The six top leaders of the Oregon Legislature met Wednesday morning and issued a joint statement agreeing they had met.

 “All six leaders agreed: We met, we had a conversation, we are planning on additional conversations,” was the only comment from the four Democrats and two Republicans.

Afterwards, two Republican senators appeared for the 10:30 a.m. Senate floor session, just as they had for the previous seven floor sessions since May 3.

It was two too few. With 16 Democrats also in attendance, the roll call resulted in 18 senators present. Under the Oregon Constitution, two-thirds of lawmakers must be in the chamber for any business to be conducted.

Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, once again announced the headcount was short of allowing the Senate to go any further.

“Colleagues, the Sergeant at Arms has reported that unexcused members cannot be located, therefore there is no quorum for the Senate to conduct business,” Wagner said from the podium. 

House waits on Senate

With the legislative spigot that sends bills from the Senate to the House still shut, House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, hadn’t scheduled the House to convene. Both chambers were scheduled to have floor sessions on Thursday.

The meeting early Wednesday included Wagner and Rayfield, along with the majority leaders from both chambers: Sen. Kate Lieber of Beaverton and Rep. Julie Fahey of Eugene.

The Republican minority sent their leaders from the two chambers: Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend and Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville.

Knopp said at the beginning of the 2023 session that slowdowns and walkouts were possible if Democrats didn’t compromise on their agenda. GOP lawmakers complain they are bypassed in shaping legislation. In recent days, they’ve added the issue of whether legislative analysis of bills violated a 1979 law that effectively requires the text be written at no more than an 8th grade reading level.

Democrats say the issues raised by Republicans are cover for an attempt to stop the majority party elected by the majority of Oregon voters from passing laws the public supports. The quorum problems began at the same time key bills of the Democratic agenda on abortion access, transgender health rights, and gun control had arrived in the Senate after winning approval along mostly party lines in the House.

First walkout since anti-walkout ballot measure

The Oregon Constitution gives the minority party in the Legislature an unusual ability to stop legislation by not attending floor sessions.

Democrats hold 35 of 60 seats in the House and 17 of 30 seats in the Senate.

The numbers are enough to pass legislation on abortion, gun control, rent control, and transgender rights. But bills can’t be approved without a quorum in each chamber to meet. Oregon is one of four states that require two-thirds of lawmakers to be present for a quorum. The others: Texas, Tennessee and Indiana. Senate Republicans have sent two members to the floor, keeping the tally stuck at 18.

Walkouts now officially carry consequences for lawmakers.

Republicans have rotated the pair of GOP senators who can be on the floor without creating a quorum. The strategy has slowed the pace at which any one GOP lawmakers reaches the maximum of 10 absences allowed before a new punishment approved by voters last November takes effect.

Measure 113 won approval from 68% of voters. After 10 unexcused absences, a lawmaker is barred from seeking re-election. The law contains no action against the absentee House or Senate member prior to the next time they would be up for election.

As of Wednesday, three Republicans have eight unexcused absences: Dennis Linthicum of Klamath Falls, Daniel Bonham of The Dalles, and Cedric Hayden of Roseburg. A fourth, Independent Party Sen. Brian Boquist of Dallas, is also at eight absences. Originally elected as a Republican, Boquist left the Republican Party and now identifies with the Independent Party. He votes with the GOP caucus on the majority of legislation.

Republicans are expected to challenge the law in court if required.

House Republican leaders say they support the Senate walk-out and have left open the possibility of following their example. 

A coalition of groups advocating for civil liberties, labor, criminal justice reform, abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, gun control and other progressive issues that are part of legislation caught in the Senate work stoppage said they would hold a rally at 5 p.m. Thursday on the south steps of the Capitol in Salem to protest the walkouts. 

Committees hurry to meet deadline to end work

While the two chambers in the Capitol were dark, 17 legislative committees met to churn through public hearings and votes by the panels to send even more bills into the back-up.

The 23 House and Senate committees dealing with the alphabet of policy issues from agriculture to world affairs have packed agenda and often work at a decidedly brisk pace compared to the first months of the session. The policy committees face a May 19 deadline to debate, amend and vote bills to the floors of the House and Senate. Bills that don’t get a vote by then are dead for 2023. 

Bills in the 11 joint committees with both senators and house members are exempt from the deadline, as are the Rules and Revenue committees in each chambers. The Rules Committees become crowded with bills not ready for a floor vote, but not in shape to win approval. Under Oregon’s constitution, bills cannot be amended on the floor — just sent back to committees for revision.

Bills and resolutions still in limbo deal with everything from the colorful to complex.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 would name the potato as the official state vegetable. It passed the Senate, and had a hearing in House Rules Committee, but a scheduled vote to send it to the floor was delayed earlier this week.

The same panel is considering House Bill 3414, which would streamline rules for construction inside of the Urban Growth Boundary of cities. It’s backed by Gov. Tina Kotek, and supported by the building industry groups and individual companies, such as Hayden Homes in Bend. Opposition has come from the mayors of Lake Oswego, Tigard and the planning director of Medford. It’s also opposed by environmental groups, including the venerable Audubon Society.