Oregon Public Broadcasting

As the end of the Oregon legislative session draws near, the list of bills on life support gets longer.  As lawmakers turn most of their attention to balancing the budget, many bills are getting left behind.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman looks at a few.

They’re already selling T-Shirts in the capitol gift shop commemorating the end of the 2009 legislative session.  So if you’re a lawmaker with unfinished business, the clock is ticking.  

That’s what brought Republican Representative Bruce Hanna before the House Rules Committee.  He’s pushing a bill to repeal the state’s ethanol mandate for premium gas.

If that idea sounds familiar, it’s because it already passed the House a month ago.

Bruce Hanna:  “The bill went to the Senate, where it was referred to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and was scheduled for public hearing and work session.  However, that did not happen.”

So Hanna and some colleagues copied their bill and pasted it into another, and are trying again.  

It’s not the only bill to pass the House only to be met with deafening silence in the Senate.  

The upper chamber has yet to take action on such bills as a ban on driving while yakking on your cell phone without a hands-free device, and a proposal to give beer drinkers a way to tell if their barkeeper is serving them an honest pint.