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Federal judge rules state must let disabled senior submit anti-gas tax argument for voters’ pamphlet
Published: March 11, 2026 19:00
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled in favor of a Klamath Falls woman who argued the state violated a federal disability rights law by requiring she quickly submit 500 signatures or pay $1,200 to get an argument against a gas tax referendum into the Oregon…
From farm store rules to Moda Center renovations, these Oregon bills got bipartisan support
Published: March 11, 2026 13:00
Republicans during Oregon’s 2026 legislative session repeatedly criticized Democrats, who hold the majority in the Legislature, for not working across the aisle on measures such as moving the date of a gas tax referendum and policies they said conflict…
State-mandated paid leave programs now cover millions of American workers
Published: March 11, 2026 12:30
Nearly one-third of the nation’s private sector workers are covered by paid leave programs as more states require employers to provide medical and family leave, according to a new analysis released this week. Currently, the District of Columbia and 13…
Hundreds of Oregonians sign up to run for statewide races, Congress, Legislature
Published: March 11, 2026 02:00
More than 350 Oregonians, veteran elected officials and newcomers alike, filed to run for statewide, congressional and legislative offices by Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Oregonians will elect a governor, labor commissioner, U.S. senator, six members of…
Circuit Court judge will rule quickly on suit against state over timing of gas tax referendum
Published: March 10, 2026 23:37
A Marion County Circuit Court judge said he will rule quickly on a case brought against the Oregon secretary of state by GOP lawmakers and voters over the timing of a gas tax referendum. Senior Judge David Leith on Tuesday heard roughly 90 minutes of…
State, local policies on immigration enforcement targeted by US Senate Republicans
Published: March 10, 2026 18:27
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans during a Tuesday hearing laid the groundwork for legislation that would prevent state and local governments from making decisions on whether to limit cooperation with the federal government on immigration enforcement. …
Republicans target public lands protections in a new way
Published: March 10, 2026 13:00
Over the past year, GOP leaders and the Trump administration have used a law known as the Congressional Review Act to push for coal mining in Montana, oil drilling in Alaska and copper mining in Minnesota, while also attempting to reverse protections for a…
Federal judge continues to restrict agents’ use of tear gas on protesters at Portland ICE facility
Published: March 10, 2026 00:40
A federal judge on Monday ordered federal officers at Portland’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility to continue to restrict their use of tear gas and less-lethal munitions against non-violent protesters, marking the second ruling in less than a…
Trump sends mixed signals on Iran war end, pushes election overhaul bill
Published: March 9, 2026 23:47
President Donald Trump on Monday told House Republicans, who were gathered in Florida for a policy retreat, that he expects the war in Iran will wrap up “quickly,” though he didn’t give a specific date or detail exactly what he wants to do before ending…
Oregon lawmakers proposed hundreds of bills in the short session. Many failed to pass
Published: March 9, 2026 22:50
Oregon lawmakers proposed hundreds of bills in the packed, five-week-long legislative session that wrapped on Friday, including dozens that failed to cross the finish line. Many of the dead bills broadly directed state agencies to study specific issues.…
Gas prices spike across US amid Iran war
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/09/repub/gas-prices-spike-across-u-s-amid-iran-war/
Published: March 9, 2026 17:41
WASHINGTON — Americans are paying more for gas Monday as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran chokes off a significant route for roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum products. Global prices for Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed over $100…
Data center tax break close to getting zapped by WA Legislature
Published: March 9, 2026 16:29
Tax breaks for data center operators could soon be stripped from Washington state law. On Saturday, the House Finance Committee voted 8 to 6 to approve Senate Bill 6231. The bill next awaits a House floor vote. As it stands, data center operators in most…
Oregon pushes new homes to install heat pumps over ACs
Published: March 9, 2026 13:00
Canary Media originally published this article. Oregon has made heat pumps the default appliance for cooling new homes. Last month, the state Building Code Division’s Residential and Manufactured Structures Board voted 7–1 to adopt energy-efficiency…
After walkouts, budget woes and tensions over Trump, Oregon lawmakers wrap for 2026 session
Published: March 7, 2026 02:53
For the first time in years, Oregon lawmakers in Salem’s newly-reopened Capitol streamed out of the chamber floors into the rotunda to cap the end of a short legislative session that had both Republicans and Democrats claiming victories. Responding to the…
