4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2015 Vote: Democrats now have an 18-12 majority over Republicans Continued from Page 1A has the support of Oregon’s county clerks. • A state standard for fuels that will generate less in carbon emissions. The Senate Environ- ment and Natural Resources Committee heard Senate Bill 324, which would extend the standard past a scheduled 2015 expiration. • Use of unclaimed money from class-action settlements for Legal Aid programs. The House Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 2700, which differs from last year in that a judge would have discre- tion to award 50 percent to Legal Aid and 50 percent to programs related to the issue that prompted the class-action lawsuit. All three bills died in the Senate in the past two years on 15-15 votes, when Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, joined 14 Republicans. Democrats now have an 18-12 majority over Republicans. Two of the three bills, ex- cepting the low-carbon fuels standard, passed the House, where Democrats now have a 35-25 majority over Republi- cans. The fuels bill never came to a vote in the House. — Steve Druckenmiller Linn County clerk, about automatic voter registration with DMV Ted Ferrioli of John Day said. claimed award money in class-ac- tion lawsuits to the very companies or individuals who caused that harm … This is a practice not fol- lowed in most states.” Unlike the failed 2014 bill, the bill would let a judge award half of the unclaimed money to legal aid and the other half to individuals or organizations re- lated to the class-action lawsuit. The bill would apply to class-action lawsuits on which Class-action settlements A different legislative com- mittee began work on a bill, which also failed by one vote in the Senate last year, to allow some unclaimed money from class-action settlements to help fund Legal Aid programs. Attorney General Ellen Rosen- blum said Oregon law allows “an unfair practice of returning un- Repeat for registration AP Photo/Statesman Journal Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, left, speaks with Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, during the opening day of the Oregon legislative session, Monday, at the Capitol in Salem. Democrats used their new majorities to press measures that failed in the last session. Low Prices. Although other states are considering it, Oregon would EH WKH ¿UVW WR UHJLVWHU YRWHUV automatically upon changes in driver records, which would be transferred electronically. Records would not be forward- ed for drivers under 18, those legally present in the United States but ineligible to vote, and a few people such as police RI¿FHUV DQG GRPHVWLFYLROHQFH survivors whose information is not public. The National Voter Registra- tion Act, passed by Congress in 1993, requires states to ask new and renewing drivers if they want to register to vote. But their driver records are transferred to FRXQW\HOHFWLRQVRI¿FLDOVE\SD- per. “Oregonians have demon- strated that if we put a ballot in the hands of voters, we will cast it,” Secretary of State Kate Brown said. “My goal is to put a ballot in the hands of virtually every eligible Oregonian.” Though Oregon has histori- cally high participation of voters already registered, it lags behind other states in the share of eligi- ble people who are registered to vote. “I think this is the single most important thing Oregon can do to change the face of elections” since Oregon voters approved all-mail balloting in 1998, said Steve Druckenmiller, Linn County clerk since 1987. But all four Republicans on the House committee raised crit- ical questions, including GOP Leader Mike McLane of Pow- ell Butte, who took issue with Druckenmiller’s description of some barriers to registration as “repulsive” and “an unnecessary burden.” His comparison of the strug- gle for voting rights for blacks in the South during the 1960s with postcard and online voter registration, McLane says, “is not well taken… I think they are radically different.” Big Savings SAVINGS AWARD Valid 2/3/15 thru 2/10/15 10 OFF $ 50 or more $ * Save on your next grocery purchase of $50 or more * with your Safeway Club Card and this Savings Award. * Use this Savings Award on any shopping trip you choose at any Oregon Safeway store (except Milton-Freewater) and S.W. Washington stores serving Clark, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Skamania and Klickitat counties by 2/10/15. This $10.00 Savings Award excludes purchases of Alcoholic Beverages, Fluid Dairy Products, Tobacco, US Postage Stamps, Trimet Bus/Commuter Passes, Money Orders, Container Deposits, Lottery, Gift Cards, Gift Certificates Sales, All Pharmacy Prescription Purchases, Safeway Club Savings, Safeway Store Coupons and Sales Tax. One Savings Award redeemable per household. