 school districts and three community colleges remain unresolved after a year “and are rapidly approaching strike threats in all seven locations,” the Oregon Education Association said Wednesday. KTVZ News reported Monday that classified workers at Central Oregon Community College had declared an impasse in talks
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Most Democratic Oregon lawmakers voted to disconnect some of the state’s tax code from the federal tax code to keep hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue the state otherwise would lose by replicating federal tax cuts. Republicans in turn threatened to send it to Oregon voters in November via a ballot referral.
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Democratic lawmakers didn’t meet a recommended Wednesday deadline to pass a law rescheduling a gas tax referendum to May, but they’re still moving forward with the effort despite warnings from the state’s top election official that doing so could limit voter input.
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Federal agents in Oregon have detained and shot immigrants in hospital parking lots, accessed confidential emergency medical service logs from behind nurses’ desks and interfered with nurses while they care for patients — some with shackled ankles as agents stood guard in exam rooms.
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By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon House on Wednesday moved to strengthen some of the nation’s strictest state-level firearm safety provisions narrowly enacted by Oregon voters in 2022, after a tense dispute during a committee hearing over the bill brought the chamber to a standstill on Monday. Along with banning
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Cascade Natural Gas has filed a request with the Oregon Public Utility Commission to increase its annual revenue by $16.4 million, a proposal that if approved would raise customer rates by nearly 16 percent this fall. The PUC plans to host a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, March 3, to gather
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Rep. Janelle Bynum filed for reelection for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District to continue her work in the U.S. House of Representatives. The following information comes from Rep. Bynum’s press release: During her first term, Bynum secured more than $160 million in federal funding for the district and passed four bipartisan bills.
Continue Reading By Shaanth Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Republicans began boycotting the House floor Monday afternoon, shortly after the Oregon Senate sent their chamber a controversial bill that would reschedule a referendum on transportation tax and fee increases from November to May. “Today, House Republicans have determined it is best for us to
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After several delays and an encroaching Wednesday deadline, a proposal to reschedule the date of a gas tax referendum from November to May finally passed the Oregon Senate.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Oregon’s average gas prices have risen 17.8 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.78 a gallon on Monday, due in large part to Northwest refinery outages and disruptions, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 1,307 Oregon gas stations Oregon. Prices in Oregon are 46.9 cents per gallon higher than a
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Community disability rights advocate Andrew Caruana has filed to run for House District 54 against incumbent Rep. Jason Kropf in the Democratic Primary. The district encompasses large portions of Bend. Caruana, an active member of several local and state committees, is running on a platform focused on the affordability crisis and
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTVZ) — U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced they will not attend the State of the Union speech on Tuesday, February 24th. Instead, the Oregon Democrats will co-host a live online town hall that day to answer questions directly from constituents. The virtual event, held in partnership with People’s Town Hall,
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — PacifiCorp, the parent company of Pacific Power, announced it has reached a $575 million settlement with the federal government to resolve all known federal claims for damages from several major wildfires. According to a statement PacifiCorp released Friday, the settlement covers losses from the 2020 Labor Day fires — including the
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek requested a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump following severe storms in December that caused more than $15.4 million in damage across Oregon. The request seeks public assistance for nine counties and statewide access to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The storms, which occurred from December 15th
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Pacific Power is investing tens of millions of dollars into Central Oregon’s electrical grid to support a population that has grown by more than 65,000 residents since 2010. The utility provider is fast-tracking new substations and 500-kilovolt transmission lines to keep pace with the region’s record-breaking electricity demand, which has surged
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