Live updates: 2026 legislative session draws to a close
Published: March 6, 2026 23:55
After just more than a month of long meetings, sharp disagreements and hard-fought compromises, the Oregon Legislature must adjourn by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Capital Chronicle reporters have been at the Capitol tracking the action since it started Feb. 2, and…
Judge blocks Portland ICE facility agents from using tear gas leaking into nearby apartments
Published: March 6, 2026 23:43
A federal judge on Friday barred federal agents outside Portland’s waterfront Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility from using tear gas and chemical munitions in a manner that could seep into a nearby affordable housing complex unless there is an…
Oregon Legislature votes to round pennies after lack of federal guidance
Published: March 6, 2026 20:42
Oregonians who pay in cash could pay a couple cents more or less under a bill headed to Gov. Tina Kotek. House Bill 4178, which passed the Oregon Senate on a 26-2 vote Thursday evening, would allow transactions to be rounded to the nearest five cents for…
Oregon lawmakers increase lodging tax to boost wildlife funding
Published: March 6, 2026 19:08
Oregon lawmakers have voted to increase the state’s lodging tax in order to help fund wildlife conservation. The tax increase passed the state Senate on Wednesday in a 20-9 vote, a week after approval in the House. The measure is expected to bring in…
Oregon bill to limit how much THC goes into each edible fails
Published: March 6, 2026 14:00
An attempt to limit how much THC can be in an individual edible isn’t advancing this year in Oregon. Senate Bill 1548 was an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the production of individual edibles with more than 10 milligrams of THC, targeting edibles that…
Oregon Legislature votes to give cities, counties flexibility in tourism revenue
Published: March 6, 2026 00:55
The Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4148 to reduce the share of transient lodging tax that must be used for tourism promotion or tourism-related facilities from 70% to 50% and let cities and counties use up to half the proceeds for services.
Live updates: 2026 legislative session draws to a close
Published: March 6, 2026 00:50
After just more than a month of long meetings, sharp disagreements and hard-fought compromises, the Oregon Legislature must adjourn by 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Capital Chronicle reporters have been at the Capitol tracking the action since it started Feb. 2, and…
Trump’s second tariff push faces immediate legal challenge from two dozen states
Published: March 5, 2026 21:41
Two dozen states asked a federal court to block the tariffs that President Donald Trump instituted last month after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous tariffs. The lawsuit, filed in the federal Court of International Trade, aims to strike…
Raiders of the lost dedicated funds
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/03/05/raiders-of-the-lost-dedicated-funds/
Published: March 5, 2026 20:14
Pull a dollar bill out of your wallet and you can trust that dollar will spend like any other. And if you think the story ends there, you’re obviously not a government accountant. Many critics of government point to a specific need — say, a ripped-up…
Oregon Senate waters down controversial gun control bill, winning Republican support
Published: March 5, 2026 19:48
Oregon state senators on Thursday gutted this year’s legislation to bolster the rollout of a 2022 voter-approved gun control law currently being litigated, despite Democrats expending significant political capital to push a wide-ranging firearm safety bill…
Kristi Noem out as DHS secretary; Trump to nominate Oklahoma Sen. Mullin
Published: March 5, 2026 19:06
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be leaving the post for a job as a special envoy, following an appearance before a U.S. Senate panel this week that provoked bipartisan criticism of her handling…
Oregon lawmakers propose deal to acquire Abiqua Falls in Santiam State Forest
Published: March 5, 2026 14:00
A popular waterfall located an hour east of Salem could soon become public property under a bill up for a vote this week in the Oregon Legislature. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on Senate Bill 5701, which would allocate $2.1 million to acquire 200 acres…
Good governance groups to take campaign finance to ballot if lawmakers adopt ‘loopholes’
Published: March 5, 2026 02:00
Good governance groups that two years ago negotiated a historic campaign finance law with the Oregon Legislature now say lawmakers have betrayed them by backing a “technical fix” bill to that law that instead creates “huge loopholes” to political spending…
Oregon bipartisan duo push for compensating committee aide wrongfully accused of misconduct
Published: March 5, 2026 00:46
The decades-long plight of a Black legislative employee wrongfully accused of financial impropriety during his time battling the influence of oil companies in Salem has lit a flame under an unusual bipartisan duo of Oregon lawmakers. Reps. Ed Diehl,…
Oregon legislators clear the way for more residential, farmworker housing in Woodburn
Published: March 5, 2026 00:16
