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Oregon Special Session Outcome Still Not Clear

Matt Howry
/
Flickr

Oregon lawmakers are meeting in Salem Monday for a rare special session. The legislature will consider a series of measures on taxes and pensions meant to beef up state finances.

The package is the result of an agreement between Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber and top Democrats and Republicans. But there's no guarantee any of the measures will pass.

When you get right down to it, the four legislative leaders represent just four votes in the legislature. And this package of bills has something for everybody to like, but more significantly something for everybody to dislike.

If you're a Republican, you probably aren't too thrilled to be voting on tax hikes. If you're a Democrat, you probably aren't too thrilled to be voting on cuts to retired public employees.

And then there's the statewide ban on local regulations of genetically modified organisms. That's got some lawmakers up in opposition to that measure as well. That's sort of the wildcard here.

On the Web:

Special session information - Oregon Legislature 

Copyright 2013 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman has been reporting on Oregon issues since 2006. He joined the KLCC news department in December 2018 and became News Director in March 2023. Chris was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. His public broadcasting career includes stops in Louisiana and Illinois. Chris has filed for national programs including “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.”