Oregon Senate

State lawmakers in Oregon are considering changes to rules governing home-based food businesses.  Bend State Senator Tim Knopp is chief sponsor of the bill he said opens up opportunities for more small food-based businesses.   “Baked goods, confectionary items, coffee beans, teas, popcorn, jams, jellies, honey, syrup, fruit butters, mixed nuts, freeze-dried foods, dried and dehydrated foods.”   Je

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...

A delay in the state’s wildfire risk map may have put a portion of Senate Bill 762 on hold.  But another part of that legislation that looks to mitigate wildfires is enjoying some success.   SB762 set aside $20 million in grants for nonprofits, local governments, conservation districts, private landowners and federal partners to make their landscapes more resistant to wildfire.  Grant Coordinator

Oregon’s Department of Forestry has revised its timeline for re-releasing its Wildfire Risk Map.  ODF’s Derek Gasperini said a new draft is now due March 1st, following more public engagement and outreach.   “It would be easy for us to just make a few adjustments to the map and issue it again. But, we want to be able to make...

Last month, the Oregon Senate reappointed Commissioners Joe Moll and Eric Quaempts to their second terms on the Oregon Water Resources Commission. This follows the November 2021 Senate confirmations of Jan Lee, the current executive director of the Oregon Association of Conservation Districts, and Woody Wolfe, Eastern Oregon farmer and rancher, to their first terms on the Commission ... Read Mor

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 ...