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Kitzhaber Signs Series Of Bills…Again

File photo of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signing two measures into law in March. Photo by Chris Lehman
File photo of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signing two measures into law in March. Photo by Chris Lehman

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has been busy signing a series of bills dealing with everything from marine reserves to tax incentives. But the deadline to sign bills from this year's legislative session was actually more than a month ago.

With a bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered behind him, the governor extolled the virtues of House Bill 4068.

"The people here deserve a lot of credit for bringing a bill to my desk with broad, bipartisan majorities."

Then Kitzhaber sat down signed it. It may have felt like déjà vu for the Democrat. He actually signed this bill into law more than two months ago. It's at least the third such faux bill signing in less than a week.

The ceremonial nature of the event didn't faze those gathered to celebrate the measure. It allows commercial fisherman to donate fish to food banks that was accidentally caught while fishing for something else.

"Even if it's only 1,000 or 2,000 pounds, in a community like Tillamook, Clatsop or Newport, that's a tremendous amount of protein," says Mike Moran from the Oregon Food Bank.

A spokeswoman for the governor's office says the ceremonial bill signings are primarily for the benefit of stakeholders.

On the Web:

Oregon House Bill 4068:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/12reg/measpdf/hb4000.dir/hb4068.en.pdf

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.