Republican state senators in Oregon filed a lawsuit against Democrats in a Marion County court on Wednesday, seeking to block the Democratic legislators from passing a controversial bill relating to abortion.
In the lawsuit (pdf), state Sen. Suzanne Weber and state Rep. Emily McIntire, both Republicans, joined the pro-life advocacy group Oregon Right To Life to specifically block the bill and accused Democrats of not obeying the laws and are requesting that the judge prohibits the Senate from passing the bill.Republicans also claim that the bill is not easily readable for the average reader and isn’t written in simple language.
In the lawsuit, Republicans reference the 1979 state law that requires summaries of bills to be readable by those with an 8th- or 9th-grade education, according to the documents.
Senate President Rob Wagner, a Democrat, addressed the missing Republican lawmakers during the session after the walkout.
“Colleagues, a quorum is not present for the proceedings of the Senate,” Wagner said to open the session.
As a result of the walkout by Republican state senators, legislators were forced to pause business and weren’t able to cast any votes due to the Senate being short the 20-member quorum necessary to conduct business.
Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp called on legislators to be transparent and take accountability for their actions during legislative proceedings and said Republicans will stand up for their rights.
“Let’s be clear–Wagner’s ruling was inappropriate, unjustified, and unlawful. It unequivocally violates Senate Rules, Oregon’s Constitution, and Oregon statute. We will not sit by and allow these actions without consequence,” Knopp said in a statement.
Knopp says it’s best to keep things simple for everyone, and not violate the law in the process of approving bills.“Laws are to be plainly written and easy to understand. When the majority of bill summaries written demand a post-graduate degree to understand what the bills do, we disenfranchise Oregonians across the state and violate the law in the process,” Knopp added.
“We’ve got some really hyper-partisan bills coming out right now. Bills I don’t think are a true reflection of what Oregonians are asking for,” Bonham, said in a statement to OPB last week. “I don’t think these are things that have been campaigned on. My level of frustration is high.”
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said she will get in contact with Republican lawmakers and not request assistance from Oregon state troopers in order to keep the peace between lawmakers and the public.
“We have public safety issues around the state. I’m not sending out the Oregon State Police,” Kotek told reporters. “What I will say is I intend to call the Republican leader when I get a second and say, ‘What’s going on?’ We’ve had regular meetings, I’m disappointed they’re not there and they’ve got work to do.”
Democrats accuse Republicans of avoiding issues that are important to voters and walking out instead of coming to an agreement about the bill.
“The real reason that we see the walkout today is to show that people are obstructing the ability for senators to vote on reproductive freedom and sensible gun safety,” Wagner said in a press conference. “It wasn’t happenstantial that when we were about to consider those bills, that was when we saw people walking off the job.”
Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, a Democrat, agrees with Wagner.
“Republicans have been using every trick in the book to try to slow down the process. This is yet just another one of the tricks that they’re trying to use to slow down the process and Oregonians deserve a functional democracy,” Lieber said.Republicans unsuccessfully attempted to remove Wagner as Senate president.
“Since the beginning of the Session, I have argued that Wagner is untrustworthy, deeply partisan, and lacks the necessary skills to run the Senate in a bipartisan fashion,” Knopp said in a statement (pdf). “That has been proven true every step of the way, and his behavior this week may be the clearest demonstration yet.”
