Latest news with #TobiasRead
E&E News
2 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Oregon lawmakers set net-zero goal for pension fund
Oregon is moving to codify climate standards for the state's $100 billion public pension fund, defying a broader trend in U.S. finance away from climate-minded investing. H.B. 2081 aims to lower the carbon intensity of the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund's investments — without requiring the fund to divest from fossil fuels. Instead, the bill upholds a strategy from Oregon Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner and her predecessor, now-Secretary of State Tobias Read, to balance the pension fund's carbon-intensive holdings with investments that lower emissions — aiming for net-zero emissions from the portfolio by 2050. Advertisement The bill passed the Oregon Senate this week on a 18-10 vote, including one Republican supporter. It cleared the House in May, where two Republicans helped it pass 36-18, and it now awaits action from Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oregon's mental health needs outweigh its ability to provide services, report shows
The Oregon Health Authority oversees the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. (Oregon Health Authority) This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting '988' or chatting online at Oregon's high behavioral health needs outpace the state's availability to provide services, according to an audit report from the Secretary of State's Office. The state's suicide rate has consistently outpaced the nation since 2000, and it ranks 46th among states for adults with substance use disorders who needed but did not receive treatment, according to the report. And Oregon's behavioral crisis response systems only partially meet the national guidelines and best practices, according to the state's audit. The report, released Thursday, included recommendations for the Oregon Health Authority, as improving behavioral health systems in Oregon can provide health and economic benefits in the long run. For every $1 invested in preventing and treating youth mental disorders and suicide, there is a $24 return in health and economic benefits over 80 years, the report shows. 'We have a behavioral health crisis in our state and too many people are suffering,' Secretary of State Tobias Read said in a press release. 'By implementing these recommendations and treating this issue with the urgency it deserves, Oregon should deliver better services that keep more people healthy, housed and alive.' The Oregon Health Authority lacks sufficient data to understand the need for behavioral health crisis services, according to the report. The agency has not fully kept track of the number of calls made to the 988 mental health hotline and county crisis hotlines. It began collecting data from 988 callers in 2022, but county crisis lines still do not collect this data. The agency also has no way of tracking a caller's demographic information, such as age, race and ethnicity, gender and county. Suicide rate disparities are stark between different demographics. Native American individuals and non-Hispanic whites had the highest rates of suicide in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups, or about 20 deaths per 100,000. Rural Oregonians also had higher suicide rates than those living in urban areas. 'Without demographic data, the agency's goal of eliminating health inequities by 2030 in the behavioral health crisis system is unlikely,' the report reads. Since 2020, when 988 was designated as the national suicide prevention and mental health hotline, Oregon adopted the Crisis Now model, which has three pillars used to respond to behavioral crises across the state. These pillars are the 988 crisis hotline, mobile crisis teams and stabilization centers. The audit found that only one of Oregon's pillars — its crisis hotline — has sustainable funding. Oregon set aside this funding through a law implementing a $0.50 monthly fee for every cell phone and landline. That fund also supports some of Oregon's mobile crisis teams. The mobile teams can also receive Medicaid reimbursements. However, there is no funding dedicated for Oregon's three crisis stabilization centers, which is needed to support the continued operation of these centers. Without sustainable funding support for crisis stabilization centers, many Oregonians end up in emergency departments or have to wait for a space to open at a center. This creates a backlog of patients waiting for the appropriate care, including those who may be placed on a hold awaiting civil commitment. The report also highlights the need for behavioral health services for youth. In 2022, the state's youth suicide rate was 14.2 per 100,000 compared to 10 per 100,000 nationally, with the highest rates occurring during ages 18 to 24 years of age. And nearly every year from 2003 to 2022, Oregon's youth suicide rate has been higher than the national rate, except for the year 2010. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's 2021-2022 National Surveys on drug use: 15% of Oregon youth and 7% of Oregon adults have serious thoughts of suicide. 7% of Oregon youth and 1.5% of Oregon adults have made any suicide plans. About 4.5% of Oregon youth and 0.7% of Oregon adults have attempted suicide. Auditors offered 12 recommendations for the health authority, including recommendations to address its data collection gaps, addressing funding gaps and doing more strategic planning for the future. The health authority accepted all 12 recommendations. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tuesday is Oregon voters' last chance to register ahead of Special Election in May
