Oregon
The Federal Government Has a Lot of Unused Land. Can We Sell It Off To Build Houses?
One proposal would create a streamlined process for selling off federal land to state and local governments, but only if they allow housing to be built on it.
Massachusetts Voters Reject Decriminalization of 5 Natural Psychedelics
The initiative also would have authorized state-licensed "psychedelic therapy centers."
States Will Choose Whether To Adopt or Abandon Ranked Choice Voting
There are any number of reasons to support or oppose a switch to ranked choice voting, but most of the opposition comes from the majority parties.
Zoning Police and NIMBYs Want To Keep People Homeless
Vineyard owners face $120,000 in fines for letting an employee and his family live on their 60-acre property without a permit.
Supreme Court Rules That Punishing the Homeless for Sleeping Outside Isn't 'Cruel and Unusual'
Homeless advocates say the court's decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson gives local governments a blank check to "to arrest or fine those with no choice but to sleep outdoors."
California Lawmakers Kill World's Most Marginal Psychedelics Reform
The now-dead bill would have permitted three counties to establish pilot programs in which military veterans could take psilocybin under the supervision of medical professionals.
New York Cuts Real Rents at Rent-Stabilized Apartments
The city's Rent Guidelines Board approved a nominal 2.75 rent increase for one million rent-stabilized apartments. That's below the year's 3.3 percent inflation rate.
Don't Blame Decriminalization for Oregon Drug Deaths
Oregon lawmakers recently voted to recriminalize drugs after voters approved landmark reforms in 2020.
Here's Why Government Should Stop Throwing Money at Green Energy
In California, which has a slew of renewable energy regulations, the cost of electricity increased three times faster than in the rest of the U.S.—and the state still doesn't even get reliable energy.
Oregon Legislators Overwhelmingly Vote To Recriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
Did Decriminalization Boost Drug Deaths in Oregon?
Recent research finds "no evidence" that it did, undermining a key claim by critics of that policy.
Biden's Cognitive Shrinkflation
Plus: A listener asks if the state of Oregon’s policy on drug decriminalization should be viewed as a success.
Do Americans Really Only Want Sprawl?
Plus: the House votes for more affordable housing subsidies, Portland tries to fix its "inclusionary housing" program, and is 2024 the year of the granny flat?
Portland Requires Homeowners Get Permits To Remove Trees Knocked on Their Homes by Winter Storm
In some cases, the city is also requiring homeowners to pay to replace trees that squashed their houses.
Oregon Is Removing a Requirement for High School Students to Show 'Essential Skills' Before Graduating
The measure, which had been paused since 2020, required students to meet benchmarks in reading, writing, and math.
A Study Finds 'No Evidence' That Decriminalization Boosted Drug-Related Deaths in Oregon
The researchers reached a similar conclusion about overdose trends in Washington, where penalties for simple possession were reduced in 2021.
Oregon's Drug Problems Were Not Caused by Decriminalization
Prohibition is at the root of the hazards that have led to record numbers of opioid-related deaths.
Did Drug Decriminalization Cause a 'Catastrophe' in Oregon?
Many of the problems the state is experiencing are caused by the continuing impact of prohibition.
Zoning Police Criminalize Kindness in Oregon
A town clamps down on distributing clothes, personal care items, and food to the homeless.
Rent Control 2.0 Looks a Lot Like Rent Control 1.0
Rent control is getting a rhetorical makeover from progressive policy makers.
Oregon Voters Will Decide Whether To Embrace Ranked-Choice Voting
Will the Beaver State join Maine and Alaska?
Oregon Partially Repeals Ban on Adults Fueling Their Own Cars
After many failed efforts at reform, the Oregon Legislature has passed a bill allowing gas stations to designate up to half their pumps as self-service.
Don't Mix Rare Bourbon With State Power
Oregon liquor regulators were caught diverting prized whiskey for personal use.
Desperate To Avoid Decriminalization, Washington Legislators Lovingly Threaten Drug Users With Jail
The imminent expiration of a law that recriminalized drug possession triggered a bipartisan panic.
