The 2023 Oregon legislative session came to a close Sunday after lawmakers cleared hundreds of bills in a marathon week.
House lawmakers cheered and hugged when Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, declared the session over at about 4:15 p.m. In closing remarks, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, thanked Democrats and Republicans alike for reaching the finish line and chided his Senate colleagues for a historic impasse that stalled floor votes, but not committee work, in that chamber for six weeks.
The Senate gaveled out about 11 minutes later, ending work for the regular session.
Lawmakers again passed a slew of bills in their final hours of work, including asking voters to approve ranked choice voting in elections statewide and create a state board to scrutinize — and possibly raise — salaries for state elected officials.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the work we did,” Rayfield told reporters, noting noting major outlays for housing and homelessness, climate projects and early childhood literacy that lawmakers hammered out.
However, three bills died on the Senate floor an an unusual display of late-session disagreement among Democrats.
Senate Democrats killed House Bill 3414, a bill backed by Gov. Tina Kotek’s to jump-start affordable housing. At issue was a late amendment that would have allowed local governments to expand their urban growth boundaries for more housing, which environmentalists and mayors broadly opposed. Kotek has resolved to oversee the construction of 36,000 affordable housing units per year, up from the current rate of about 20,000 units annually.
The bill failed by one vote. A spokesperson for Kotek’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.
Enough Democrats also opposed House Bill 3013, which would have established more oversight of pharmacy benefit managers criticized for raising prescription drug prices, and House Bill 3242, which would have allowed people to sue insurers over unfair claim settlements, to kill the measures.
But Democrats and Republicans repeatedly thanked each other for their hard work during the six-month legislative session, which saw major strides on housing, climate policies, public defense and more.
In a speech Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, thanked Sen. Kathleen Taylor D-Portland for playing a key role in stalled negotiations between Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp and Senate President Rob Wagner, a Lake Oswego Democrat.
“I believe that you are 95% of the reason we are here,” Findley said of Taylor.
Here are looks at the moments and legislation that defined the five-month session and the key bills that lawmakers approved in the final days:
Oregon notches record gains toward taming housing shortage
Republican boycott casts long shadow over session, Oregon’s political future
Phone fee of 40 cents per month to fund 988 suicide prevention hotline passes Oregon Legislature
Should Oregon Legislature be able to impeach statewide officeholders? Voters to decide in 2024
Oregon offers chipmakers more than $500 million, hoping for billions in return
Rent hikes in Oregon can’t top 10% after Legislature approves new limit
Oregon lawmakers approve bill to clamp down on paramilitary activity
Oregon lawmakers kill proposal to fund new state agency to promote liquor
Bill to address problems with Measure 110, Oregon’s drug decriminalization law, passes Legislature
Minimum staffing mandate for Oregon hospitals approved by lawmakers
– Grant Stringer; gstringer@oregonian.com; @Stringerjourno