Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s governor has signed trailblazing legislation that will raise the minimum wage to nearly $15 in six years and do so through a three-tiered system that has not been tried anywhere else in the country. The increases over six years surpass those adopted by any other state so far. The first increases will occur in July, when the current $9.25 hourly rate will go up by 50 cents in Portland and smaller cities and 25 cents in rural communities.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — House lawmakers passed two bills almost unanimously that will knock down hurdles in the courtroom for victims of rape. One measure would remove the existing 12-year statute of limitations on first-degree sex crimes when there’s additional corroborating evidence, even if there’s no DNA evidence available. The other would require law enforcement agencies to test all rape kits, including the existing backlog of thousands.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers have given final approval to pioneering legislation that would eliminate coal from the state’s energy supply by 2030 and double state mandates on renewable power by 2040. The bill would make Oregon the first state to adopt legislation to eliminate coal-fired power. The bill would require the state’s two largest utilities, Portland General Electric and Pacific Power, to stop supplying coal-fired energy to Oregonians by 2030.
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — The University of Oregon president says 79 non-tenured faculty members will not be returning during the coming academic year. The Register-Guard reports that President Michael Schill issued the contract non-renewals as part of his plan to focus on the university’s newly sharpened priorities. About 60 percent of the jobs cut were in the humanities
