A new committee will meet this week for the first time as Oregon lawmakers start to look for solutions to the state’s drug addiction crisis.

A report commissioned by the Department of Justice finds that former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan didn’t influence an audit’s outcome, but said auditors failed to properly weigh the public perception of her outside work.

An internal audit finds that faulty assessments by an Oregon Health Authority contractor delay, reduce and sometimes eliminate care for vulnerable residents.

A survey by the nonprofit Oregon Values and Beliefs Center asked residents statewide about the state’s most pressing problems, and homelessness topped the list.

Legislators are looking to tweak Measure 110 comes as the deadly epidemic of fentanyl overdoses continues in Oregon. The state faces growing criticism that the law is not getting people into treatment as intended.

A coalition funded by prominent Oregonians, including retired Nike co-founder Phil Knight, plans to ask Oregon voters in 2024 to roll back some of Measure 110, the voter-passed law that decriminalized the use of hard drugs. The group, the Coalition to Fix and Improve Ballot Measure 110, announced Monday it[Read More…]

AT THE CAPITOL: Bills to help wildfire response, expand health care access and prevent homelessness remain in jeopardy as neither side budges.

Republicans plan to challenge the constitutional amendment in court that voters approved last year to prevent walkouts from halting legislative work.

The GOP-led Senate walkout continued on Tuesday, May 23. The Republican lawmakers offered to return to the floor June 25, the final day of the session, to advance some bills – but that proposal got a chilly response.