It’s hard to write this today.
I’ve been providing regular email updates over the course of the last 2 weeks to those in our FHO email group because the walk-out at the Oregon Senate have made national news and I wanted to offer direct commentary to help our group better understand how the unfolding news is impacting our Coalition bill.
Here is the good news since my last posting here:
- Our bill, SB 586-C, passed the Oregon House today (Monday, June 24, 2019), on a 57 to 1 vote. Representative Bill Post (Keizer, St. Paul and Newberg district) was the sole “no” vote. He did not give a reason; but we’ve been told by our people at the Capitol that he frequently votes ‘no’.
- The bill now goes to the Oregon Senate for concurrence with the amendments made in the House. That vote is now scheduled for this Sunday, June 30th at a session that is scheduled to start at 10 am.
- If the Senate votes ‘yes’ on our bill (and, remember, Oregon Senators voted UNANIMOUSLY YES on the unamended version of our bill a few months ago, on April 17th), then our bill would be signed my the Governor and become law. We expect no real opposition to our bill on the Senate side this time as well. We are THAT close!!!
(Cue sinister music…and now for the bad news…)
- Unfortunately, as of June 20th, the Oregon Senate is not meeting, because it lacks a quorum (quorum is the presence of the minimum number of members in order for the group to be able to conduct business – this number is set by our state constitution).
- This is because the Senate Republicans have walked out in protest of a big environmental bill, HB 2020 (known as the cap and trade bill), which passed the House last week on a largely party-line vote.
- Most of the Republican Senators have publicly stated they have left the state and do no intend on returning to vote on HB 2020, nor any bill remaining in 2019.
- With all of the Senate Democrats present, the Senate is 2 members short of achieving quorum. We need 2 Republican Senators to return to the Senate floor in order for our bill to be heard on Sunday, June 30, 2019.
- The Oregon Constitution requires that the 2019 Legislative Session end on Sunday, June 30, 2019.
- If at least 2 of the Senate Republicans do not return by Sunday, June 30, then our bill – and hundreds of others – will die.
- We could bring our bill back in a special session, which the Governor indicates she may call to address several large agencies which do not yet have approved 2019-2021 budgets. Or in the 2020 session, which starts on February 3, 2020. But, in either case, we would have to start over, with a new sponsor and bill number and hearings.
NEXT STEPS
Unfortunately, as well, there seems to be nothing we can personally do to try to get the Republican Senators to return to the Senate floor to vote on our Floating Home bill.
Our best hope now for SB 586 to pass in this legislative session is for this to occur:
- A deal is struck regarding HB 2020 and the Republican Senators come back to vote on our bill on Sunday.
- AND, that there is time in the day for our bill (remember now hundreds of others are waiting in the queue along with ours) to be heard and voted upon.
My fingers are crossed!…but it doesn’t look promising that the missing Senators will return in time to vote on SB 586.