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Nearman refused to resign in the face of overwhelming evidence he would be ejected from the Legislature. The four-term Republican lawmaker becomes the first person ever expelled from the Oregon House.

The two states are both led by strong Democratic majorities and face similar issues. Only one of them is successfully passing legislation.

Criticizing a session they say is moving too quickly, Republicans refused to attend a floor session of the Oregon House on Tuesday evening. Lawmakers showed up to the House chamber at 6 p.m. with Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, the only Republican in attendance.

In a one-day special legislative session called to address a number of pandemic-related crises, lawmakers also voted to protect schools from lawsuits related to COVID-19 and to bolster bars and restaurants by allowing cocktail sales to go. Those proposals all passed relatively speedily. The real tumult was happening outside.

Last year, the Oregon and Washington legislatures voted to observe daylight saving time year-round. Earlier this year, the Idaho Legislature voted to link the northern portion of Idaho, which follows Pacific time, to whatever time observance that Washington state follows. But we'll change our clocks this weekend anyway because Congress hasn't acted.

Washington regulators must soon consider rules to limit the use of a controversial pesticide that can cause neurological and health problems, especially in young children. A bill passed by state lawmakers this session didn’t outright ban the pesticide, as health and farmworker activists had proposed.

For the second year in a row, Democrats’ signature bill for instituting a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was stymied by a Republican walkout. Now, the focus falls on Gov. Kate Brown.

Cap and trade is on its way to the Senate floor in Oregon again — and Republicans are heading for the exits. They staged a similar protest last year — twice.

Legal betting on the recent NFL Super Bowl was a winner for the state of Oregon and a handful of Oregon tribal casinos. This comes as legislators in Washington state ponder whether to legalize sports betting too.

Govs. Kate Brown, of Oregon, and Jay Inslee, of Washington, met in Vancouver today to announce the first formal steps to develop a finance plan and reevaluate previous studies of replacing the bridge. They are allocating $44 million to the initial effort of what could eventually be a multibillion dollar bridge replacement project.