Oregon state Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland, left, and Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, leave the Senate floor, March 1, 2024, at the Oregon Capitol in Salem, Ore.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
In just 31 days, Oregon lawmakers ended the 2024 legislative session. They passed bills with bipartisan support that targeted affordable housing, homelessness, campaign finance and the fentanyl crisis. They also delivered on Gov. Tina Kotek’s top legislative priority with a $376 million housing package to boost affordable housing construction, help counties acquire land to develop properties and expand emergency shelters for people experiencing homelessness.
The governor has already announced she will sign into law HB 4002, which effectively ends Oregon’s experiment with drug decriminalization under Measure 110. But there were limits to that bipartisan cooperation, such as when Republicans blocked passage of a bill which would have made Oregon the first state in the nation to restrict corporate and private equity takeover of medical clinics. OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart join us for a look at the key developments from the short legislative session.
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