Dirk VanderHart
JPR Oregon State Capitol CorrespondentDirk VanderHart is JPR's Salem correspondent reporting from the Oregon State Capitol. His reporting is funded through a collaboration among public radio stations in Oregon and Washington that includes JPR. Before barging onto the radio in 2018, Dirk spent more than a decade as a newspaper reporter—much of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury.
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Under the law, companies that make cellphones and other consumer electronics are required to provide the tools and know-how to repair those devices.
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The details emerge as First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson's role in her wife's administration have raised questions.
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Oregon Department of Administrative Services staffer Meliah Masiba has been appointed adviser for the “Office of the First Spouse” starting March 25.
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Democrats elected the chamber’s second-youngest member, and a freshman lawmaker with a reputation for sharp political instincts, to help guide their political races and policy aims.
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Oregon lawmakers wrapped up the 2024 short legislative session on Thursday night after muscling through a remarkable number of high-profile policies in a little more than one month.
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Oregon lawmakers have reached a deal that appears likely to give state campaign finance limits for the first time in decades.
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As the Legislature speeds to adjournment, a proposal to regulate political giving is still being negotiated.
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State estimates show 1,333 people will be convicted of drug possession and 533 could go to jail every year under House Bill 4002. The numbers suggest that the system Oregon lawmakers envisioned to replace Measure 110 — in which drug users can avoid criminal consequences through treatment — will only go so far.
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The voter-approved Measure 110 is nearing its end as the Legislature sends a bill unwinding Oregon’s drug decriminalization to Gov. Tina Kotek.
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Senate Bill 1583 would block school districts from withholding access to books for discriminatory reasons. It passed on a party-line vote.
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The bill gained bipartisan support from the joint committee that was tasked with finding solutions to Oregon’s drug addiction crisis.
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Law enforcement groups now back House Bill 4002, but opposition from fans of decriminalization is as strong as ever.