Woodburn officials say the city needs more land to meet the housing needs of its growing population. On Wednesday, the Oregon Legislature cleared a path for the city to build more affordable housing. The bill will need Gov. Tina Kotek’s signature before it…
US Senate rejects limits on Trump war powers, as Hegseth vows ‘death and destruction’ for Iran
Published: March 4, 2026 23:59
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans and a single Democrat blocked a War Powers Resolution Wednesday aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s joint war with Israel in Iran that has taken the lives of six American troops and killed top Iranian leaders. The…
Oregon to nix cervical cancer diagnostic testing costs for patients, rest of US may follow suit
Published: March 4, 2026 19:08
Dr. Carrie Frederick can think of many instances over her 14 years in practice in Oregon when patients tried to negotiate their way out of diagnostic testing for cervical cancer because of the expense. The testing, which typically comes after someone…
Talarico wins Democratic primary for US Senate in Texas; Cornyn and Paxton go to GOP runoff
Published: March 4, 2026 14:17
In a critical 2026 battle for control of the U.S. Senate, The Associated Press early Wednesday declared James Talarico the winner of the Democratic primary in Texas, while incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton will spend…
Republican petitioners sue Oregon over law rescheduling gas tax referendum
Published: March 4, 2026 00:46
Republican leaders of a successful petition to pause gas tax and transportation fee hikes until a citizen vote are suing the state over a new law rescheduling that vote. Gov. Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 1599 into law shortly after it passed the House on…
Coastal Oregon conservative announces run for U.S. Senate
Published: March 3, 2026 21:15
A southern Oregon state senator announced Tuesday that he would seek the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. The campaign of Sen. David Brock Smith, a Republican from Port Orford, pointed to his long roots in southwest Oregon, describing him as a…
Oregon’s largest teachers union will not endorse any current candidates for governor
Published: March 3, 2026 18:18
This is a developing story and may be updated. Members of Oregon’s largest teachers union will not endorse any of the current candidates for governor, including incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek. On Saturday, 75% of the members of the Oregon Education…
Iran war drives gas price uncertainty ahead of busy summer season
Published: March 3, 2026 18:07
The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 Tuesday for the first time this year, and is expected to keep going up. The average price Tuesday was $3.11, up about 11 cents from Monday, according to AAA. “The pump reaction is not…
Early prenatal care declines across US, reversing years of progress
Published: March 3, 2026 14:00
Nearly a quarter of pregnant women aren’t getting prenatal care in the early stages of pregnancy, according to a new analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The share of pregnant women getting prenatal care had been improving: It…
Oregon would temporarily bar expanded tax benefits for data centers under changes to governor’s bill
Published: March 3, 2026 00:43
Newly built data centers could be temporarily exempt from Gov. Tina Kotek’s hotly-debated economic stimulus bill that would double the length of property tax exemptions for industries investing in Oregon infrastructure and jobs in urban and suburban…
Oregon bill to move gas tax referendum heads to governor’s desk
Published: March 3, 2026 00:12
The Oregon House of Representatives in a 31-20 vote Monday passed a bill that would move the date Oregonians can vote on a controversial 2025 transportation law from November to May. Democrats in the fall passed a law to raise $4.3 billion dollars for the…
Judge blocks Noem policy limiting congressional visits to immigrant detention facilities
Published: March 2, 2026 22:33
WASHINGTON — A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked a Department of Homeland Security policy that instituted a seven-day notice requirement for members of Congress to conduct oversight visits at facilities that hold immigrants, finding it likely…
Oregon Senate moves to penalize landlords divulging citizenship status, private information
Published: March 2, 2026 21:39
Oregon tenants whose landlords leak confidential information such as their immigration status or medical records could soon have a pathway to collect up to twice their monthly rent as a form of recourse. Under House Bill 4123, passed by the Oregon Senate…
Death toll for US service members in Iran war at 4 as Trump projects weeks of conflict
Published: March 2, 2026 18:21
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects war with Iran will continue however long it takes to achieve his objectives, which include eliminating the country’s missile program, preventing its leaders from building a nuclear weapon and…
Honorary page program returns to Oregon Legislature during short session
Published: March 2, 2026 14:25
No one would describe the Oregon Senate, with an average age of 61, as having a particularly youthful energy. But now, middle and high schoolers are helping the Senate start its day. The colors ceremony, in which people carry and present the American and…
To square Oregon’s budget, lawmakers say many state agency jobs must go unfilled
