SALEM — The Oregon Capitol will remain open to the public when lawmakers convene Feb. 1 for a monthlong session.

In a joint statement Monday, Jan. 10, Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek announced while all legislative committee meetings during the upcoming 2022 session will take place virtually, the public will be allowed in the building.

Kotek and Courtney issued a statement last week expressing concern over the omicron variant of COVID-19 and troubling projections by doctors at Oregon Health & Science University. The two presiding officers of the Oregon Legislature clarified their stance Jan. 10.

“We are committed to ensuring the legislative process is accessible and safe during the upcoming session,” the statement said. “The recent wave of cases and hospitalizations due to the omicron variant is concerning. After speaking directly with OHSU infectious disease doctors and public health officials, we decided to move our committees to a virtual format.”

Oregonians will be able to enter the Capitol during regular business hours and may watch legislative proceedings from the galleries of either chamber located on the third floor.

Committee meetings will be livestreamed on the Legislature’s information site, and public testimony will be accepted in written format and via video or phone.

According to press release, all Capitol visitors will be required to comply with public health and safety guidance, which includes wearing masks inside to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Capitol employees who can work remotely have been asked to do so during the session to help curb the spread of the virus which continues with the new omicron variant.

According to Dr. Peter Graven, director of OHSU’s Office of Advanced Analytics, Oregon could see as many 1,650 hospitalizations due to the virus by the end of January.

On Jan. 7, 625 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state, according to the Oregon Health Authority. The state’s COVID-19 burden peaked in September with around 1,200 hospitalizations.

The statehouse was closed to the public beginning in March 2020 and remained closed throughout the entire 2021 legislative session, with most staff working remotely in support of lawmakers who were still in the building.

The concept of remote work and wearing masks has been controversial topic in Salem.

Republicans have repeatedly argued the public has a constitutionally protected right to attend legislative proceedings in person. Lawmakers also have framed it as an equity issue for Oregonians who don’t have internet access.

Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, said in the morning of Jan. 10 he hoped the Capitol would remain open.

“I think it’s important for our process that we have accessibility. It can be done, the building has been opened before, but at the end of the day I won’t have anything to say about it legislatively, it’ll be made by other people,” he said. “My preference would certainly be that we keep the building open if we possibly can.”

Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, said legislative leaders have a lot to weigh in this situation.

“There’s got to be a balance between protection of the First Amendment and the right to peaceably assemble and to be open and transparent with public safety,” Smith said. “I would just ask our elected leaders to bring balance to that conversation and do everything they can do to allow for open, transparent government while protecting public safety. You know, that’s a tall order, but that’s the balance that needs to be achieved.”

Rep. Bobby Levy, R-Echo, said in an email that she expects the 2022 session to mirror the last year’s legislative process.

“The information we’ve been given so far leads us to believe that this session will look a lot like the 2021 session — except that the public will be able to enter the building,” Levy said. “I am a firm believer that the People’s Building is supposed to be open to the people, and I support opening those doors to the hardworking Oregonians we are honored to be representing.”

She also urged anyone who feels sick to stay home.

“I’m eagerly looking forward to the days where we can trust and rely on Oregonian’s common-sense in relation to their personal health,” she said.

Mike Nearman, a former state representative from Independence, was expelled from the House and pleaded guilty to illegally allowing armed protestors into the building during a special session in December 2020.

Some Republicans — such as Sen. Dallas Heard — have openly defied Capitol health and safety protocols by not wearing a mask.

Heard also consistently voted against bills he might’ve otherwise supported as a means of protesting the Capitol’s closure.

The Capitol reopened to the public in July 2021 shortly after last year’s legislative session ended, but construction kept most of the building closed through the end of the year.

The two special sessions held in 2021 to redraw the state’s political maps and to address emergency rent assistance were open to the public, but participation was historically low with new restrictions on which parts of the building members of the public and media could access.

Construction finished up last month, so lawmakers will regain access to their offices for the February session.

It remains unclear whether legislative leaders will impose any further restrictions due to the latest wave of infections.

Lawmakers approved a bill last year that will ensure remote access to legislative proceedings made necessary by the pandemic remain permanent moving forward. It took effect Jan. 1.

Kotek announced her resignation effective Jan. 21 to focus on her 2022 gubernatorial bid, meaning the House will need to vote on new leadership before any rules are imposed.

— EO Media Group reporter Alex Wittwer contributed to this article.