Lawmakers this week approved billions of dollars for new buildings, special projects and emergency needs across the state.
Big-ticket winners include affordable housing programs, construction projects at Portland State University and wildfire fighting efforts.
End-of-session budget bills, including the “Christmas tree bill,” so nicknamed for its assortment of coveted expenditures akin to ornaments on a tree, traditionally reward certain lawmakers and address priorities of the Legislature’s top leaders and its powerful budget-writing Ways & Means co-chairs…