SALEM – Today, June 15, 2023, the Senate President and House Speaker are announcing an agreement for the Legislature to complete the people’s work and bring Senate Republicans back from the longest walkout in state history. Starting this morning, June 15, hundreds of bills and budgets that will improve the lives of Oregonians across the state will now continue through the regular process.
“I’m encouraged that we were able to come to an agreement that will allow us to finish the important work Oregonians sent us here to accomplish. We have achieved major bipartisan victories already this session, and I expect that to continue now that we have returned to the floor,” said Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego). “I am grateful for all the senators who listened to each other and sought an end to this walkout while protecting Oregon priorities and values.”
Senate Republicans have agreed to provide a quorum for the rest of the 2023 Legislative Session.
The Legislature is set to make key investments in K-12 schools, drought and water security, rural infrastructure and economic development, public safety and accountability, public defense, higher education, Oregon’s first-ever state-based child tax credit, behavioral health, climate, and more. These packages now have a path forward after today’s agreement.
During dozens of hours of negotiations over the past week, legislative leaders were able to reach an agreement that preserved critical legislation without sacrificing Oregon values. As part of that agreement:
● House Bill 2002 will receive a vote after being clarified to ensure the bill affirms standard abortion care that has been in place for 50 years under Roe v. Wade, but was jeopardized by the Dobbs decision. It will establish provider protections against anti-abortion and anti-transgender laws in other states and require that health insurance covers medically necessary gender-affirming care.
● House Bill 2005 will receive a vote as it was introduced to make our communities safer by banning untraceable ghost guns. A workgroup will be established to study policy solutions to gun violence and suicide prevention and $10 million will be invested in the Community Violence Prevention program.
● Senate Joint Resolution 33 and Senate Bill 27 will be referred back to committee and conversations on how to enshrine Oregon values in our Constitution will continue in the interim.
Through these negotiations, legislative leaders were also able to secure agreements on a variety of other legislation, including consideration of:
● House Joint Resolution 16 would give Oregon voters the opportunity to amend the state Constitution to give the Legislature the power to hold statewide elected officials accountable via impeachment. This change would align Oregon with every other state in the country.
● House Bill 2757 would substantively fund 9-8-8, the national suicide prevention hotline number launched in Oregon in summer 2022. This hotline is a critical resource for Oregonians experiencing mental health crises. Implementing the full 988 architecture will ensure access and quick response for communities across the state.
“On opening day, the House set out clear priorities to move Oregon forward. We promised to address the housing crisis, prioritize good-paying jobs through the Oregon CHIPS Act, ensure our kids and educators have the resources they need to succeed in school, invest in public safety and accountability to make our communities safer, and protect access to reproductive healthcare,” said House Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis). “This agreement sets us up for the final steps of delivering on these commitments we made from day one.”
All legislative caucuses and offices have committed to this agreement.