SALEM, Ore.- With around 100 employees, Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) handles several different issues involving businesses of all types and the people who work for them. Yet, many people have never heard of the agency and are unfamiliar with what it does.

The non-partisan, statewide race for labor commissioner has drawn two candidates: incumbent Brad Avakian and Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro.

PORTLAND, Ore.- Oregon K-12 students have until April 1 to apply for transfers to public schools that opted into the state’s new open enrollment law.

School boards and districts had until March 1, 2012 to decide whether or not they would accept new students from outside their district based on the recent open enrollment policy put into place by the legislature.

SALEM, Ore. – Despite some objections, the Oregon House of Representatives voted Friday to authorize additional tree removal along state highways for the state’s transportation agency.

Senate Bill 1546 grants authority to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to remove damaged trees located next to state highways.

SALEM, Ore.- Opposition from a few members of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee was not enough to stop the advancement of a bill that would increase the number of judges on the Oregon Court of Appeals.

During its Friday meeting, the committee held a work session on House Bill 4026.

SALEM, Ore.- Rising health care costs have become a source of constant strain for municipal budgets throughout the United States, and Oregon is no exception.

As a result, the Public Employees’ Benefit Board (PEBB) has created a Health Engagement Model (HEM) program, intended to encourage participants to adopt and maintain more healthful behavior by focusing on issues such as weight management and quitting tobacco.

SALEM, Ore.- During their Monday meeting, members of the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee heard extensive testimony on a bill that would require half of Oregon’s general and lottery fund dollars to be spent on public education.

Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, a co-chair of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee, testified in support of SB 1585.

SALEM, Ore.- The failure of the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to fill an internal auditor position named as a top legislative priority drew the ire of both Republican and Democrat members of the budget-writing Ways and Means Committee during its Friday meeting.

As a matter of routine, committee members frequently vote to acknowledge receipt of reports from various state agencies.

SALEM, Ore.- An overworked court system has led lawmakers to seek additional judges for the state’s Court of Appeals to help with its current caseload.

Among the first bills heard in one of the first committee meetings of the 2012 legislative session, members of the House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a proposal to add six new judges to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

SALEM, Ore.- Two legislators want to bring control of federal railroad lands back into the hands of the state with a new bill proposed for February’s session.

State Senators Fred Girod, R-Lyons, and Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, have proposed a bill requesting that the federal government give “full management authority” of the Oregon and California Railroad grant lands to the state government

SALEM, Ore.- Oregon took its next step toward education reform Monday with the submission of a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

According to Governor John Kitzhaber’s office, states may seek waivers if they implement “rigorous and comprehensive state-developed plans” to help improve educational outcomes for students and the quality of instruction, as well as close achievement gaps and increase equity.