Senate walkout resumes as three lawmakers face re-election ban

By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau

A constitutional crisis in Oregon loomed Monday as Republicans resumed a walkout to deny the Senate a quorum, stalling any votes in the chamber and shutting off the flow of bills to the House.

The ongoing walkout has also caused three lawmakers to accrue 10 unexcused absences, triggering a law that would prevent their reelection. 

After what was supposed to be three days of negotiations to head off a crisis, the Monday floor session at 10:30 a.m. had the lowest number of lawmakers present throughout the GOP walkout that began May 3. Just 16 senators – all Democrats – were present, four short of the minimum of 20 lawmakers required by the constitution to form a quorum to meet.

Senate President Rob Wagner drew on the words of Gov. Tina Kotek, when she was House speaker during a previous Republican walkout, to describe the walkout’s bid to override majority rule.

“This is about the corrosion of our democratic process,” Wagner said.

House Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, issued a statement Monday afternoon that the talks were not “done in good faith.”

“I conveyed in discussions over the weekend that Senate Republicans will end their protest to pass substantially bipartisan budgets and bills that are lawful and constitutional and that will benefit all Oregonians,” Knopp said. “Democrats are instead using their slim majority to justify moving forward with an extreme, unlawful, and unconstitutional agenda.”

Democrats hold 17 of 30 Senate seats and 35 of 60 House seats in the 2023 session.

Ongoing walkout

The walkout began May 3 as a final Senate vote approached on legislation to increase abortion access and transgender health care rights. House Bill 2002 passed the House along mostly party-line votes after protracted debate. If the bill passed the Senate, it would go to Kotek, who has said she would sign it into law.

Republicans do not have the votes to defeat the bill on a floor vote, but can shut down all business by denying a quorum to meet. Oregon is one of four states requiring two-thirds of lawmakers be present to conduct business. In the Senate, that requires 20 senators to be present.

The boycott on Monday triggered a new state law that immediately bars three senators from serving another term. The three are:

• Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, whose district includes a swath of southern Deschutes County, won’t be eligible to serve another term representing  Senate District 28 when the seat is up for election next year.
• Sen. Brian Boquist, I-Dallas, would also be out of the running for Senate District 12, which covers a swath east of the coastal mountains and west of Interstate 5 that includes McMinnville and parts of Salem. Originally elected as a Republican, Boquist now identifies as a member of the Independent Party. He has supported the Republican walkout and generally votes with the GOP caucus on most matters. 
• Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, who made the jump from the House to the Senate last November, would not be able to serve a second term in Senate District 26, when the seat next comes up for election in 2026. The district runs along the south bank of the Columbia River from east of Troutdale to The Dallas and drops south to take in Welches and part of Canby in Clackamas County.

“Three senators have now unnecessarily disqualified themselves from a subsequent term in the Legislature,” Wagner said. “I hope my Republican colleagues will remember their constitutional duty to come to work so we can resume doing the job the people of Oregon sent us here to accomplish.”

Bonham said he would continue to join the Republican caucus in the boycott. He singled out HB2002, which would allow young minors to have abortions without parental consent.

“If Democrats thought we would facilitate an agenda that intentionally removes the rights of parents, they were seriously mistaken,” Bonham said.

Boquist issued a statement that the actions against the senators violated state statutes laying out how and why lawmakers can be penalized. 

New PAC

The trio will likely be joined by most or all of the 12 Republicans and one Independent in the Senate, if the title and “nature of committee” of a new political action committee registered last week with the Secretary of State is an indication.

A Bend-based political action committee has been formed to “Support Oregon’s Senate Republicans who fight for and support constitutional rights,” according to a filing last week with the Secretary of State. Calling the walkout participants “Oregon’s 13,” the Oregon’s 13 Constitutional Defense Fund shows no contributions or expenditures. Currently, PACs can wait up to 30 days before reporting transactions. 

The PAC is listed as a “candidate controlled committee” affiliated with Knopp.

The director of the PAC is Bryan Iverson, the Prineville political consultant married to House Minority Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville. Iverson handled the Republicans’ House and Senate campaigns in 2022. No funds have been recorded in the PAC. Campaign finance contributions and spending currently can be held for 30 days after a transaction before they must be reported to the Secretary of State.