Peter Courtney Really, Really Wants The February Session To Work

Capitol Currents:

Senate President Peter Courtney thinks much is riding on the success of next month's session of the Oregon legislature. At a preview today sponsored by the Associated Press for the state's media, Courtney told the assembled reporters and editors that he's deeply concerned that the session go well, especially from a sheer logistical standpoint. Once the opening gavel falls on February 1st, lawmakers will have no time to waste as a new deadline will crop up every few days. (See page 2 of this pdf for the hurry-up schedule.)The session is historic since it's the first Constitutionally mandated session in what would normally have been an off-year. Voters in November of 2010 overwhelmingly approved removing Oregon from the small list of states where legislatures meet just once every two years. That vote, said Courtney, means the bar is extremely high for Oregon lawmakers next month:While lawmakers had called themselves into special sessions in February of 2008 and 2010, those were "exhibitions" compared to this, said Courtney. The 68-year-old Democrat says a successful February session will send an important message to the rest of the country that government in Oregon is not disfunctional:While lawmakers have up to 35 days to complete business (before running into the voter-approved Constitutional deadline), the goal at this point is to finish up in 29 days; that is, by the end of February.

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