Oregon Legislature wraps up 2023 session on deadline

By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau

Oregon lawmakers completed their turbulent 2023 session by the deadline Sunday.

The House and Senate finally adjourned at 4:26 p.m., a few hours before the constitutional limit of midnight. A last-minute vote in the Senate killed a housing bill sought by Gov. Tina Kotek that had passed the House the previous night. But many Democrats opposed it because it would have allowed cities to expand urban growth boundaries onto some rural land not used for farming or forestry.

Despite that loss — it was not immediately clear whether Kotek would pursue similar legislation for a future session — she said lawmakers delivered on her top priorities. Her statement:

“My top priorities since Day 1 have been to reduce homelessness and support housing development, improve access to mental health and addiction services, and ensure that Oregon’s children are better served by our investments in early literacy, child care, and K-12 schools. This session was not without challenges and there is more work ahead of us. But today Oregonians should know the state is making progress on our biggest challenges and working hard to deliver results.”

The House and Senate finished their sprint through hundreds of budgets and other bills. One of them was the end-of-session budget reconciliation measure — known as the “Christmas tree bill” — that distributed $1 billion from the tax-supported general fund and $1.3 billion in other funds to agencies and projects. Also among the approvals: $1 billion in bonds for Oregon’s share of a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River to connect Portland and Vancouver, Wash.

Majority Democrats largely praised what was done, and minority Republicans largely criticized it, though there were bipartisan agreements on a range of issues.

Political atmosphere changes

The 160-day session opened with early bipartisan passage of two of Kotek’s priorities. They were $217 million for emergency shelter and preliminary work on more housing, and $210 million for businesses and others to obtain federal grants for domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

But the political atmosphere changed drastically in the first days of May, after majority Democrats overcame objections by minority Republicans to pass two House bills ensuring access to abortion, other reproductive and gender-affirming care, and banning ghost guns made with untraceable parts.

The same week that the House passed those bills, largely along party lines, minority Republicans walked out of the Senate to forestall action. Because of Oregon’s requirement for two-thirds of members for the chambers to do business, majority Democrats lacked the numbers (20 total) to proceed with anything in the Senate for the next six weeks.

After the parties came to a compromise on June 15 — Democrats agreed to change the bills and enough Republicans returned for the Senate to resume business — both chambers had barely 10 days to complete action on agency budgets and hundreds of other bills. It turned out they needed every day before they got to the constitutional deadline of Sunday.

Two economic and revenue forecasts, released after Kotek presented her recommended two-year budget on Jan. 31, yielded more money for lawmakers to spend on her (and their) priorities. The latest forecast on May 17 unexpectedly produced $2 billion more.

As a result of the 2022 election, the first under redistricting after the 2020 Census, Democrats maintained their legislative majorities. But they were no longer the 60% majorities enabling them to pass revenue-raising measures without Republican support. Democrats led 35-25 in the House and 17-12 in the Senate, plus one independent originally elected as a Republican.

Changes in leadership

The Senate, for the first time in two decades, was led by someone other than Democrat Peter Courtney of Salem, who had been president since 2003. Courtney retired after a record 38 years in the Legislature, counting 14 years in the House.

Majority Leader Rob Wagner of Lake Oswego moved into the presidency. But his ascension by the Democratic caucus was criticized from the outset by Republican Leader Tim Knopp, in what foreshadowed their conflict later in the session. Kate Lieber of Beaverton became majority leader.

The House leadership, while relatively new, had been in office a year. Democrat Dan Rayfield of Corvallis became speaker last year after Kotek resigned to make her successful bid for governor. Julie Fahey of Eugene became majority leader with the impending retirement of Virginia Smith Warner of Portland, and Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville became Republican leader when Christine Drazan of Canby also resigned early to run for governor.

Lawmakers return Feb. 5 for an election-year session of 35 days.

It is likely that courts will decide the fate of at least seven Republican/independent senators who amassed 10 or more unexcused absences from floor sessions, which under a 2022 ballot measure would make them ineligible to seek re-election in 2024. Four other Republican senators are up in 2026.

SIDEBAR

A partial list from the 2023 session:

Housing and homelessness: $217 million for state aid to emergency regional efforts and agency planning (House bills 2001, 5019). Also $2 billion, mostly from bonds, for construction of “affordable” housing at 30% of household income (House Bill 3395 and Senate bills 5505 and 5511)

Behavioral health: $153 million added to the $1 billion committed in the past two years for mobile crisis response and coordination between responders and care centers. (House Bill 2757 plus three budget bills)

Semiconductor aid: $210 million for businesses and others seeking federal incentives for domestic manufacturing (Senate Bill 4); $50 million added to fund (Senate Bill 5506), plus new research and development tax credit and extension of existing state incentives (House Bill 2009)

Interstate 5 bridge: $1 billion pledged in general obligation bonds over the next four state budget cycles through 2029-31. (House Bill 5005, Senate Bill 5506)

Public schools: A record state school fund of $10.2 billion, plus $140 million in state grants to help boost reading skills (House Bill 5015, House Bill 3198)

Colleges: $1 billion in state support for the seven universities, and $300 million for Oregon Opportunity Grants, the maximum raised from $5,000 to $7,500. (House Bill 5025)

Child tax credit: Creates credit of $1,000, subtracted directly from taxes owed starting with 2023 tax year, for an estimated 55,000 children under age 6 in qualifying families. (House Bill 3235)

Abortion access: Ensures right of choice and right to sue for reproductive and gender-affirming care. (House Bill 2002)

Ghost guns: Guns with untraceable parts are barred after Sept. 1, 2024. (House Bill 2005)

Public defense: $90 million for hiring of more lawyers, compiling list of public employees available for representation. (Senate Bill 337)

Six other items

TikTok: Bans video-sharing app from state-owned devices starting Sept. 24. (House Bill 3127)

Rent cap: Reset at inflation plus 7%, but capped at 10% annually, starting this year for 2024. (Senate Bill 611)

Self-serve gas: Now an option for motorists, though full service remains for half of station pumps. (House Bill 2426)

High school graduation: Personal finance and life skills courses required starting in 2027. (Senate Bill 3)

Potato: Now Oregon’s official state vegetable. (Senate Concurrent Resolution 3)

Telephone fee: Sets rate of 40 cents per line monthly, effective Jan. 1, 2024, to pay for 988 crisis line. (House Bill 2757)