ballot measures

In opening statements Monday, lawyers for two people suing over Oregon’s new gun laws said Ballot Measure 114’s provisions are the “most significant threat to [the right to bear arms] Oregonians have faced in nearly 165 years.”

A coalition of powerful business and political leaders are moving ahead with plans to “fix” Measure 110, the voter-approved drug decriminalization effort.

Oregon’s new voter-approved gun laws passed constitutional muster in a federal court this summer, but now they face another round of legal challenges — this time in state court.

California collects a special tax on high incomes to fund mental health services. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to change how the money is spent so a share of it can be used to fund housing for homeless people with mental illnesses.

Oregon voters in 2020 passed Measure 110, a first-in-the-nation law decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of controlled substances such as heroin, methamphetamines, cocaine and fentanyl. Three years later, public drug use has wearied even the most tolerant of Oregonians. Now, the Oregon law faces significant overhaul or repeal, a prospect likely to slow movements in other states to treat addiction as a public health issue.

Oregon state senators with at least 10 absences during a record-setting Republican walkout are supposed to be disqualified from running for reelection, but several on Thursday filed candidacy papers with election authorities.

Oregon Recovers, a Portland-based nonprofit, urged state leaders to change – but not eliminate – Measure 110, which decriminalized low-level drug possession.

A deal announced today by labor groups and the fast food industry would give workers a $20 minimum wage and pull a measure off the 2024 ballot. The Legislature has until Thursday to approve it.

State lawmakers are passing many, many bills before they end the legislative session next Thursday. But under California’s system of direct democracy — and happening at the same time — advocates for various causes are trying to go straight to the voters when their elected representatives won’t do what they want.

A small group of activists want California voters to decide whether transgender minors should be allowed to receive puberty blockers, hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries.

Oregon's Measure 110 passed in 2020 and aimed to address drug addiction through increased treatment and recovery efforts. Jackson County commissioners say it hasn't worked.

Lawmakers have been waiting for weeks to learn how new Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade will enforce a new law enacted by voters last year.