LOC News
Carbon Legislation - Dead or Alive?
In announcing on Friday that Senate Republicans are expected to return to the Capitol this weekend, Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger said his caucus “has been assured” that HB 2020 (carbon legislation) will not move forward this session.
Senate Republicans walked out of the Capitol last week, with many reportedly leaving the state. The walk-out was intended to deny a quorum of the Senate to prevent passage of HB 2020 . To conduct the business of the Senate, and take votes on bills, Senate rules require 20 senators on the floor. Even with a super majority, the Senate Democrats total 18 Senators, so they need two additional senators to participate.
HB 2020, which would implement a statewide cap on greenhouse gas emissions, passed the House last week on a vote of 36-24. On Tuesday, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) announced that HB 2020 did not have enough votes on the Senate floor to pass. It has been determined that the bill requires a simple majority (16 votes) to pass. Despite the news that the bill lacked the votes needed to pass this session, Senate Republicans have continued to express concern over returning to the Capitol prior to the constitutionally-required adjournment date (specifically, 11:59 on Sunday, June 30). One of the reasons cited was that there appears to be no way to procedurally assure that the bill will not be pulled to the floor for a vote if the Senate Republicans returned.
Contact: Tracy Rutten, Intergovernmental Relations Associate – trutten@orcities.org
Last Updated 6-28-19
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