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – If you've been meaning to register to vote, today is your last chance before the May 2025 Special Election. Eligible voters have until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29 to or complete a voter registration form to turn in to their county's local elections office. Photos: Truck tips over, spills liquid on Highway 30 after large crash The state will begin sending out ballots on April 30 ahead of Election Day on May 20, and officials say that voters should receive their ballots by May 8. Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said this special election will determine the fate of such as who sits on school boards and who manages water and rural fire districts. Other ballot measures include school funding and road maintenance. 'The May Special Election will have a big impact on the issues Oregonians care about most,' Read said. 'If you want to receive a ballot in this election, make sure you are registered by the deadline. Be a decisionmaker for your family and your community.' Parents who caused son's fentanyl overdose turn themselves in, await sentencing To register, residents with a valid driver's license, driving permit, or ID can head to the . Those without a valid form of ID will need to fill out an Oregon Voter Registration Card. Those in Multnomah County can find these cards at the U.S. Post Office, their nearest location, and the Multnomah County Duniway-Lovejoy Elections Building. Voters who have already registered can check their status online using the . For more information on your local elections, visit their or read the voter pamphlet sent to your registered address. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oregon voter registration errors began years earlier than DMV officials acknowledged
The Oregon Department of Transportation found 118 more errant voter registrations. (Photo by Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Data entry errors at the Oregon Department of Transportation that led to more than 1,700 people being incorrectly registered to vote despite not demonstrating citizenship began years earlier than the department previously acknowledged, according to a new report released Friday. Since November, the department has released monthly status reports on its ongoing review of errors that led to people who may not be citizens registering to vote through interactions at the Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division. The latest report released Friday found that another 118 people have been wrongly registered to vote. Secretary of State Tobias Read said in a statement that everyone involved in voter registration and elections must catch and fix errors and be accountable to the people of Oregon. 'It's hard not to be disappointed,' Read said. 'Our elections are a chain that stretches between individual voters, through the state, and to county elections officials. That chain is strong and reliable, but we continue to have a weak link that needs more attention, work, and accountability.' All but one of the newly discovered individuals interacted with the DMV between 2010 and 2023. Most were found by an automated DMV report that flagged whether someone marked as a citizen in records has since provided records that contradict citizenship, such as a permanent resident card. The other case involved an Oregon resident from American Samoa. People from that territory have U.S. passports but aren't U.S. citizens and can't vote in elections other than presidential primaries. County clerks have already inactivated the 118 wrongly registered voters and they won't receive ballots for local elections in May, according to the Oregon Association of County Clerks. The affected voters will receive letters with instructions on how to permanently cancel or reactivate their voter registration. Thirteen of those 118 people have voted in one or more elections, the DMV reported. It's a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal or state elections and people who do so risk prison sentences, fines and deportation. The Secretary of State's Office is reviewing whether those 13 people were eligible to vote at the time they voted. So far, the office has forwarded the names of three people identified through an earlier review to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation. Oregon has automatically registered citizens to vote since 2016 when they obtain or renew their driver's licenses, permits or nonoperating IDs. Last fall, prodding from a Chicago-based nonprofit led the department to review that process. Officials found that in hundreds of cases, front-line DMV workers had wrongly coded foreign birth certificates or passports as U.S. birth certificates or passports, meaning people who can't legally vote in state or federal elections were added to voter rolls. The latest discovery comes as Republicans in the White House, Congress and the Oregon Legislature seek to restrict voting access in the name of election integrity. The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill that would require states to obtain documents that prove citizenship before allowing anyone to register to vote and that critics warned could make voting more difficult for citizens, including married women who change their names without updating legal documents. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield sued President Donald Trump last week over an executive order that would require voters to prove citizenship and ban states including Oregon from counting ballots mailed and postmarked on or before Election Day that arrive a few days later. Oregonians who submitted legislative testimony last week overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to end mail voting and require photo IDs to vote. Meanwhile, Republican Reps. Vikki Breese-Iverson, Emily McIntire, Greg Smith and Kim Wallan announced Friday that they'll introduce a bill to assign control of the automatic voter registration system to the Oregon Secretary of State's Office. Currently, the DMV collects information and forwards it to the Secretary of State's Office to finish registering voters. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read talks election integrity, state agency audits
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — This week, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek allowed the DMV to resume automatic voter registration under the so-called 'motor voter law.' The governor paused the practice after DMV clerical and policy mistakes resulted in more than 1,600 people making it onto voter rolls without verification of citizenship. Newly elected Secretary of State, former State Treasurer and former state legislator Tobias Read joined this week's Eye on Northwest Politics to discuss Oregon election integrity and more. Watch the full interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
