Politics & Government

Politicians and activists from Oregon continue their efforts to try to pressure the federal government. They want to change how Immigration and Customs Enforcement processes incoming migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border.

Businesses and residents in Corvallis are seeing a new fee on their utility bills this month. The money will go toward hiring more firefighters and police officers.

The fee was approved by Corvallis City Council and will cost the about $17 per month per single-family home. The city expects the new fees to bring in about four-and-a-half million dollars per year.

A city council proposal could change the name of Washington-Jefferson Park to honor the man who helped create it.

Oregon’s 4th District Representative Peter DeFazio is critical of President Trump’s plans to turn the festivities in Washington, D.C. into a rally with tanks and aircraft flyovers. 

Supporters of the Leaburg Fish Hatchery are celebrating after lawmakers gave the facility a last-minute reprieve this weekend.

A legislative stalemate at the state Capitol threatens to delay construction of a new facility for the Eugene Family YMCA. The walkout by Republicans in the Oregon Senate is over a carbon emissions bill.

Both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have passed emergency spending bills to aid the ongoing humanitarian crises at the U.S.-Mexico Border. Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley voted against both.

As the walkout by Oregon Senate Republicans continues, longtime Eugene Democratic Sen. Floyd Prozanski says he thinks the tactic could signal a “new norm” for Oregon politics.

Senate Republicans have left the state in protest of a bill that would regulate carbon emissions. Their absence denies the majority Democrats a quorum, meaning the Senate can’t meet to vote on bills.

Oregon’s 4th District Representative Peter DeFazio wants Congress to check President Trump’s actions in regard to Iran. He reintroduced his War Powers bill which clarifies that under the constitution, Congress must authorize military force. 

Oregonians could vote next year on whether to increase taxes on cigarettes and cigars. A legislative committee advanced a measure Tuesday that would hike the tobacco tax, and create a new tax on vaping products.

The Springfield City Council recently decided that it won’t ask voters to help fund a new library… yet.

Oregon voters could decide the fate of a new business tax during a special election in January. That’s according to an amendment approved Wednesday in the Senate Rules Committee.

Oregon has joined the growing number of states that have agreed to award their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes nationwide. It means Oregon could potentially give its seven Electoral College votes to someone who did not win the state.

The idea behind the multi-state compact is to prevent situations where the winner of the national popular vote does not become president. That’s happened twice in the past 20 years.

Monday night, the Eugene City Council voted 6-2 to approve a new payroll tax.

Oregon lawmakers have less than three weeks to finish their work during the current legislative session. With the clock counting down, they have a long list of items still on their agenda.

Chief among the unfinished work at the capitol are budget bills for most of the state’s largest agencies, including the Department of Human Services, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Department of Corrections. In Oregon, each agency gets its own separate two-year budget. There's no overarching budget bill that covers all functions of state government.

County clerks in Oregon would face new limits on putting their names on elections materials under a bill approved Monday in the Oregon House.  Senate Bill 670 would prohibit elections officials from putting their name on things like ballot return envelopes and instructional materials sent to voters. The restriction would only apply when those officials are themselves on the ballot.

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden says he’s calling for a “grassroots juggernaut” to protect women’s access to abortion services.

Citizens voiced their concerns about a proposed payroll tax at a Eugene City Council public hearing on Tuesday night. It would fund police and fire services, the municipal court and prosecution, and prevention and homeless resources in the city.

Lawmakers in Salem are considering a plan to potentially make money off the official seal of the state of Oregon.

The Lane County Courthouse bond failed, 58% - 41% on Tuesday.