In February the state legislature will break with tradition when they convene for a short session, which is expected to last anywhere from two weeks to a month. The 36 short sessions in the state’s history have earned a number of different names: special session, supplemental session and even emergency session. But this next one has earned a couple of new titles – experimental and test.
“This February session is an experiment that Oregon has never tried before. It is a test drive … if it works that is fantastic, and if not then that is still OK because we will know it’s not needed,” said Russ Kelly, spokesman for the House Speaker Jeff Merkley.
While the governor has traditionally called the legislature into these sessions, voters amended the Oregon constitution in 1976 to give the lawmakers the power to call themselves into a special session.
So what’s different this time?
It marks the first time in Oregon’s history that the legislature has called itself into assembly.
Ironically, however, the state’s first legislative session was actually a special session and not a traditional one. It was held one month after Oregon earned its statehood in 1859. During the last 148 years, some special sessions have been stretched into month-long meetings, while others lasted only a few hours.
Time is relevant to this 2008 ground-breaking session, and some are saying it will be the measure of the session’s success.
“If we’re in there for the entire month of February that doesn’t bode very well for us, and if we are in there only two weeks, then that does bode well. Time is definitely a measure of success,” said Nick Smith, communications director for House Republican Leader Bruce Hanna.
The amount of time spent in session reflects more than just how quickly legislators can work, but how quickly the Republican and Democratic parties can put aside their differences and work together on important issues.
If lawmakers do stay in session until the end of the month “throwing mud at each other, that will look terrible with the Oregon people,” Smith said.
However, if they are successful in tackling issues that improve the lives of Oregonians, this session could lead to a constitutional change. Instead of state legislators meeting on the traditional two-year cycle, they could convene annually.
“When Oregon’s constitution was written some 150 years ago, people had time to wait for issues to be addressed. In this high-speed, technology-driven world, now people want results immediately,” Kelly said.
In the U.S., 44 states meet on an annual basis, leaving Oregon in the minority of those hampered by the long lay-off of policy introduction and progress.
Meeting every two years “doesn’t give the state the flexibility it needs,” said Geoff Sugerman, communications director for the House Majority Office. “The work that’s being done now is to find compromise and agreement on the issues that are the most pressing.”
So far, only the Senate and House Republicans have issued a few of the priorities they wish to address.
Republicans topped their priority list with the plan of providing 24-hour Oregon State Police coverage on the state’s highways.
“The bottom line is there are long stretches of highway where if someone needs help, the nearest state trooper is 90 minutes away … and state troopers don’t have the amount of backup they need,” Smith said.
Other Republican priorities include making it necessary for people to provide documentation of legal residency before they can acquire a driver’s license, increasing funding for a home-care program of senior citizens and a statewide professional training system for K-12 school teachers.
Democrats have yet to publicize any information on the topics they are looking to address, but say they should be releasing their plans late this week or early next week.