Most Republican senators have been barred from re-election in Oregon after strikes
Background: Voters had approved an initiative to ban parliamentarians from striking.
Oregon is one of a handful of states that prohibit state legislatures from calling an official session unless two-thirds of lawmakers are present. Republicans have used that demand to their advantage in recent years, leaving their jobs to block bills on climate policy, taxes and abortion.
In a state that once prided itself on bipartisan cooperation, voters in 2022 amended the state constitution to ban such omissions. Under the new rules, lawmakers who have 10 unexcused absences during a legislative session are barred from re-election.
Yet 10 lawmakers, including Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, repeatedly boycotted legislative work last year to block legislation on abortion, transgender issues, drug policy and guns. The strikes lasted weeks, delaying action on hundreds of accounts.
Lawmakers involved in the boycotts included nine of the Senate's 12 Republicans and one independent who was a former Republican.
Some senators have challenged the new rules in court. Before the state Supreme Court, they argued that the new restrictions allowed senators to serve another term after their current terms expired. But the judges disagreed and ruled that the foreign minister had been right to prevent them from standing as candidates even in the next elections.
Six of the lawmakers will not be present for this year's vote, although two of them have already announced their plans to retire. Four others will be excluded from the vote if re-elected in 2026.
Democrat LaVonne Griffin-Valade, secretary of state, applauded the Oregon Supreme Court's decision.
“I have said from the beginning that my intention was to support the will of the voters,” she said in a statement. “It was clear to me that the voters' intent was that legislators with a certain number of absences during a legislative session would be immediately disqualified from re-election.”
What happens next: Can this year's session continue?
The ruling came just days before Oregon's legislative session was set to begin in Salem.
Mr. Knopp has suggested that even a ruling against Republican lawmakers would give them some measure of leverage during this year's session. Lawmakers who cannot run for re-election, he told reporters this week, would have no reason to show up unless they are offered incentives — raising the specter of another de facto boycott.
On Thursday, Mr. Knopp said in a statement that he disagreed with the court's ruling.
“But more importantly, we are deeply disturbed by the chilling impact this decision will have in quashing dissent,” he said.
Democrats have said homelessness, housing, reducing crime and strengthening schools are among their top priorities for the coming session. They are in the process of partially reversing the state's drug decriminalization plan, a change that Republicans have longed for.
Why it matters: Republicans are losing power.
Oregon has long had a rural-urban divide in its politics, but for years both political parties held some degree of power, and opponents often worked together in a spirit of cooperation known as the “Oregon Way.”
In recent years, Democrats have gained increasing control, helped by growth in liberal cities like Portland. There are currently no Republicans holding statewide elected office, and a Republican hasn't won a gubernatorial race in four decades. At the State Capitol, there are large Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers.