Possible Revamp of Blind Vending in Oregon

The Oregon House unanimously cleared a bill that will revamp the state’s vending machine program to increase jobs and business opportunities for blind people while also encouraging healthier snacks, reports The Lund Report. Currently, Oregon’s blind vending program only gives blind vendors preference for food and vending contracts on public property, not priority, and it has only 14 blind vendors, compared to 115 in Tennessee. The bill, which now goes to the state Senate, would give first priority to blind business owners and require vending machine operators to pay fees to the Commission for the Blind.