Latest news with #GovTinaKotek
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Feds demand Oregon Health Plan data in crackdown against immigrant coverage
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Federal officials are seeking the personal data of the Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan as part of a crackdown on coverage for undocumented immigrants. The request, as first reported by , comes after the Department of Homeland Security provided immigration officials with similar data from California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C. 'Just wrong': Oregon advocates say SCOTUS decision targets transgender youth Oregon, like these states, has expanded medical coverage to undocumented residents through state-funded programs. On Monday, Gov. Tina Kotek said her office is reviewing the order. 'I think it's very important, to a degree that we can, that we do not share personal information,' Kotek said. 'Always comfortable with aggregated information, but when we start sharing personal medical information that could be misused, that's a challenge for me.' The state of Oregon has until the end of July 2025 to comply. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon Legislature passes bill aimed at protecting Beaver State's namesake
A bill aimed at protecting beavers on more than 100,000 miles of Oregon's waterways passed the state Legislature on June 16 and heads to Gov. Tina Kotek for her signature. House Bill 3932 passed the Senate 17-11 after previously passing the House 35-18, mostly on party lines. The bill's advocates touted the industrious rodent's ability to filter toxins, recharge groundwater, and generate habitat for fish and wildlife in their natural course of building dams and canals in river systems. The bill prohibits trapping or removing beavers from public lands where the waterways have been officially classified as 'impaired' — having problems like too much sediment, low oxygen or water temperature that's too high. Roughly 100,000 miles of Oregon waterways currently qualify as impaired, state officials said. The bill requires the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to publish a map showing the waterways where the new beaver protections apply. 'We call this the beaver state for a reason. Beavers help stabilize ecosystems, improve water quality, and build natural resilience against the climate impacts we're already facing,' Sen. Courtney Neron Misslin, D –Wilsonville, Tigard, Sherwood and King City, said in a news release. The bill does not change existing laws that permit trapping or removing beavers on private land. The bill's sponsors pointed to a 2024 report that showed only 4% percent of beaver harvesting happens on impaired waterways on public lands. Oregon Republicans largely voted against the bill. In public testimony, some groups of trappers urged not passing the legislation. "(Beaver) populations must be managed responsibly to prevent ecological imbalances," Trevin Franks, of Hood River, wrote in a statement. "When beaver numbers swell unchecked, they cause extensive damage to agricultural lands, disrupt infrastructure, and threaten the habitats of other wildlife. By banning trapping, you are effectively ignoring a vital tool that ensures our environments remain balanced and healthy." Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, pushed back on that notion. 'If we started from scratch to create a resource to improve water quality and quantity on our impaired streams, we couldn't do better than beavers' Golden said in a news release. 'This bill puts them to work for us with the barest impact on Oregon trappers.' Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@ or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon beaver protections bill passed by state Legislature
