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Protesters gathered at the Oregon Capitol in July 2013 to help block a bill that would have pre-empted local ordinances against genetically modified seeds. Lawmakers passed a similar bill during a special session in October.

(Yuxing Zheng/The Oregonian)

The contentious debate over whether to label genetically modified foods will return to the Oregon Legislature next month and possibly land before voters in November.

Rep.

, D-Eugene, said last week that he will introduce a bill that would refer the issue to voters.

"There are a lot of people who have concerns and want to know what's in their foods," Holvey said. "The voters should at the very least decide on the issue." Other supporters of labeling, meanwhile, are working on at least two initiatives, also aimed at the November ballot.

The issue has come up in several states, including

a GMO-labeling initiative last fall after food and biotech firms poured money into defeating it.

the year before.

GMOs were also an issue in the Oregon Legislature’s

over environmentalists’ objections that bans local governments from regulating genetically modified plants. The law included an exception for Jackson County, where

.

At the time, Gov.

had promised to

to consider issues such as labeling requirements and preventing contamination of organic agriculture. He pledged that the group would

.

The new efforts would supersede that process. Scott Bates, a Tigard resident, is leading efforts behind two

. One was

. Another

before sponsors can collect signatures.

Bates said he’d drop his initiatives and support Holvey’s version if it passes.

"If the language of it is something we can get behind and support, we’d be very happy to see that happen so we wouldn't have to even address the signature gathering," said Bates, who did not know how many signatures had been collected for the first initiative.

Holvey said his proposal is similar to the initiatives but declined to go into details. Taking the legislative route would give lawmakers a chance to fine-tune requirements rather than rely on the initiative backers, he said.

It's unclear how Holvey's bill will fare.

Jared Mason-Gere, spokesman for House Speaker

, D-Portland, declined to say whether the bill might reach the floor for a vote.

"The majority of time and energy this session will be devoted to strengthening the economy, but the speaker welcomes a thorough conversation on how we might give consumers more information about the food they buy," he wrote in an e-mail Monday.

Even if the bill passes in the House, it would face a tougher climb in the Senate.

failed to advance from committees during last year's regular session.

But Holvey said he's optimistic. "I think it does have a chance largely because legislators have been hearing from a lot of people concerned about genetically modified foods," he said. "I'm listening to my constituents."

-- Yuxing Zheng