The Oregon Business Plan’s annual Leadership Summit helps set the tone for business lobbying efforts in the upcoming legislative session. This year’s event, sponsored by the Oregon Business Council (OBC), Oregon Business & Industry (OBI) and Portland Business Alliance (PBA) on Monday, December 3, helped frame key issues that will define the 2019 session.

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No industry is more dependent on the fourth-quarter than retailers, who count on big spending during the holidays to ensure they finish in the black. For years, the holiday focus has been on the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday. 

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The governor’s budget sets the framework for the discussions that will commence when the Oregon Legislature convenes in January. 

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Describe the mission of the National Federation of Independent Business and what makes it different from other organizations advocating for small business? To promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. NFIB is structured differently from many business associations. It is one national organization. There are no ... Read More

The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) published the final rules for the new Equal Pay Law (HB 2005) on November 19. The rules, while slightly modified, are substantially the same as the drafts we first saw during the rulemaking advisory committee and the proposed rules that were published on August 28, 2018. The new rules are effective January 1, 2019.

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Oregon voters elected Kate Brown to a second term as Oregon’s governor. In the Legislature, Democrats won supermajorities in both the House with 38 seats and the Senate with 18 seats.

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The final rules to regulate air toxics and limits on industrial air emissions were released November 1.

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Oregon OSHA is proposing many changes to the Division 1 rules. The most substantive changes are to OAR 437-001-0096 regarding Red Warning Notices and the penalty for removing such notices.

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The Workers’ Compensation Division (WCD) of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) is discussing changes to administrative rules for procedural rules, rulemaking, hearings, and attorney fees. 

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Committee chairs play an important role at Oregon Business & Industry (OBI), helping members collaborate and develop policy positions. We recently sat down with Tom Wood, an attorney at Stoel Rives and co-chair of the OBI Air Steering Committee.

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