SALEM, Ore.- Now that Oregon’s 2012 legislative session is officially over, lobbyists throughout the state have the opportunity to reflect on how the new bills passed into law will affect their groups in the future.

J.L. Wilson, vice president of government affairs, employment law, fiscal policy and political affairs for Associated Oregon Industries (AOI), was mostly optimistic about the session.

EUGENE, Ore.- In two weeks, county commissioners and staff from around the state of Oregon will convene at the Eugene Hilton and Conference Center for the 105th annual conference of the Association of Oregon Counties.

The Association of Oregon Counties is an advocacy association which lobbies the state legislature and Congress on behalf of the state’s 36 counties. But the group provides more than these advocacy efforts.

PORTLAND, Ore.- Congress is paying millions of dollars to Oregon companies and government entities because of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed last year.

A total of 101 public and private Oregon entities have been approved to participate in the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), a federal program that uses federal funds to pay for retiree health care costs, distributing over $19 million to 36 participants in Oregon to date.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the last decade, spending on federal congressional lobbying by Oregon government bodies and businesses has increased five-fold, from $2 million in 2000 to over $10 million in 2010, according to an analysis of federal lobbyist data by Oregon Capitol News (OCN).

Combined spending for both the private and public sectors has reached a total of $86 million since 1999.

SALEM- Introduced in February’s special session, a bill sponsored by Beaverton Democratic Senator Mark Hass to ban plastic bags in most retail stores will again make an appearance in the next legislative session.

According to Hass, the previous session did not allow enough time to vote for the legislation, thus causing it to show up on the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee agenda in 2011.

In an interim committee hearing Wednesday morning, Hass said the proposed bill would ban plastic bags for “most retail stores,” replacing them with recycled paper bags at a cost of five cents each.

MEDFORD- The list of political action committees hoping to influence Oregon politics can add two new tax-focused groups to its ranks.

The new political action committees, although officially unrelated, were both created to promote lower taxes and fees.