Lost in the news surrounding a new presidential administration last week was the first day of the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session. While many Oregonians may be more inclined to stay up on what is going on in politics on a national level, the truth is your Oregon Legislature usually has far more influence on your day-to-day life than your president. The state exerts power over education, health care, housing, transportation, the criminal justice system and more. Laws as mundane as the speed you drive on the interstate and as high stakes as the number of years you spend in prison if caught with drugs come not from the White House, but from Salem. Major building projects in communities live and die by the hand of the state Legislature.