Oregon Governor Threatens to Send State Police to Round Up Republicans after Walk-Out over Cap-and-Trade Stalemate
By Jeff Reynolds
Oregon’s Republican senators, for a second time, have refused to show up for the current legislative session in Salem, denying a quorum and grinding the legislature’s business to a halt. Governor Kate Brown (D-Portland) has authorized the Oregon State Police to round up the wayward Senators and compel them to return to the Capitol. In response, one Republican Senator said that the police should send bachelors who are well armed.
The issue at hand is HB 2020, the cap-and-trade bill that threatens to cripple Oregon’s economy. A vote was scheduled for the morning of June 20, but the GOP senators walked out after 10 hours of negotiations with the governor. Senate rules require 20 members be present for a quorum, but there are only 18 Democrats. They would need two Republicans to agree to return.
The larger picture, however, is a Democratic supermajority that has failed to deal with Republicans in good faith, despite promises to work together on legislation.
The cap-and-trade bill, which aims to lower carbon emissions to pre-1990 levels in a complicated tax scheme, has faced massive pushback as it wends its way through the legislature. Early in the session, legislators held town halls around the state to try to win buy-in from Oregon voters. Some reports indicated that those opposed to the idea outnumbered supporters at these meetings by as much as four or five to one.
On June 19, as the Senate prepared to take up the bill for a vote, a massive convoy of loggers, truckers, and other citizens involved in rural industries flooded Salem to protest on the Capitol steps.
In a statement, Senate Republicans explained:
No Reset on HB 2020; Senate Republicans Walk
SALEM, Ore. –After more than 8-hours of fruitless negotiations late into last night,the Democrats failed to offer a reset on House Bill 2020, cap and trade, breaching the agreement that was originally made to bring Senate Republicans back to the building after the first walkout.
Senate Republicans made the decision to walk out and have left the state to protest cap and trade because it should be referred to the ballot so every Oregonian has a voice.
“Protesting cap and trade by walking out today represent sour constituency and exactly how we should be doing our job,”said Senate Republican Leader, Herman Baertschiger, Jr. (R-Grants Pass).“We have endured threats of arrest, fines, and pulling community project funds from the Governor, Senate President and Majority Leader. We will not stand by and be bullied by the majority party any longer.Oregonians deserve better.It’s time for the majority party to consider all Oregonians–not just the ones in Portland.”
The Republican senators first walked out to deny a quorum in May over HB 3427, the multi-billion dollar gross receipts tax on most businesses in Oregon. They returned after negotiating with the governor and Senate president to kill several gun control bills and a bill that would lead to a massive increase in forced vaccinations for school children. At the time, Democrats in power promised to keep Republicans involved in the legislative process and work to alleviate their concerns about proposed legislation.