Sen. Boquist: Measure 114, school tests, payroll problems, more…

By Oregon State Senator Brian Boquist,
Highlights, excerpts from Sen. Boquist newsletter

— Rob Wagner prepares to take reins as first new Oregon Senate president in decades.

— Opinion: Public safety challenges require increased funding for prosecutors. The same association that lets criminals in the street wants more money and their prosecutions are very political.

— Statesman Journal reports: “Nationwide, student performance in math, science, reading and writing saw a sharp decline through the COVID-19 pandemic. Oregon schools were no exception, with achievement scores last school year dropping at every grade and subject tested — some as much as 10 percentage points. According to the latest data, which reflects the 2021-22 school year, fewer than 44% of Oregon students tested were proficient in English language arts. About 30% were considered proficient in math and 29.5% in science. By comparison, in 2019, about 53% of Oregon students tested proficient in English, 39% in math and 37% in science.”

— Oregon made the national news for a disturbing reason: an attacker chews off a man’s ear, to the point where skull was showing, waiting for TriMet. Despite people eating each other in this state, Oregon was the second most popular state to move to in 2022, according to an annual study by United Van Lines.

— The Oregonian: “A state judge Tuesday continued to temporarily block Measure 114′s provision that would require the completion of a criminal background check before a gun can be sold or transferred in Oregon.”

— Willamette Week: The State Elections Director Advocated for Compliance and Investigations. Her Boss (Shemia Fagan) Says She ‘Didn’t Get It.’ And she resigned. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan hired Deborah Scroggin after a national search. They weren’t on the same page.

–The government is struggling with its transition to a new payroll system and some employees got overpaid, while others didn’t get paid at all.

— Oregon to return $10 million of unclaimed funds. KOIN reports: “In a release on Tuesday, Treasurer Tobias Read announced about $10 million in unclaimed funds will be returned by summer 2023. The disbursement of unclaimed funds is part of the “Checks Without Claims” initiative that aims to connect forgotten funds to the rightful owners.”

— Oregon’s new paid leave program goes into effect.

— Oregon law lacks specificity that could make it easier to prosecute doctors for misconduct on the job, when compared to other states, a KATU News investigation found.

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