- Oregon Business Report - https://oregonbusinessreport.com -

2016 Ballot: Oregon’s bloodiest political year?

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nfib-logo [5]By Oregon NFIB [6]

Ahead of some highly charged ballot issues that could be put to voters this fall, a top Oregon senator warned [7] of “potentially the bloodiest political day in Oregon’s history.”

Senate President Peter Courtney said this before a crowd of executives, lobbyists and union members at the annual Oregon Leadership Summit in December. He went on to say that Oregon was on the verge of it’s own Civil War, “pitting the state’s more powerful and wealthy interests against each other,” the Statesmen Journal reported.

NFIB/Oregon in particular is bracing for an emboldened campaign to raise the minimum wage, said Anthony Smith, NFIB/Oregon state director. The well-publicized minimum wage debate is anticipated to get decided this year by state lawmakers, voters or both.

“Add in the possibility that lawmakers might try to repeal the current state law that prevents cities and counties from enacting their own minimum wage laws and you’ve got a minimum wage perfect storm brewing,” he said.

From the passage of a new law mandating paid sick time to a law prohibiting business owners from asking job applicants whether they’ve ever been convicted of a felony, last year’s legislative sessio [7]n was one of most troubling for small businesses in Oregon’s history.