SALEM, Ore.- Republican voters in Oregon Senate District 29 have two candidates to choose from in the May 15 primary election: Umatilla County Commissioner Bill Hansell and business owner Maryl Featherstone.

SD 29 has been represented by Sen. David Nelson, R-Pendleton, who has decided to retire from the legislature.

SALEM, Ore.- In the seven years since he started serving in the Oregon legislature, State Senator Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, certainly has seen his share of the good, the bad and the ugly. But despite all that, Whitsett said he’s feeling better about the work that lawmakers have been doing over the past couple of sessions.

“I’ve felt that in the last few years, we’ve been a lot more relevant in addressing problems,” Whitsett said. “For that reason, I want to be here to continue that effort.”

SALEM, Ore.- Just a couple of hours before the filing deadline for the May 15 primary election expired, political insiders of all types stood on the House floor, where candidates’ names were displayed on a series of large boards.

The almost last-second addition of Tim Knopp’s name to the list of Republican candidates for Senate District 27 drew gasps and whispers from several of those present.

SALEM, Ore.- Typically, when State Representative Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, makes the four-hour drive home after a legislative session, he reflects on how it could have gone better.

But on Tuesday, March 6, the day after the end of the 2012 session, Buckley was pleased that he could think of very few improvements he would have made on the legislature’s latest efforts.

SALEM, Ore.- On Tuesday, March 6, just over 12 hours after the final gavel fell on Oregon’s 2012 legislative session, the hallways of the capitol building in Salem were serene and largely empty.

But amid all of the seeming serenity, there were the occasional high-level dramas being played out behind closed doors, as the filing deadline for state offices was all of a few hours away.

SALEM, Ore.- With final legislative approval from the Oregon state Senate, a proposed business plan to set up a health care exchange for the state now moves to the governor for his signature.

On a vote of 26-4, senators approved a bill which provides the details for the health care exchange project set up in response to the national health care legislation passed by Congress in 2010.

SALEM, Ore. – After a long discussion, the Oregon Senate voted Thursday to pass a bill aimed at preventing teen dating violence.

House Bill 4077 requires school boards to develop programs to educate students about dating violence and authorizes the Oregon Department of Justice and the Oregon Department of Human Services to allocate funding to help combat the problem.

SALEM, Ore.- Legislators will meet at least one more day, after the House adjourned during its floor session Thursday morning.

The original date for sine die, also known as adjourning the session, was set for February 29, but lawmakers failed to reach agreement on several bills before that time, including some of those proposed by the governor.

SALEM, Ore. – Two bills affecting handgun owners in Oregon are poised to be debated on the Senate floor before the end of the current legislative session.

In a meeting held late Tuesday afternoon, the Senate Rules Committee evaluated new amendments to House Bill 4045 and Senate Bill 1594, both of which relate to handgun ownership.

SALEM, Ore.- Bills involving teen dating violence, elder abuse, college textbooks and other subjects have cleared the Joint Ways and Means Committee and are one step closer to becoming law.

The budget-writing Ways and Means Committee met on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 27 and approved several bills, many of which had passed through subcommittees last week.