Published: March 1, 2026 21:00
Legislative budget writers propose leaving more than 130 state jobs vacant, spending less on services and supplies and moving around not-yet-promised money within public agencies to rebalance Oregon’s budget and close a large funding gap at the…
How Oregon is building back smarter after wildfire
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/28/how-oregon-is-building-back-smarter-after-wildfire/
Published: February 28, 2026 14:00
Canary Media first published this article. Carole and Alan Balzer have called the town of Talent home since 1998. They met in college in nearby Ashland and never left southwestern Oregon. They love the small-town life and the bucolic setting of orchards,…
US, Israel strike Iran; Iran threatens retaliation
Published: February 28, 2026 13:56
WASHINGTON — U.S. forces have launched “major combat operations” on targets in Iran, President Donald Trump said in a video posted to social media at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were conducted in…
Oregon House speaker reprimands Republican gubernatorial candidate for fundraising during session
Published: February 28, 2026 02:59
Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey on Friday chided the chamber’s sole gubernatorial candidate, Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio, for violating self-imposed House rules by collecting campaign donations during this year’s short legislative session. In a…
Salem-Keizer students lead walkout, rally over immigrant rights at Oregon Capitol
Published: February 28, 2026 02:40
Close to 2,000 middle and high school students across the Salem-Keizer School District walked out of their classrooms Friday to gather across from the Capitol, rallying for increased support for immigrant communities in Salem. The youth advocacy…
Don’t balance Oregon’s budget on the backs of Black and brown caregivers
Published: February 28, 2026 00:32
As we close out Black History Month, we must remember what this commemorative month asks of us as a community: Honor those who fought for racial and economic justice. But history isn’t just about the past — it’s about the systems that continue to…
Oregon is a step closer to pouring $365M into aging Moda Center
Published: February 27, 2026 23:54
Oregon lawmakers fretting over the Trail Blazers’ future in Portland have slapped a price tag on their effort to ensure the team stays put: $365 million. That’s the pile of cash the Legislature is signaling it could borrow in coming years to pay for major…
Former Democratic state senator runs for swing coastal Oregon Senate seat
Published: February 27, 2026 23:44
A former Oregon legislative staffer and Democratic state senator from the North Coast wants to return to the Capitol to take the place of an Oregon Republican barred from seeking reelection. Former state Sen. Rachel Armitage of St. Helens announced her…
Tuberculosis cases have been rising as public health agencies struggle to keep up
Published: February 27, 2026 23:41
In Johnson County, Iowa, the number of tuberculosis cases has increased in recent years — and so has the cost of containing it. The cost of contact tracing and surveillance, traveling each day to patients’ homes to ensure they take their meds or booking…
US Senate Democrats demand Trump administration refund tariff payments to businesses
Published: February 27, 2026 20:28
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday demanding the administration refund businesses that paid tariffs to import goods into the United States under authority the Supreme Court has ruled the president…
Oregon Legislature passes bill expanding options to treat allergic reactions in schools
Published: February 27, 2026 14:00
While legislators are supposed to represent their constituents, it’s not often that a letter from an Oregon teen leads to a law. However, Kailee Desmond, a Lake Oswego teen, sought to change this. As someone with severe allergies, she saw that EpiPens and…
FEMA shutdown drags on amid stalemate over reforms to immigration enforcement
Published: February 26, 2026 23:54
WASHINGTON — The nation’s main agency for handling disaster response and recovery is shuttered for the third time in recent months and its workers are on the verge of missing paychecks, as members of Congress and the White House remain divided in a…
Oregon Secretary of State Read ‘deeply concerned’ about election conspiracies after FBI call
Published: February 26, 2026 23:07
A call with federal officials and state election officers ahead of the 2026 election was full of bluster and mostly free of facts, according to Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read. Read, a Democrat elected in 2024, had Deputy Secretary of State Michael…
Oregon House again delays vote to reschedule transportation tax election
Published: February 26, 2026 21:21
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…
Judge orders protective measures for Columbia River salmon after Trump canceled historic deal
Published: February 26, 2026 20:04
A federal judge in Oregon has ordered dams that operate on the Columbia and Snake rivers to generate less hydropower and allow more water to pass in an effort to keep salmon populations from dying out. The order largely restores measures that were in place…
Will Oregon’s Lori Chavez-DeRemer be the first Cabinet official out?
