Lawmakers considering bill allowing compensation for college athletes SALEM, Oregon (KPTV) — Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney is once again taking a shot at a bill that would allow college athletes to personally profit from the multimillion sports industry that is built around team programs and star athletes. The hot-button issue has been controversial for years, but more recently, a handful of states have passed laws that overturn university and college rules banning athletes from receiving payments and gifts. Courtney introduced the bill last year but it failed to go anywhere as Republican legislators walked out of the chambers in protest of a cap-and-trade bill.