Date: 02/03/2015 09:05 AM
AP-OR–1st NewsMinute RESENDING/371
Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Democrats are wasting no time before using their expanded majorities in the Oregon Legislature to push forward with several of their initiatives that stalled in recent years. As lawmakers formally began the 2015 legislative session yesterday, hearings were scheduled on three Democratic priorities: Expanding the low-carbon fuel standard, automatic voter registration and changes to the rules for class-action lawsuits. In prior years, all three initiatives fell short of the 16 votes they needed in the Senate.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon might soon have a third major political party. The Independent Party of Oregon says it’s up to 108,744 members, giving it 5 percent of the state’s registered voters. That’s the threshold for becoming a major political party. Party secretary Sal Peralta says the party will send a letter to the Secretary of State’s Office, asking it to confirm the development. Besides bragging rights, the main benefit of being a major party is an appearance on the primary ballot.
BEND, Ore. (AP) – A state health official says the vaccination rate for measles in Oregon has gotten low enough to cause concern the disease could spread. A Lane County man is among more than 100 people who got measles in the Disneyland outbreak. His visit was in early January. Officials like to wait four weeks to say for sure a measles patient hasn’t infected anyone else. Dr. Paul Cieslak (SEES’-lak) of the Oregon Public Health Department tells The Bulletin newspaper the number of Oregonians claiming exemptions from vaccination requirements has crept up.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – The Oregon case that put a wedding cake at the center of a clash between claims of civil rights and religious freedom is headed for a hearing in March. It will focus on the damages due a lesbian couple who were turned down when they asked two Gresham bakers for a wedding cake in January 2013. The bakers say they were acting on their religious beliefs. A year ago, state investigators concluded the bakers had violated the couple’s rights to equal treatment in places that serve the public. Yesterday, the state labor department announced that an administrative law judge had come to the same conclusion.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.
