Oregon legislature

Environmental and climate groups are asking lawmakers to again fund heat pump rebates for rental housing.

The bill's chief sponsor is State Rep. Pam Marsh (D-Ashland), who said people living in manufactured home parks face unique difficulties when their rent increases because they own their home, but not the land or water it's on.

The Oregon Legislature passed two bills to provide consistent funding to summer learning programs and to ensure they boost student academic outcomes.

Despite leadership changes and legislative fixes, Oregon has for years failed to provide attorneys to everyone charged with crimes.

Earlier this year, Oregon lawmakers seemed driven to pass wildfire funding legislation. But a lot has changed in the first few months of the session, particularly with regard to federal policy.

Republicans were split in their support of House Bill 2251, which passed the Oregon House on Tuesday after a lively debate. Now, it heads to the Senate.

Environmental and climate advocates are looking to revamp the state’s popular electric vehicle rebate program by lowering the rebate amount and allowing only qualified low-income residents to participate. But some say these changes could impact overall EV sales throughout the state.

A conversation on the Senate floor on Monday pivoted from being about a measure requiring the state to provide luggage to kids in foster care rather than trash bags into a larger bipartisan discussion about why the agency charged with kids in its care has struggled for so long.

Oregon now ranks second to last — just behind Alaska — for pharmacy access. A proposed state bill is meant to help the struggling industry.

Their passage would result in significant changes to regulation of firearms in Oregon, a state already considered to have some of the nation’s strictest gun laws.

Lawmakers in Salem have yet to tackle the biggest items — such as passing a budget and debating a major transportation package

The biggest livestock farms could have been prohibited from building new or bigger facilities in some of Oregon’s most polluted groundwater regions under a state legislative bill environmental groups were backing. But it won’t happen this year.