Last modified: Friday, February 22, 2008 12:57 PM PST News Digest: OREGON — Subprime mortgage reform bill makes it through Oregon House SALEM (AP) — A bill to make modest reforms to the subprime mortgage lending industry squeaked through the Oregon House Thursday, a big win for House Speaker Jeff Merkley who has made it clear that he intends to highlight the issue in his campaign for the U.S. Senate. The measure now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. It would put an expiration date on the ‘‘prepayment penalties’’ that creditors have to pay if they want to refinance or pay off their loan early. Further, mortgage brokers would have to clearly disclose all terms, fees and costs associated with the loans they are providing. Oregon State Bar dismisses complaint against Kulongoski PORTLAND (AP) — The Oregon State Bar has closed the book on a complaint that Gov. Ted Kulongoski lied about his knowledge of former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s sexual abuse of a teenage girl. The bar rejected the original complaint by radio talk show host Lars Larson, saying Kulongoski was ‘‘credible’’ in his denial that he had not heard about the abuse until just before it was reported in newspapers in May 2004. Larson appealed, saying that contradicted the bar’s conclusion that former Goldschmidt speechwriter Fred Leonhardt also was ‘‘credible’’ in his claim that he told Kulongoski about the abuse years before it was reported publicly. Sylvia Stevens, the bar’s general counsel, said Thursday in a letter to Larson that, ‘‘given the directly contradictory accounts of the parties and the total absence of any other evidence, I cannot conclude that there is sufficient evidence to form a reasonable belief that misconduct may have occurred.’’ GOOD DEALS Searching for some good car deals across the valley and in town? Check out Hanigan Motor’s advertising insert in today’s Argus Observer.