Oregon House

A bill being debates in the Oregon Legislature would create a special tax exemption for some older homeowners.  House Republican Leader Christine Drazan said she wrote the bill after talking with aging constituents struggling to stay in their own home.  She sai...

Under a bill in the Oregon Legislature, restaurants and other food producers in the state would be required to recycle food waste.  Mandatory commercial food waste recycling would be phased in starting in 2028, under the bill.  State Representative Courtney Neron also wants to reduce food waste with a label change.   "Sell By w...

A year after the legislature mandated overtime pay for farm workers, an effort is underway in Salem to make changes to the law.  State Representative Shelly Boshart Davis said since taking effect in June, the rules have created hardships for family farms and resulted in lower pay for ag workers.  She’s lookin...

Oregon’s 2023 Legislative session gets underway Monday with a new Governor, House Speaker and Senate President being sworn in.  House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, a Prineville Republican, is optimistic about the change.   “I thi...

On a party-line vote this week, the Oregon House passed legislation removing the overtime exemption for the state’s farming community. Despite testimony and input from hundreds of farmers and ranchers across the state, the House Bill 4002 was approved by lawmakers Tuesday. The ...

Last week, the Joint Committee on Farm Worker Overtime in Oregon voted to move House Bill 4002, which would remove the current overtime exemption for the Ag community, to the full House and Senate for a vote. The approval was solely along party lines ...

On Wednesday, the Oregon Department of Agriculture announced the selection of six awardees for the Farm to School Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program. The grant helps Oregon farmers, ranchers, seafood harvesters, and food processors get more of their local products to children state wide, through programs such as National School Lunch Programs (NSLP), Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CA

Robert Freeman Smith, a staple in Oregon politics and ranching for decades has died. Smith grew up in Burns, and attended Willamette University in Salem graduating with an agricultural degree. He worked as a rancher until he was first elected to the Oregon state House in 1960 ...