Deadline looms over Oregon’s gridlocked legislative session

For more than five weeks now, a group of Republicans in the Oregon state Senate has staged a walkout. They're refusing to vote on any bills. The walkout has ground the Oregon Legislature to a halt.

To learn more about why, and what might come next, KUOW’s Kim Malcolm talked to Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Dirk VanderHart.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Dirk VanderHart: The walkout began on May 3, and it came at this very specific time, as Democrats were preparing to give final passage to a highly contentious abortion bill on the Senate floor. That’s House Bill 2002, and it's been a key lightning rod this session. It would expand protections on abortion and gender-affirming care. Republicans say it's extreme because of a provision that would allow children of any age to get abortions without telling their parents. There are some other controversial bills that Republicans point to, but this bill has been a major focus.

Kim Malcolm: They're focusing on this one bill, but it's holding up dozens of other bills, correct?

Yes, that's right. Oregon is one of a handful of states that requires that two-thirds of its members be present in order for a chamber to conduct business. That's different than say Washington where the Legislature just needs a majority of members present. The upshot is, it's easier for the minority party here to shut down legislative action. With 11 conservative senators gone, the Senate has been at a standstill.

Last year, Oregon voters tried to get ahead of this. They passed a bill that says lawmakers who have a certain number of unexcused absences cannot run for reelection. Did that have any impact?

As of now, it has not worked at all. We now have 10 senators, a full third of the Senate, who have at least 10 unexcused absences. Theoretically, under that ballot measure, they cannot run for another term. Democrats thought this measure would be a sort of silver bullet to prevent walkouts, but it just hasn't been. I think that's for a number of reasons. One is that Republicans believe the measure is ripe for a legal challenge and that they might be able to keep their seats. The other is that most Republicans just clearly weren't dissuaded by the prospect of giving up their political careers. Some are ready to retire. Some are just tired of losing because they've been in the minority for so long. That has created, I think, this fairly volatile situation.

Is there anything else that Oregon Democrats have tried to compel their Republican colleagues to get back on the floor to vote?

It's been mostly cajoling, negotiating, and shaming, but this week we did see some stepped-up strategies. Democrats in the Senate began instituting daily fines of $325 to absent lawmakers. That's actually something that's never happened before, and I think the legality is not completely clear. But it also hasn’t worked. Republicans aren't back in the building.

One thing that's been used in past walkouts, most recently in 2019, is that the governor has sent state troopers after Republicans to essentially arrest them and bring them to the floor. But that's got a spotty record of working.

That hasn't happened yet in this case. Is there a possibility that it might?

It's something that I know a lot of Republicans are wary of. Here's the problem with that strategy. When governors send state police after Republicans, they invariably flee across state lines. That's also a strategy you see in states like Texas, where walkouts occur. So they flee across state lines outside of troopers' control, and nothing gets solved, and this sort of standoff grows deeper. I think that's what Democrats have been trying to avoid here by not using that option.

I understand from your reporting that a lot of the session has been pretty productive. What are the big items that are at risk of not moving forward and getting passed into law here?

First and foremost, the Legislature needs to pass a budget. That's actually the only thing the Legislature is required to do under the state constitution. But there are a huge number of priorities sitting in limbo. That includes bills to address a crisis in Oregon's public defense system, bills to improve early learning, fund affordable housing, and bolster rural infrastructure, which is actually something a lot of Republicans would support. There are just hundreds of bills sort of sitting there waiting for action, and it's not clear that they are going to get it.

What happens now?

That is the big question. I can say that earlier this week, things looked very dead. Talks looked like they were at an impasse. And within the last 24 hours, it's been clear that negotiations between the two parties have really heated up. No one is sure whether a deal is going to happen, but from what we are hearing, it sounds like there might be some movement, particularly on that abortion bill. If that's true, we could see the session revived, maybe even as early as next week. It has to adjourn by June 25. That's the date that lawmakers are racing against.

Listen to the interview by clicking the play button above.