The Takeaway is a weekly session publication making sense of Oregon politics and policy. Every Friday while the legislature is in session, we publish a review of the week’s prominent topics and controversies. Our readers span from politicians and corporate executives to journalists and every day political junkies.
Dec
18
Oregon Lawmakers Return to Salem for Third Special Session
This special session comes after several weeks of negotiations around the scope of legislative actions.
2 min read
Nov
18
Oregon Economists Report Stable Revenues in Updated Forecast
Although forecasted revenues remain below their pre-pandemic amounts, the increase represents stability in the overall revenue outlook.
2 min read
Nov
04
Reflections on the Oregon 2020 Election
Oregonians cast a record 2.3 million votes in yesterday's presidential election, bringing an end to a long and hard-fought campaign season. Unlike many states changing their voting methods to accommodate pandemic safety protocols, Oregon’s vote by mail system prevailed as perhaps the most ordinary moment of
2 min read
Sep
25
Oregon Lawmakers Convene for Virtual “Legislative Days”
The interim hearings were heavy on substance and relatively light on political pomp.
3 min read
Aug
11
Oregon Legislature Completes Act I of Rebalancing the State Budget
Since the early days of the pandemic, legislators knew they would be called into special session to recalibrate the state budget.
2 min read
Jun
26
Oregon Lawmakers Convene in First Pandemic Special Session
The special session was also a political trial run to test the ability of the parties to work together.
2 min read
May
20
State Economists Forecast $2.7 Billion Budget Shortfall
The economists described the outlook as a “sea change” compared to recent forecasts, which predicted a slackening in economic activity but continued growth.
3 min read
Mar
18
Lawmakers Begin Preparing Oregon’s Response to Coronavirus
Oregon lawmakers are preparing to enter into a special session to aide the state’s response to the outbreak.
2 min read
Mar
06
Leadership Pulls the Ripcord, Adjourns Session
It is too soon to tell which side will bear the responsibility for the legislature failing to complete the session.
2 min read
Feb
28
Clock is Ticking for the Session
Only nine days remain in the legislative session and it may as well be the beginning or, perhaps, the end. The legislature has only enacted three measures for the session, holding hundreds of others hostage in the standoff over the cap-and-trade politics. Lawmakers have been on a collision course for
