SALEM — The momentum for Oregon lawmakers to return to Salem for a special session on the state’s coronavirus response has eased this week, as top leaders from both parties on Tuesday cited a variety of reasons to wait.

Last week, a co-chair of the coronavirus legislative committee said he expected lawmakers to hold a session this week, and Gov. Kate Brown also said leaders were looking at convening this week.

The outlook has shifted, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said in an interview Tuesday.

“We won’t have a special session this week. I’m not gonna deny that,” Courtney said.

Courtney wouldn’t discuss whether he believes there is an urgent need for legislation to address the coronavirus health crisis and its economic impacts. “It’s the governor’s call to call us (into special session) and when she does, we’ll go,” Courtney said. “She has more or less said she wants to make sure she knows what the (federal) economic stimulus is doing. And there’s some speculation she’ll wait until the (May 20 state tax revenue) forecast.”

Oregon leaders are already expecting the near shutdown of certain sectors of the economy will devastate state revenues and that will likely require lawmakers to rebalance the state budget. An updated revenue forecast could give lawmakers a better idea of the resources they might realistically have to work with for the remainder of the biennium, which runs through June 2021.

A spokesman for Brown confirmed Tuesday afternoon that the governor is still working with legislative leaders to “assess what the impact of the federal” aid package will be in Oregon.

“Conversations are still ongoing with legislative leadership about holding a special session,” press secretary Charles Boyle wrote in an email.

This article was originally published by The Oregonian/OregonLive, one of more than a dozen news organizations throughout the state sharing their coverage of the novel coronavirus outbreak to help inform Oregonians about this evolving heath issue.