Gov. Brown, Sen. Knopp voice reactions to one-day special session

SALEM, Ore (KTVZ) -- Gov. Kate Brown met with reporters Tuesday to discuss the results of the Oregon Legislature's one-day special session, much of which focused on helping the waiting unemployed get their benefits amid the continued COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawmakers passed two bills on that topic, one allowing the state Revenue and Employment departments to share data to speed up benefit claims, and another allowing Oregonians to continue receiving unemployment benefits while working a part-time job.

However one bill was rejected in committee. It called for school employees that aren’t teaching or working in administration to receive benefits during holidays and school breaks.

“This would have gotten more in people's hands more quickly and freed up agency employees to processing other claims," Brown said. "To see this bill, which had broad, bipartisan support, voted down by three legislators was very frustrating.”

The opposing senators said the bill prioritized certain people and not others.

State Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, spoke Tuesday to News Channel 21, expressing a sense of contentment with the results of the session.

”The people of Oregon deserve a state Legislature that’s working together in a bipartisan way to resolve issues, and I think we did that during this one-day special session that happened yesterday," Knopp said.

"We want to make sure that continues," he said, "because most of these issues aren’t partisan, aren’t political. They’re just personal for people. They want to provide for their families.”