Oregon Legislature

Gov. Tina Kotek said Tuesday she plans to spearhead a statewide conversation over how to address the myriad of systemic challenges plaguing the state’s public school system.

The National Women’s Defense League, a national nonpartisan group that is working to prevent harassment, released a nationwide look this month, showing that sexual harassment in state government continues to be a pervasive and ongoing problem. The Oregon state Legislature has been dealing with its own issues.

State Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, will not seek reelection next year. One former House Republican leader is already rolling out a campaign.

Three Oregon Republican senators sued Democratic Senate President Rob Wagner and Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade in federal court.

The League of Oregon Cities has joined with police and prosecutors in calling on state lawmakers to re-criminalize drug possession when they convene in Salem starting in February.

One of the Republicans who filed a complaint, Sen. Lynn Findley, called the Senate president a “dictator” and called the committee process a “sham.”

Oregon lawmakers say they’re serious about tackling Oregon’s addiction crisis — from stanching the supply of fentanyl on city streets to reducing Oregonians’ demand for drugs.

Members of one of Oregon’s largest labor unions successfully gathered enough signatures to force a recall vote of one of the state’s most labor-friendly lawmakers — Rep. Paul Holvey, a Democrat from Eugene.

A new Oregon law will soon allow health care facilities to return amputated body parts to patients for cultural, spiritual or religious reasons. For some members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the practice can help ensure a smooth transition to the spirit world.

At the end of the 2023 legislative session, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek used her veto power to nix state funding for two studies, totaling $600,000, intended to research the impact of Oregon’s laws prohibiting prostitution. In doing so, she stepped into a centuries-old debate about whether or not the world’s oldest profession can ever be entered into voluntarily — or if it is a legitimate form of work and should instead be decriminalized.