Oregon lawmakers are pressing to clear a backlog of legislation. The House is planning morning and afternoon sessions to try to reach a hoped-for adjournment by the end of the month. But some measures appear to have fallen by the wayside.
A few examples:
• The bill to require daily flag salutes in Oregon public schools. It passed the House. But lawmakers in the Senate objected, and changed it to simply extend the current once-a-week flag salute to charter schools.
• Another bill to make it a crime to feed raccoons passed the Senate but died in a House committee.
• And a measure to require cities to cap the amount towing companies can charge passed the House and made it all the way to the Senate floor, where supporters like Democrat Jackie Dingfelder urged its passage:
"Drivers who make the mistake of parking in the wrong place shouldn't have to pay a sizeable ransom just to get their car back," Dingfelder said.
But the tow truck measure fell short when some Democrats joined with the Republicans to block it.
Still alive, in theory, are a slate of measures aimed at curbing gun violence. But time is running out for lawmakers to come up with a compromise.