SALEM — Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney said in an interview Friday, Sept. 4, that he does not expect lawmakers will be called back to the Oregon Capitol for a third special session in September, based on conversations with Gov. Kate Brown and House Speaker Tina Kotek.

Courtney said he wanted to inform lawmakers of the outlook after The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that some Democrats on Sept. 3 called for another special session to pass legislation on police tactics and accountability, aimed at reducing law enforcement brutality. The Democrats said they do not want to lose momentum to pass deeper police reforms.

“The three of us have talked for quite some time,” Courtney, D-Salem, said of Kotek, D-Portland, and the governor. “We probably need to make a statement (there won’t be a September session) because we owe it to our fellow legislators.”

Courtney did not rule out that the governor might call lawmakers back to the Capitol later in the year, to address another budget shortfall, other pandemic-related emergencies or policing bills.

“You could do October, but I think it’s more likely the latter part of this year, November or December,” Courtney said in a video call.

After The Oregonian/OregonLive contacted the governor’s office about Courtney’s statements, Brown’s deputy communications director Charles Boyle confirmed in an email that the governor “is not intending to call a special session before November.”

Courtney cited the new federal ban on most evictions through the end of the year as one development that eased the pressure for a September session. Also, Courtney said a Sept. 23 economic and revenue forecast will provide crucial information about whether lawmakers will need to again patch the budget. Campaign season is also heating up, adding to legislators’ reluctance to return to Salem, Courtney acknowledged. The Senate president said leaders are still holding out hope that Congress will approve more money for state governments.

Left-leaning groups have been pushing lawmakers to pass a bill to undo the state’s huge new tax breaks for businesses and wealthy individuals, copied automatically from the federal CARES Act. State economists estimate several of the tax provisions could save business owners and others approximately $225 million by June 2021 and cut that same amount from state revenues.

Separately, businesses are pushing lawmakers to pass a coronavirus liability shield and unions are advocating for a law that would ensure employees who test positive for COVID-19 receive workers compensation based on a presumption the infection occurred in the workplace.

Danny Moran, a spokesman for Kotek, said the speaker, Senate president and governor have been analyzing what issues would be addressed in a third special session since the second special session concluded Aug. 10.

“The concepts being considered, aside from police accountability, haven’t had much public process,” Moran wrote in an email.

Moran said that Kotek “believes the issues addressing police accountability are urgent. She has fought for inclusion of these concepts at each special session and will continue to support the work of her colleagues when a third session is called.”