© 2026 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Stay informed when wildfire smoke impacts Idaho. Find air quality resources, smoke safety tips and more in our wildfire guide.

Oregon Special Session In Flux

Chris Phan
/
Flickr

While gridlock continues in Washington, D.C., tensions have also surfaced in Salem. Oregon's special session hasn't gone according to plan.

Lawmakers are meeting in Salem Monday to vote on a package of bills that are part of a deal reached between Governor John Kitzhaber and four top legislative leaders. The proposals include some targeted tax hikes and tax cuts, as well as cuts to pensions for some retired public employees.

But by early afternoon, none of the measures had actually come up for a vote and it's unclear whether there is enough support among lawmakers for the bills to pass.

It is very much a situation in flux at the moment. There has been some talk of extending the special session until Tuesday. There's no particular reason why they have to conclude it today.

And indeed, at this point in the afternoon it would be pretty hard to get everything done by close of business today.

Kitzhaber has said he won't sign any of the special session bills unless all of them pass.

On the Web:

Special session information - Oregon Legislature

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.