Published: February 26, 2026 18:31
In the year-plus of the second Trump administration, no Cabinet member — despite a year-long gusher of toxic headlines relating to many of that group — has yet resigned or been fired. Speculation for months has centered on more than a dozen names, at…
Oregon Senate panel clears Democratic senator of discrimination, harassment
Published: February 26, 2026 14:00
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…
Oregon will partially disconnect state tax code from new federal code to curb revenue loss
Published: February 26, 2026 01:57
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…
Secretary of state warns Oregon lawmakers for missing gas tax referendum bill deadline
Published: February 25, 2026 23:34
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…
Oregon House passes gun bill bolstering Measure 114 over Republicans’ data privacy concerns
Published: February 25, 2026 21:15
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…
Democratic AGs sue the CDC over change in childhood vaccine recommendation
Published: February 25, 2026 20:22
Democratic attorneys general from 14 states and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro filed a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration over the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s decision to overhaul the national childhood immunization…
Oregon Senate passes bill to regulate ICE in hospitals
Published: February 25, 2026 19:29
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…
HUD reintroduces proposed rule targeting rental aid for mixed-status immigrant households
Published: February 25, 2026 14:00
As the Trump administration continues to focus on the legal immigration statuses of many across the country, a revived proposal by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could impact many families’ ability to receive rental assistance. The…
Dems ditching State of the Union blast Trump on immigration, ‘lawlessness’
Published: February 25, 2026 04:30
WASHINGTON — Some congressional Democrats boycotted President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, opting to attend counter-programming to protest the administration’s actions. Lawmakers took to alternative stages in Washington, D.C.,…
Trump in State of the Union speech touts US ‘turnaround for the ages,’ attacks Democrats
Published: February 25, 2026 04:29
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address Tuesday to lambaste Democrats and the Biden administration, while pitching the Republican Party to voters ahead of this year’s crucial midterm elections. “Tonight, after just one…
$35 million per year investment in summer school is paying off, Oregon education officials say
Published: February 25, 2026 01:17
Nearly 30,000 Oregon students took advantage of literacy-focused summer school programs and most made learning gains in 2025, according to the Oregon Department of Education. The findings, shared in a recent analysis from the agency, show that the $35…
Gov. Kotek launches ‘roundtable’ to create blueprint for universal pre-K in Oregon
Published: February 25, 2026 00:05
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is bringing together a group of early learning experts to create a plan to provide “affordable, universal preschool access for 3- and 4-year-olds” in every Oregon county. Kotek announced the Early Childhood Care and Learning System…
Oregon Senate passes bill that would criminalize threats against public officials
Published: February 24, 2026 21:57
People who threaten public officials could face prison time under a bill the Oregon Senate passed 18-11 Tuesday. Senate Bill 1530 would make threatening a public official — including lawmakers, school board members, city councilors and county…
How a handful of states and districts could decide who runs Congress
Published: February 24, 2026 21:26
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats will spend billions of dollars and countless hours campaigning throughout the country ahead of November’s midterm elections, even though control of Congress likely will be decided by a relatively small number of…
Supreme Court takes up climate case testing local lawsuits against oil companies
Published: February 24, 2026 14:37
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear a significant climate lawsuit in which oil companies are seeking to avoid being tried in state court. The fate of several dozen climate lawsuits brought against oil companies by state and local…
Oregon Senate passes bill to reschedule gas tax referral despite GOP opposition
Published: February 23, 2026 23:31
After several delays and an encroaching Wednesday deadline, a proposal to reschedule the date of a gas tax referendum to May finally passed the Oregon Senate. The Senate voted 17-13 mostly along party lines Monday to pass Senate Bill 1599, which would…
Oregon House Republicans stage walkout as gas tax election, gun control votes near
Published: February 23, 2026 23:31
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…
Amid polling low, Trump centers pre-State of the Union message on immigration
Published: February 23, 2026 19:44
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation Monday to honor families whose loved ones were killed by noncitizens, but spent most of the event complaining about his approval ratings and amplifying the falsehood that the 2020 presidential…
Shut out of campaign finance bill, good governance groups tell lawmakers to vote against it
Published: February 23, 2026 14:00
Good governance groups behind a historic 2024 campaign finance reform law are calling on lawmakers to vote against a proposal meant to provide technical fixes to the law. They say business and lobbying groups wrote it to render political spending limits…