
The state Senate Judiciary Committee heard from dozens of people Wednesday and received many more statements for and against expanded background checks for gun purchases. But the main questions remain unanswered and new ones were raised.
As expected, state Sen. Betsy Close, R-Albany, next year will run for a four-year term in the position to which she was appointed a year ago. She talked to me on camera just before she announced her plans at a reception at the Albany Golf and Event Center Thursday evening. She plans to file on Friday. […]
Four bills aimed at gun owners are stuck in the Senate, as I mentioned last week. Jeff Mapes of the Oregonian reports that Senate President Peter Courtney has sent them to the Rules Committee because they don’t have the 16 votes needed to pass. Courtney hopes that negotiations can still save the bills. But saving […]
On Tuesday the state Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to act on — and will probably endorse — four bills related to guns. Only one of them makes some kind of sense. It would bar people from carrying firearms in the Capitol building but makes an exception for people with concealed handgun licenses who keep […]
You almost have to feel sorry for legislators when they have to sit through endless public hearings even though their minds are made up on the issue at hand. With rare exceptions, witness after witness says pretty much the same thing, and legislators have to sit there and pretend to look interested. Friday’s four-hour hearing before […]
Senate walkout: It’s not about climate
It’s worth taking another look at the size of the increase in the Oregon cost of living that Republican senators are trying to prevent by blocking final action on HB 2020.
Tags: carbon, climate, HB 2020, Oregon Senate