Annual Sessions Deal Falls Apart in Oregon Legislature

By Chris Lehman | Feb. 24, 2010 3:04 p.m. | Updated: June 16, 2010 11:56 p.m. | Salem, OR

Oregon lawmakers are on pace to complete their special session Wednesday. Wednesday's deliberations have gone smoothly, except for one major bump in the road. The House and Senate have disagreed over the details of an annual sessions referral.

Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.You can read more about the special session of the Oregon Legislature at Chris Lehman's statehouse blog, Capitol Currents.

It all came down to the details. The Senate wanted an annual sessions schedule with 135 days in odd-numbered years. The House wanted 165 days. House leaders said there wasn't support for the plan with the shorter time-frame. But Senate leaders said voters wouldn't sign off on the longer annual sessions plan. Republican Senator Jason Atkinson told members of a panel set up to hash out differences that he didn't want to refer a plan to the ballot unless he was sure that voters would approve.Jason Atkinson: “This is a tragedy that we have worked, especially in the Senate, for so long to have it blow up and to move to something else. This bill isn't even out of the building and we are saying that the legislature can't be trusted and it's already adding days.”House and Senate members took stabs at another compromise but in the end couldn't see eye-to-eye. As a result, it appears for now that Oregon will remain one of five states where lawmakers typically meet every other year. I'm Chris Lehman in Salem.

© 2010 Northwest News Network

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