Oregon Legislative Assembly
| Oregon Legislative Assembly | |
|---|---|
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| Type | |
| Type | Bicameral |
| Houses | Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Senate | Peter Courtney, (D) since January 14, 2003 |
| Co-Speaker of the House | Bruce Hanna, (R) since January 10, 2011 |
| Co-Speaker of the House | Arnie Roblan, (D) since January 10, 2011 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 90 |
| Political groups | Democratic Party Republican Party |
| Salary | $1,801 per month (Speaker of House and President of Senate $3,602 per month[1] |
| Elections | |
| Last election | November 2, 2010 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Oregon State Capitol, Salem | |
| Website | |
| http://www.leg.state.or.us/ |
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to two-year terms. There are no term limits for either house in the Legislative Assembly.
Each Senate district is composed of exactly two House districts: Senate District 1 contains House Districts 1 and 2, SD 2 contains HD 3 and HD 4, and so on. (Maps of Senate districts can be found in the Oregon State Senate article.)
The legislature is termed as a "citizens' assembly" (meaning that most legislators have other jobs.) Historically, its regular sessions occurred in odd-numbered years, beginning on the second Monday in January; effective 2012, the legislature has moved into an annual session, with the even-numbered years having a month-long session in February.[2]
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[edit] Bills
Bills may be introduced in either house, and must flow through a committee before being voted upon. Bills calling for increased revenue must be introduced in the House of Representatives.[3]
[edit] Sessions
Until 1882, the legislature met on the first Monday in December.[4]
A legislative resolution referred to voters in the Nov. 2010 general election amended the state's constitution and changed the schedule of regular sessions from bi-annual to annual.[5] Senate Joint Resolution 41 was voted on as state Ballot Measure 71, which passed statewide by a margin of more than 2 to 1.[6]
With limited exceptions, the constitutional changes enacted through Measure 71 limit the length of legislative sessions beginning in odd-numbered years to 160 calendar days, and sessions beginning in even-numbered years to 35 calendar days. The changes took effect with the 2011 session.
The first 35 regular sessions (i.e. until 1929) lasted 50 days or less. Since 1949 no session has been shorter than 100 days. The longest session was the 72nd regular session, at 227 days, ending August 27, 2003. Most recent sessions have ended in June or July.
The Governor of Oregon was the only person who could call the assembly into special sessions until 1976, when voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to call itself into session.[7] In either case, special sessions are permitted only "in the event of an emergency." Voters narrowly defeated a constitutional amendment in 1990 that would have established annual sessions.[8]
In 1982 a special session lasted 37 days, and the governor called the assembly into special session five times in 2002, for a total of 52 days. The 2006 special session was the shortest in Oregon's history: five pieces of legislation were passed in only six hours. The legislative body may also call itself into special session "in the event of an emergency," although it has never done so.
When the legislature is not in session, legislators serve on interim committees and task forces that study issues likely to be faced during the next regular session. The legislature's regular sessions were every two years until 2009.
The legislative session in 2010 that referred Measure 71 to voters was a special session approved during the 2009 session by a majority of legislators, who were hoping to eventually win approval of a change to regular annual sessions.
[edit] See also
- Oregon Territorial Legislature (pre-statehood legislature)
- Provisional Government of Oregon (pre-territorial governing body)
- Provisional Legislature of Oregon
- Seventy-fifth Oregon Legislative Assembly (2009 and 2010 sessions)
[edit] References
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Oregon state legislature. http://www.leg.state.or.us/faq/faqinfo.htm. Retrieved 12-9-11.
- ^ "Oregon Legislature Annual Sessions Amendment, Measure 71 (2010)" Ballotpedia.
- ^ "How an idea becomes a law". Oregon State Capitol.
- ^ Horner, John B. (1919). Oregon: her history, her great men, her literature. Portland, Ore.: The J.K. Gill Co.. p. 228. ISBN 9781148231044. http://www.archive.org/stream/oregonherhistor00horngoog#page/n0/mode/2up.
- ^ State of Oregon. [<http://www.leg.state.or.us/10ss1/measpdf/sjr1.dir/sjr0041.en.pdf> "<Oregon State Legislature>"]. State of Oregon. <http://www.leg.state.or.us/10ss1/measpdf/sjr1.dir/sjr0041.en.pdf>. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ State of Oregon. [<http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/doc/history/nov22010/results/m71.pdf> "<Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division>"]. State of Oregon. <http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/doc/history/nov22010/results/m71.pdf>. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "Who calls special session?". The Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.). February 3, 2008. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wV9WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=b_ADAAAAIBAJ&dq=who%20calls%20special%20session&pg=3267%2C641091.
- ^ Sinks, James (February 24, 2008). "Successes for region in special session, but some legislators are unimpressed". The Bulletin (Bend, Ore.).
[edit] External links
- Official website — A note: At the website the body is referred to as the "Oregon State Legislature", however it is constitutionally named the "Legislative Assembly".
- Legislative Assembly home page from the Oregon Blue Book website
- List of Legislative Statutory Committees and Interim Offices from Blue Book site
- Glossary of Oregon legislative terms from the Statesman Journal.
- History of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, from statesmanjournal.com
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