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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers had a busy week, advancing dozens of bills and finalizing the budget as they prepare to adjourn the 2015 session in the coming days. Here's a look at some of the highlights from the past week:
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CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
A $1.2 billion plan for debt-financed construction projects was unveiled. Despite a strong push by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, it did not include money to renovate the state Capitol and retrofit the building to survive an earthquake.
It did, however, include more than $200 million to improve earthquake safety in schools and public safety buildings like police and fire stations. If the full Legislature and Gov. Kate Brown sign off, all seven universities will get new buildings or renovations, to the tune of $300 million. The plan also includes millions for road construction, affordable housing units and dozens of other projects.
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COLLEGE TUITION
Both the House and Senate signed off on a bill allowing recent high school graduates to qualify for a tuition waiver at Oregon community colleges.
The bill would provide the dollars needed to cover tuition where state and federal grants fall short. Students who graduated or got a GED certificate within six months of enrolling for community college courses could apply.
A separate bill would allow Oregon residents to qualify for state-funded college scholarships, regardless of their immigration status. The measure sparked a heated debate in the House, where discussion was paused for half an hour and Rep. Chris Gorsek apologized for an outburst at two Republicans.
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SPEED LIMITS
Lawmakers liked the idea of raising speed limits from 55 to 65 mph outside the city limits in Central and Eastern Oregon. Interstate 84 from The Dalles to Idaho would rise to 70 mph, as would all of U.S. 95 in the state's southeastern corner.
Another bill aimed at speeding the flow of traffic did not advance. The measure, which didn't survive a House vote, would have designated the left lane as a passing lane and allowed police to ticket slow-pokes who fail to move over for faster traffic.
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VACCINE EXEMPTIONS
Legislators revived a hotly contested bill that orders schools to publish information about the number of their students who have received exemptions from vaccine requirements.
Oregon has one of the highest rates of kindergarten students using a nonmedical waiver to opt out of one or more required vaccinations, with 5.8 percent of this year's kindergarten class entering school without some of their shots.
Some lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Portland, have been trying to reduce that rate, saying a high number of immunized students protects those who can't get the shots themselves, such as children with leukemia or suppressed immune systems.
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