Oregon Senate Republicans held the longest legislative walkout in state history this year, backlogging hundreds of bills until negotiations were met with the majority Democrats.
This week, the secretary of state announced 10 state senators will be disqualified from reelection next term because they violated a measure declaring a representative or senator can not have more than 10 unexcused absences during the legislative session.
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Republicans are feuding over the language in the voter-passed Measure 113. The walkout officially ended in June after Republicans reached a deal to dilute some Democratic bills that started the boycott.
Below is a timeline of how the walkout began and the components of the dispute between parties.
What caused the walkout?
On May 3, multiple Republicans and one independent staged a walkout of the state Capitol over Democratic-backed legislation.
Senate Republicans claimed a number of Democratic bills were not written in plain language, citing a state law from 1979 that requires legislation to score above a 60 on the Flesch readability test. This test ranks the reliability of any text, and bills should be at an eighth- or ninth-grade reading level.
What bills were contested?
Perhaps one of the most opposed bills by GOP members was House Bill 2002, aimed at protecting abortion providers and expanding transgender medical care. Republicans attempted to remove the bill from the docket, but they ultimately failed and it is awaiting a final signature by Gov. Tina Kotek (D-OR). However, conservative lawmakers were successful at removing some of the bill's language that they viewed as extreme, removing a measure that would no longer criminalize concealing a birth and denying the expansion of reproductive healthcare at college-based health centers.
GOP Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp told the Washington Examiner in May that it’s "unconstitutional to violate parental rights," pointing to the expansion of rights given to transgender minors.
Another major holdup was legislation that contained multiple gun control measures. House Bill 2005 sought to ban ghost guns, give cities or towns the power to ban firearms on public grounds or in public buildings, and raise the age to purchase and have most guns from 18 to 21. However, Republicans were successful in their negotiation to pass only part of the legislation, creating penalties for building, importing, or selling ghost guns.
The walkout timeline
The walkout was launched at the start of May, lasting over 40 days and preventing the chamber from reaching the 20-member quorum needed to conduct business.
On the 12th day of the walkout, four lawmakers were banned from running for reelection.
Kotek started meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers toward the end of May and attempted to negotiate for over a week to end the walkout. The parties were still at an impasse over the same reproductive and transgender care bill. Kotek rejected a proposal from Republicans who said they would return on June 25, one day before the session ends, to pass the state budget and some bipartisan bills.
As the walkout approached the one-month mark, Senate President Rob Wagner and his Democratic caucus pushed through fines for the absent senators, a penalty of $325 a day.
“Oregonians who do not show up to work don’t get paid," Democratic Majority Leader Kate Lieber said in a June 1 press statement.
Republicans showed up for work on June 15, putting an end to the walkout after Democrats agreed to change some of the language in House Bill 2002, including the ability of a provider to notify a parent of their minor's abortion.
“The framework that we have today is going to move Oregon forward, and there are obviously a whole bunch of legislators that aren’t gonna be able to come back to this building,” Wagner said per OPB.
Who are the senators barred from re-election next term?
A total of 10 members of the state Senate, including nine Republicans and one Independent, accumulated the 10 absences preventing them from running for reelection under Measure 113.
The following lawmakers are banned from running in 2024: Republican Minority Leader Knopp, along with state Sens. Daniel Bonham, Dennis Linthicum, Cedric Hayden, Lynn Findley, Bill Hansell, Kim Thatcher, Art Robinson, Suzanne Weber, and Independent Brian Boquist.
Hansell announced he will retire, and Findley has not yet decided if he will make a reelection bid. Four senators have officially announced they will seek reelection despite Measure 113, including Knopp, Linthicum, Robinson, and Boquist as of Aug. 2.
What is Measure 113
Under Measure 113, state lawmakers who rack up 10 or more unexcused absences in a single legislative session can't run for election in the next term.
Last November, Oregon voters added the measure to the state’s constitution in an effort to prevent Republican walkouts, and it passed with 68.3% support.
What’s next?
Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade pledged to uphold Measure 113 this week, saying her “decision honors the voters’ intent” of barring the members from seeking reelection after an excessive number of unexcused absences.
Some banned Republicans are arguing that the language is unclear, claiming they can run for reelection in 2024, but not 2028.
Republicans issued a statement following Griffin-Valade’s decision, saying they will challenge it in court.
“After repeated unlawful and unconstitutional actions by President Rob Wagner and other Democrat leaders in the 2023 Session, Senate Republicans held them accountable by peacefully pausing the session to gain compliance with Senate Rules, Oregon Law, and the Oregon Constitution,” Knopp said in a press statement Tuesday.
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Oregon legislature's history of walkouts
Oregon Republicans in both chambers have a record of walkouts in protest of Democrat-supported legislation over the years. In May 2019, Senate Republicans disapproved of a tax plan aimed at funding state schools, arguing the $1 billion additional funding from the Democrats would not fix the education system and unnecessarily raise costs. Similarly to this legislative session, negotiations led to Democrats tabling two other bills Republicans opposed in order to pass the former.
In February 2020, House and Senate Republicans boycotted a climate change bill aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Republicans refused to come to work for several days, and the Democrats ended up tabling the bill. Republicans protested executive orders relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2021, returning after five days.