Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.

2019 Oregon legislative session

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Oregon State Legislature

Seal of Oregon.png
General information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
Session start:   January 22, 2019
Session end:   June 30, 2019
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Peter Courtney (D)
House Speaker:  Tina Kotek (D)
Majority Leader:   Senate: Ginny Burdick (D)
House: Jennifer Williamson (D)
Minority Leader:   Senate: Herman Baertschiger, Jr. (R)
House: Carl Wilson (R)
Structure
Members:  30 (Senate), 60 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art IV, Oregon Constitution
Salary:   $24,216/year + per diem
Elections
Last election:  November 6, 2018
Senate
House
Next election:  November 3, 2020
Senate
House
Redistricting:  Oregon Legislature has control

Oregon convened its legislative session on January 22, 2019, and legislators remained in session until June 30, 2019. Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority this legislative session, just as they did in 2018. Following the 2018 election, Democrats had a 18-11 majority in the Senate and a 38-21 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta.

At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session:
  • Democrats held a veto-proof supermajority in the Oregon state House and state Senate.
  • Oregon was one of 14 Democratic state government trifectas.
  • Oregon's governor was Democrat Kate Brown.

    • Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2020 state Senate and state House elections.
    Black.png Click the links to read more about the 2018 state Senate and state House elections.

    Partisan control in 2019

    See also: State government trifectas

    Oregon was one of 14 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2019 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.

    Oregon was also one of 22 state legislatures where one party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.

    The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Oregon State Legislature in the 2019 legislative session.

    Oregon State Senate

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 18
         Republican Party 12
    Total 30

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Oregon State Senate passed from a Democratic majority to a Republican one, then switched back. The table below shows the partisan history of the Oregon State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Oregon State Senate election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 16 11 10 12 14 15 18 17 18 16 16 18 17 18
    Republicans 14 19 20 18 16 15 12 11 12 14 14 12 13 12

    The shifts in partisan balance in the state Senate were gradual between 1992 and 2018, with three major changes to control of the chamber in that time. As a result of the 1994 elections, Republicans gained five seats and took control of the chamber with a 19-11 majority. The GOP would maintain control of the chamber until 2002, when the partisan balance moved to a 15-15 split. Democrats gained three seats in 2004, moving the chamber to an 18-12 Democratic majority.

    There was little change to the partisan balance between 2010 and 2018. Democrats picked up two seats in 2014. Republicans gained one seat in 2016 and Democrats gained a seat in 2018, returning the chamber to an 18-12 Democratic majority.

    Oregon House of Representatives

    Party As of January 2019
         Democratic Party 38
         Republican Party 22
    Total 60

    Between 1992 and 2018, partisan control of the Oregon House of Representatives shifted in favor of the Democratic Party. The table below shows the partisan history of the Oregon House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2018. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.

    Oregon House of Representatives election results: 1992-2018

    Year '92 '94 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 '06 '08 '10 '12 '14 '16 '18
    Democrats 28 26 29 25 27 25 27 31 36 30 34 35 35 38
    Republicans 32 34 31 34 33 35 33 29 24 30 26 25 25 22

    Changes in the partisan balance of the state House were generally gradual between 1992 and 2016. Between 1992 and 2004, Republican majorities remained relatively steady, with the GOP's strongest majority resulting from the 2002 elections. At that point, Republicans had a 10-seat advantage with a 35-25 majority. Democrats gained four seats in the 2006 elections, moving the chamber to a 31-29 Democratic majority. That majority held until 2010, when Republicans gained six seats to split the chamber at a 30-30 balance. Democrats regained their majority after 2012, and have expanded their control since that election.

    Leadership in 2019

    Oregon State Senate

    Oregon House of Representatives

    Regular session

    The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2019 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2019. This information is provided by BillTrack50.

    Noteworthy events

    June 20, 2019: Nine day state legislative walkout by Republican senators over carbon emissions bill

    See also: Noteworthy state legislative walkouts

    On June 20, 2019, all 11 Republican state senators departed the Capitol in order to prevent the quorum necessary for a scheduled vote on a carbon emissions bill. In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr. (R) said, "Protesting cap-and-trade by walking out today represents our constituency and exactly how we should be doing our job. 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." According to The Oregonian, some senators left the state. Senate President Peter Courtney (D) requested that Governor Kate Brown (D) dispatch the state police to locate the missing senators and return them to the Capitol. Brown granted the request, saying, "It is absolutely unacceptable that the Senate Republicans would turn their back on their constituents who they are honor-bound to represent here in this building. They need to return and do the jobs they were elected to do."[1][2]

    On June 25, 2019, Senate President Peter Courtney announced that Democrats did not have the votes in order to pass HB 2020. The Republican senators returned to the capitol on June 29, 2019, ending the state legislative walkout after nine days.[3]

    Standing legislative committees

    See also: Standing committee and List of committees in Oregon state government


    A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.

