© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Snow Halts Oregon Legislature

A view of the Capitol mall in Salem on Thursday afternoon.
Chris Lehman
/
Northwest News Network
A view of the Capitol mall in Salem on Thursday afternoon.

Oregon lawmakers will take a rare snow day Friday. The wintry forecast prompted legislative leaders to cancel all hearings and floor sessions for the day.

House Speaker Tina Kotek says the decision is meant to keep members of the public out of harm's way.

"Our first priority is to keep people safe," she says. "So we don't want people wanting to engage in the public process traveling on unsafe roads."

The day off means lawmakers will have to work longer hours next week in order to meet deadlines to advance legislation. Most bills that don't get preliminary approval by next Thursday will be considered dead.

Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.