It wasn’t as spirited or filled with animosity like we saw in state worker demonstrations in Madison Wisconsin earlier this year, but Oregon state workers today let lawmakers know during the lunch hour today that they’ve given all they should be called upon to give in ongoing labor negotiations. State negotiators are wanting more worker furloughs and worker contributions toward health benefits. The story is in the Oregonian. Click here.
The state budget process is winding down and settling into what may be it’s preliminary final form. The worst budget cuts are known. The biggest revenue challenges are being dealt with. And the state appears poised to weather another terrible year of the worst recession in over 80 years.
Here’s a quick walk through provided by the Eugene Register Guard. Click here.
A chemical used in the making of some baby bottles is thought to be connected to major health problems in babies that might even linger into toddlerhood. Although introduced early in the session, a bill to outlaw baby bottles with BPA is still looking for a home in committee so it can get passed out to the floors of both chambers. The story is in the Oregonian. Click here.
Oregon lawmakers, just as weary of the country’s economic ups and downs as the rest of us, are proposing to do something to take some of the sting out of the down times. They want to force the state into having a savings account, and one of the feeders to that savings account is money that would normally be refunded to the voters; the infamous “kicker provision.” The latest developments are to be found in this article in the Oregonian. Click here
Share on Facebook
Governor-elect John Kitzhaber
Governor-elect John Kitzhaber has been exposing various top state officials to his proposed 2011-12 state budget plan. And from first impressions, it’s much like the one he campaigned on. The story is in the Oregonian.
Share on Facebook
While some see political disaster in an evenly divided Oregon house, 30 Republican and 30 Democrats, others see a not-so-hidden chance that it might turn out to be a real blessing, keeping everything out in the open with little or no backroom deals.
The story is in the Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/11/let_the_talks_begin_democrats.html