Network outage shuts down virtual legislative meetings
Committees adjourn early because public cannot watch livestreaming on the website.
A worldwide outage of Microsoft Teams forced the closure of virtual Oregon legislative committee proceedings on Monday afternoon.
The outage started around 12:30 p.m. March 15, before afternoon proceedings began around 1 p.m. Committees suspended their meetings before Microsoft reported that most issues stemming from the outage had been resolved in a tweet posted at 4:19 p.m.
The outage did not stop Gov. Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek from giving their pitch for a $250 million summer school and child care plan to a legislative budget subcommittee. They announced the plan last week.
MEDFORD, Ore. Governor Kate Brown, Senate President Peter Courtney, and House Speaker Tina Kotek urged support for their $250 million Summer Learning and Child Care package. The three Democratic leaders first announced the package on March 8.
The goal of the package is to help students and children learn, thrive, and have fun this summer. The Summer Learning and Child Care package will create grants for enrichment activities, academic support, child care, and early learning programs.
“This Summer Learning and Child Care package will set our kids up for success by letting them be kids again in environments that foster creativity, learning, and joy,” says Governor Brown.
SALEM — With a third of the session gone, the Oregon Legislature has 4,000 bills on its plate, with House Republicans using a parliamentary slow-down to delay legislation already running
SALEM â Oregon Sen. Bill Hansell has an additional job.
The Republican from Athena was recently appointed to serve on the Oregon State Fair Council by Senate President Pete Courtney, according to a press release.Â
âI am excited and honored to have been appointed to the State Fair Council, formerly called the State Fair Board,â Hansell said. âI look forward to ensuring state and county fairs will be enjoyed by countless more Oregonians in the future.â
The Oregon State Fair Council is a state of Oregon public corporation, with 11 council members appointed by the governor. Two additional positions are reserved for a state senator and a state representative, and are appointed by the Senate president and House speaker, respectively.