Oregon legislature

Preventing bad laws is part of the job

Written May 29th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 61 responses.

You may have been reading that Oregon senators who have kept the Senate from meeting were “not doing their jobs.” That’s the wrong way of looking at it.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: legislature, Oregon legislature, Oregon Senate, Republican walkout, walkout

Bike bills in the legislature: Taking a look

Written May 17th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 6 responses.

Last week I was glad to see that the road sign remembering Donald L. Stathos on this so-called “bikeway” between Medford and Jacksonville was still there. It made me wonder what this year’s session of the Oregon legislature had in store in connection with bikes.

Posted in: Bicycling, Commentary, News
Tags: 1971 legislature, 2023 legislature, bicycle bills, Don Stathos, Oregon legislature, Stathos Bikeway

Bill would give rebates to buy E-bikes

Written February 10th, 2023 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 15 responses.

We owners of old bicycles — or old owners of bikes — may have mixed feelings about Oregon House Bill 2571. But let’s keep an open mind.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: city traffic, E-bike rebates, electric bikes, HB 2571, Oregon legislature, rebates

Legislation, baking, overtime and crackers

Written February 15th, 2022 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 8 responses.

A little bill pending in the Oregon legislature caught my eye on Tuesday, not because it was particularly weird but because Democrats in the Senate sent out a press release about it. This is a story about that, and it leads to crackers at the end.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: bakery overtime, code 3118, crackers, Oregon legislature, Oregon Senate, SB 1513m overtime, tortillas

At the Capitol: More security, less freedom

Written January 12th, 2022 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 14 responses.

One of the traditions of life in Oregon is about to come to an end, and it’s another step in our long slide of giving up little bits of freedom in the name of “security.”

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: "dangerous items", metal detectors, Oregon Capitol, Oregon legislature, security measures, weapons, X-ray scanners

May city use $1 million to shelter the homeless

Written December 17th, 2021 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 25 responses.

Over the next year or so, the state government is giving Albany $1 million to spend on “programs or services to address housing insecurity, lack of affordable housing or homelessness.”

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: Albany homeless, homelessness, housing insecurity, Oregon legislature, SB 5561, special session

Home buyers’ letters ‘banned’? Not really

Written November 29th, 2021 by Hasso Hering

Comments: 10 responses.

If you’re selling a house in Albany or anywhere else in Oregon after next Jan. 1, you may be hearing about a new law that supposedly bans would-be home buyers’ so-called “love letters.” But the law does no such thing.

Posted in: Commentary, News
Tags: buyers' 'love letters', Hb 2550, housing discrimination, Oregon laws, Oregon legislature, real estate agents