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED. Online and in-store prices, discounts, and offers may differ. COUPON COUPON Valid 2/4/15 thru 2/10/15 #00000-HIACIf COUPON Valid 2/4/15 thru 2/10/15 Coast to Coast Hoagie Rolls 1 49 WITH CARD AND COUPON #00000-HHEIIi This coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Offer Valid with Card and Coupon. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED. Coupon valid thru 2/10/15. COUPON 3 $ Safeway ® Farms Bacon Sold in a 3-lb. package. This coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Offer Valid with Card and Coupon. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED. Coupon valid thru 2/10/15. COUPON ® ea WITH CARD AND COUPON 3-lb. bag. 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Coupon valid thru 2/10/15. COUPON Valid 2/4 thru 2/10/15 This coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Offer valid with Coupon. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED or combined with digital coupon. #00000-HHDFJb 9 99 ea WITH CARD AND COUPON #00000-BEIEGh Valid 2/4 thru 2/10/15 Safeway ® Kitchens 100% Whole Wheat Bread 16-oz. GET 1 FREE Lucerne ® Chunk Cheese 8-oz. Valid 2/4/15 thru 2/10/15 BUY 1 Lucerne ® Monterey Jack Chunk Cheese 16-oz. Limit 1 FREE #00000-HJBEAd COUPON BUY 1 Prices in this ad are effective 6 AM Wednesday, February 4 thru Tuesday, February 10, 2015 (unless otherwise noted) in all Safeway stores in Oregon (except Milton-Freewater) and S.W. Washington stores serving Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties. Items offered for sale are not available to other dealers or wholesalers. Sales of products containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or phenylpropanolamine limited by law. Quantity rights reserved. SOME ADVERTISING ITEMS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN ALL STORES. Some advertised prices may be even lower in some stores. On Buy One, Get One Free (“BOGO”) offers, customer must purchase the first item to receive the second item free. BOGO offers are not 1/2 price sales. If only a single item purchased, the regular price applies. Manufacturers’ coupons may be used on purchased items only — not on free items. Limit one coupon per purchased item. Customer will be responsible for tax and deposits as required by law on the purchased and free items. No liquor sales in excess of 52 gallons. No liquor sales for resale. Liquor sales at licensed Safeway stores only. © 2015 Safeway Inc. Availability of items may vary by store. Online and In-store prices, discounts and offers may differ. PO COUPON Shanghai Dinner for Two WITH CARD AND COUPON lb WITH CARD AND COUPON This coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Offer Valid with Card and Coupon. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED. Coupon valid thru 2/10/15. Valid 2/4/15 thru 2/10/15 GET 1 FREE Limit 2 FREE Limit 4-lbs. #00000-HJBGDc Valid 2/4 thru 2/10/15 General Mills Cereal Under 18-oz. 8 99 ea WITH CARD AND COUPON General Mills Cheerios or Kix 18-oz. When you Buy 2 16 to 20-ct. 99 BUY 2 Pantry Essentials ™ Vegetables 32-oz. Frozen. Valid 2/4/15 thru 2/10/15 Extra Jumbo Raw Shrimp 16.5-oz. Low-carbon fuels Lawmakers in 2009 autho- rized the Environmental Quality Commission to write rules for a standard, and the commission has done so. However, the 2009 law also carried an automatic expiration of 2015, unless law- makers remove it. California has a standard, which survived court challeng- es, and Washington has set into motion rulemaking. All three states have done so in pursuit of reducing carbon emissions. “If we want people to invest DQG WU\ WR ¿QG VROXWLRQV \RX have to send a clear public mes- sage that the government and the public will be there for them, if they make an investment in a reasonable sense of the term,” said Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Spring- ¿HOG Republicans have argued that Oregon’s contribution to carbon emissions is negligible, but a state low-carbon fuel stan- dard would add to the cost of gasoline. “I would urge this committee to not take any precipitous action before we know the true costs of the market distortion that we are calling the low-carbon fuel stan- dard,” Senate Republican Leader a judgment has not been entered — including one involving BP West Coast Products, which a Multnomah County jury decid- ed in January 2014 was wrong to charge a 35-cent fee for use of debit cards on gasoline purchas- es at Arco stations between Jan. 1, 2011, and Aug. 30, 2013. About 2 million people were estimated to be eligible for $200 shares of a settlement. Claims were due by Dec. 31. BP is appealing the verdict. “This case could be tied up in WKHFRXUWVIRU¿YH\HDUVDQGQRW a single dollar will go to Legal Aid before it is resolved,” says a statement presented by a coalition of business groups. “If the appeal succeeds, this legislation will gen- erate no money for Legal Aid.” ‘I think this is the single most important thing Oregon can do to change the face of elections’ GET 1 FREE Limit 1 FREE This coupon must be presented at time of purchase. Offer valid with Coupon. COUPON CANNOT BE DOUBLED or combined with digital coupon. #00000-HJDHEc