2013 special legislative session

A cigarette tax increase will create a dedicated funding source for mental health services, totaling about $30 million a year. The Senate president said it should take care of Oregon’s needs for children and adolescents while still falling short for adults with mental illness.

Rep. Bob Jenson of Pendleton told The Lund Report he’s hoping to find a way to delay the closure of Eastern Oregon’s state mental hospital before its doctors and nurses leave for work elsewhere. Rep. Jennifer Williamson of Portland suggested converting it into a much-needed prison hospital for aging inmates.