    At the beginning of the 2019 legislative session, there were 30 standing committees in Oregon's state government, including seven joint legislative committees, 10 state Senate committees, and 13 state House committees.

    Joint legislative committees


    Senate committees


    House committees


    Legislatively referred constitutional amendments

    In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.

    The methods by which the Oregon Constitution can be amended:

    See also: Section 1, Article IV, and Article XII of the Oregon Constitution and Laws governing ballot measures in Oregon
    Cover of the 1857 Oregon Constitution

    The Oregon Constitution lays out four different paths, in two different articles, for how to go about changing the state's constitution.

    • An initiated amendment must be proposed "by a petition signed by a number of qualified voters equal to eight percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the election at which a Governor was elected for a term of four years next preceding the filing of the petition."
    • The petition must include the full text of the proposed amendment.
    • The signatures must be filed "not less than four months before the election at which the proposed...amendment to the Constitution is to be voted upon."
    • Article IV contains several restrictions on the initiative process such as Section 1b, which prohibits pay-per-signature.
    • Amendments can be proposed in either house of the state legislature.
    • To earn a spot on the ballot, a "majority of all the members elected to each of the two houses" must vote in favor of a proposed amendment.
    • The Legislature can put any such referred amendments on a special election ballot.
    • If more than one amendment is proposed by the legislature, they must be voted on separately.
    • The constitution does not define how such a referendum is to be put before voters.
    • Possible ways might include a citizen-initiated question or a vote of the legislature.



    Historical context:

    • A total of 183 measures appeared on statewide ballots in Oregon from 1995 to 2018.
    • Through all years, odd and even, between 1995 and 2018, the approval rate for measures appearing on Oregon's ballot (all types) was 47.54 percent.
    • From 1995 to 2018, the number of measures on statewide ballots during even-numbered years ranged from six to 32.
    • Between 1995 and 2018, an average of 14 measures appeared on the ballot in Oregon during even-numbered election years.
    • Between 1995 and 2018, about 45 percent (74 of 164) of the total number of measures that appeared on statewide ballots during even-numbered years were approved, and about 55 percent (90 of 164) were defeated.


    Historical partisan control

    The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Oregon.

    Oregon Party Control: 1992-2025
    Seventeen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
    Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

    Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
    Governor D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    Senate D D D R R R R R R R R S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
    House R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D S S D D D D D D D D D D D D D

    See also

    Elections Oregon State Government State Legislatures State Politics
    Ballotpedia Elections Badge-VOTE-no shadow-Square.jpg
    Oregon State Flag-Close Up.jpg
    State Houses-Tile image.png
    State Courts-Tile image.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The Oregonian, "Oregon Senate Republicans leave the state to avoid climate bill vote," June 20, 2019
    2. ↑ The Oregonian, "Oregon governor sends police to find missing Republicans, bring them to Capitol," June 20, 2019
    3. ↑ KTVZ, "Oregon GOP senators return after 9-day walkout," June 29, 2019
    v • e
    State legislatures
    Legislatures
    Alabama (H, S) · Alaska (H, S) · Arizona (H, S) · Arkansas (H, S) · California (A, S) · Colorado (H, S) · Connecticut (H, S) · Delaware (H, S) · Florida (H, S) · Georgia (H, S) · Hawaii (H, S) · Idaho (H, S) · Illinois (H, S) · Indiana (H, S) · Iowa (H, S) · Kansas (H, S) · Kentucky (H, S) · Louisiana (H, S) · Maine (H, S) · Maryland (H, S) · Massachusetts (H, S) · Michigan (H, S) · Minnesota (H, S) · Mississippi (H, S) · Missouri (H, S) · Montana (H, S) · Nebraska · Nevada (A, S) · New Hampshire (H, S) · New Jersey (GA, S) · New Mexico (H, S) · New York (A, S) · North Carolina (H, S) · North Dakota (H, S) · Ohio (H, S) · Oklahoma (H, S) · Oregon (H, S) · Pennsylvania (H, S) · Rhode Island (H, S) · South Carolina (H, S) · South Dakota (H, S) · Tennessee (H, S) · Texas (H, S) · Utah (H, S) · Vermont (H, S) · Virginia (H, S) · Washington (H, S) · West Virginia (H, S) · Wisconsin (A, S) · Wyoming (H, S)
    SLP badge.png
    2025
    2024
    2023
    Historical elections
    2022 •  2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003 • 2002 • 2001 • 2000
    Features of
    state legislatures
    State senates
    State houses
    Leadership positions
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=2019_Oregon_legislative_session&oldid=8530466"