Legislature opens 2021 session with a heavy infusion of reality
Ritual and rhetoric are subdued; members of color reach historic high in Oregon.
The new Oregon Legislature was light on the usual ritual and rhetoric during its opening day on Monday, Jan. 11 though they were present but heavy on the realities that have reshaped state politics during the past year.
All 60 representatives and 17 new senators took their oaths from Chief Justice Martha Walters. But unlike typical opening days which have been compared to the first day of school staff, families and friends were largely absent from the Capitol in Salem because of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oregon allocates $100 million to commercial rent relief; application process likely to open in February
Updated Jan 12, 2021;
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Oregon business owners who have struggled to pay rent during the coronavirus pandemic will soon get some help from the state.
The Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board voted Friday to allocate $100 million toward a new commercial rent relief program administered by Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency.
But it could be well over a month before business owners have access to those funds.
Nathan Buehler, a spokesman for Business Oregon, said Monday that the agency is still working out the details of the program and it will likely be 4 to 6 weeks before they begin accepting applications.
2021 Session Opens Monday
Hello Friends,
I was writing my weekly newsletter Wednesday afternoon when disturbing news erupted. An angry mob had descended on our nation’s capital.
They disrespected our laws and our police. They disrespected our institutions. They disrespected the legitimate results of the Electoral College and our popular vote. They disgraced our sense of American values and dignity.
Last week I spoke about the challenge in these difficult times to know who to trust and what to believe. Seldom do we all always agree. I cherish our traditions of free speech and peaceful protest. But when protest devolves into threats, violence, and property destruction, whether in our urban centers, our state capitols, or in the halls of Congress, we are all lessened.
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MONTPELIER â Now that leaders are sworn in, speeches have been made and committees have been assigned, Vermontâs state government can really roll up its sleeves and get to work.
First and foremost on the list is a Town Meeting bill that will allow Vermont communities to hold the event safely, or potentially reschedule it.
Members of the state House and Senate Government Operations committees have already been working on H. 48. The bill assures towns will be able to move the date of their town meeting, mail ballots to all registered voters, and allow the Secretary of Stateâs office to âorder or permit supplemental elections procedures related to these 2021 annual municipal meeting provisions.â
Oregon lawmakers OK millions for pandemic, wildfire costs
Emergency Board meets for record 13th time before 2021 session starts Monday.
Oregon lawmakers have approved millions in state and federal funds to pay some of the mounting expenses of the coronavirus pandemic and the Labor Day wildfires.
The Legislative Emergency Board acted during a four-hour meeting Friday, Jan. 8, its record 13th since the end of the 2020 session and its last before the 2021 session gets under way on Monday, Jan. 11.
The 20-member board decides budget matters between sessions.
Leaders planned the meeting after the Legislature drew $800 million from the state s projected ending balance during a special session Dec. 21. Unspent money reverts to the full Legislature.