When Oregon’s Senate rules revealed a mysterious gap that’s lingered for nearly 20 years, it traced back to a quiet but dramatic stand by the late Sen. Avel Gordly. As partisanship rose and transparency faded, Gordly chose principle over party, leaving a lasting mark on the Legislature’s commitment to open government.
Legislative leadership believes that time has come and have introduced HB 4002 to limit the number of bills legislators can request be drafted by Legislative Counsel. As in the game of golf, the more strokes you take is not a sign of productivity.
The foundation of the Oregon Health Plan was the Prioritized List, which ranked covered medical services based on their cost effectiveness coupled with proven medical science efficacy. Now leadership at the Oregon Health Authority has brought forth HB 4003 to eliminate the list from everywhere in statute they can find.
Public employee unions are among those demanding legislators disconnect from the tax provisions of the federal legislation when it comes to assessing state income taxes on Oregonians. Doing so will help decrease the deficit now facing legislators as they try and save key programs and services from further reductions.
Peter Wong, who began his Oregon journalism career in 1979 at the Roseburg News-Review and later gravitated to cover state politics in Salem, was honored for his more than four decades as the public’s watchful eye, with the announcement that the new press room at the Capitol is being named in his honor.
Christine Drazan, the Republican nominee in 2022, has been considered the front-runner for a cage-match rematch with incumbent Governor Tina Kotek, but a couple of other D’s may soon be added to the card — specifically, Diehl and Dudley.
Bridging the political divide in Oregon has become increasingly challenging in recent years. The task isn’t going to get any easier when the cost of the I-5 bridge balloons into the ozone.