Oregon Democrats decry GOP legislative slowdown during COVID

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s House of Representatives returned to the Capitol this week after floor sessions had been canceled due to multiple COVID-19 cases, but Republicans continue to use a stalling tactic that Democrats say are putting lawmakers’ health at risk.

It’s the latest partisan flashpoint in a state where Democrats hold strong majorities in both the House and Senate in the Legislature, but where the GOP has often used extreme means to thwart legislation it doesn’t like.

For the past two years, Republican state senators staged walkouts to deny the chamber a quorum. But this year, Democrats say a slow-down strategy is dangerous, because it prolongs people’s possible exposure to COVID-19.

On Tuesday and Wednesday GOP lawmakers in Salem again refused to suspend the full reading of proposed bills aloud before a final vote — a maneuver that could add hours to the passage of even simple bipartisan legislation.

The minority party says the slow down is one of their only hopes of influencing legislation they feel is controversial and “moving through committees despite substantial opposition and without a willingness to compromise or work to build bipartisan support.”

“As long as the building is closed to the public and deeply controversial legislation continues to be fast-tracked in committees, we will continue to depend on the Constitution, to remind the supermajority we should not operate like it’s business as usual while the public is shut out,” House Minority Republican Leader Christine Drazan, a Canby Republican, said in a letter to the House Speaker last week.

In years past, both parties have agreed to skip bill-reading — but the action requires two-thirds approval.

During the first floor session of the week, nearly the entire day — about five hours and 45 minutes — was spent reading a portion of one proposed bill.

House Speaker Tina Kotek, a Portland Democrat, estimates that reading the rest of the bill, along with another one on the agenda, will take about eight hours.

Currently, there are more than 40 measures that require a third reading and await a final vote in the House. To ease the strain on the clerk, who typically must read the bills aloud, a computer program is being used to read the bills to lawmakers.

The House already is dealing with a backlog of proposed bills after floor sessions last week and on Monday were cancelled due to two individuals who tested positive for COVID-19.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/us-news-health-legislation-coronavirus-pandemic-oregon-cfc1718feb68906cfd1cb641ed628033