Why Homelessness Is Worse in California Than in Texas
Today, the Lone Star state counts 90 homeless people per every 100,000 residents. In California, the problem is almost five times as bad.
An Oregon Man Was Wrongly Imprisoned for Almost a Year Because of an Error in a DMV Database
The Oregon DMV knew about the problem, but it "wasn't at a high enough level to understand the urgency" of the need to fix it.
Despite Multiple States Abolishing Single-Family-Only Zoning, Very Few Duplexes and Triplexes Are Being Built
A new report illustrates that the middle of the housing market is still missing.
Will Oregon's Housing Reforms Spark a Building Boom or Be a Bureaucratic Bust?
Lawmakers are considering giving state officials the ability to rewrite NIMBY cities' restrictive zoning codes.
Oregon's Whiskey Ring Shows Perils of State Liquor Control
Top government officials reportedly kept rare bourbons for themselves and other powerful insiders.
They Fell Behind on Their Property Taxes. So the Government Sold Their Homes—and Kept the Profits.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear 94-year-old Geraldine Tyler's case challenging home equity theft.
Oregon Supreme Court Orders New Trials for Hundreds Convicted by Split Juries
Oregon was one of only two states that allowed for non-unanimous guilty verdicts until the Supreme Court outlawed them in 2020.
New Oregon Wastewater Rules Threaten Portland's Food Cart Culture
Compliance could prove impossibly expensive for independent food sellers.
2022 Was a Year of Bad, Botched Death Row Executions
Fortunately, government kills fewer prisoners each year.
California Bill Builds on Reforms That Could Herald the Surprisingly Fast Collapse of Psychedelic Prohibition
S.B. 58, which emulates an initiative that Colorado voters approved last month, would legalize the use of five psychoactive substances found in fungi and plants.
Oregon's Governor Commutes Sentences of All State Death Row Inmates
Brown: “The state should not be in the business of executing people.”
Oregon's Anti-Vape Laws Will Put This Deaf Immigrant's Hookah Shop Out of Business
You can smoke all the pot you want, but flavored tobacco or nicotine is soon to be illegal.
A Federal Judge Suggests That Oregon's 10-Round Magazine Limit Does Not Implicate the Second Amendment
The new ban, which has been blocked by a state judge, so far has fared better in federal court.
Oregon Governor Pardons 45,000 Marijuana Offenders
The ACLU of Oregon is calling on other state governors to follow suit.
Oregon's Newly Legal Magic Mushroom Industry Could Be Strangled by Restrictive Zoning Regulations
Local governments are considering rules that could force "psilocybin service centers" to locate near highways and go through expensive, discretionary permitting processes.
The Crime Backlash Mostly Failed To Materialize on Election Night
Apocalyptic attack ads about crime failed to drive a red wave, and criminal justice reform candidates were still successful in several local races around the country.
Driving Electric Cars Produces Little Carbon. Making the Batteries Produces a Lot.
Many politicians who want to ban gas-powered vehicles appear to misunderstand the science.
Colorado Voters Will Soon Decide Whether To Decriminalize 5 Natural Psychedelics
The ballot initiative also would authorize state-licensed "healing centers" where adults could obtain psychedelics for supervised use.
Prison Slavery Up for a Vote in 5 States
Plus: Federal court dismisses state challenge to student loan debt forgiveness, not all independent contractors want to be employees, and more...
Portland Legalized 'Missing Middle' Housing. Now It's Trying to Make It Easy to Build.
This month, the city passed a number of liberalizing reforms that legalize more types of housing and make already-legal homes more practical to build.
Study: Jersey Girls' Refusal To Pump Gas Is Costing Everyone a Lot of Money
Research on the effects of Oregon's loosening of its self-service gas ban finds that allowing adults to pump their own gas increases supply and lowers prices.
Under Oregon's Proposed Rules, Legal Psilocybin Will Be All-Natural, Organic, and GMO-Free
The state's regulators plan to start accepting applications from manufacturers and "service centers" on January 2.
