Judge clears way for special session
By BRAD CAIN
Associated Press
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 12:47 PM PST
SALEM — A judge cleared the way Monday for the Oregon Legislature to conduct its first annual session, which is to begin next week.
Marion County Circuit Judge Paul Lipscomb rejected a legal challenge by state Sen. Larry George, R-Sherwood. George argued there was no pending emergency, and thus no justification for conducting a legislative session in an even-numbered year.
The judge said the session can be held because legislative leaders have deemed there are unresolved budget and policy issues that ‘‘need resolution without delay.’’
Oregon is one of six states whose Legislature meets every other year. But a year ago, the state’s lawmakers decided to meet this February in a ‘‘test drive’’ of annual sessions.
In his ruling, Lipscomb said he agreed with George’s assertion that Legislature’s move to set up a special session a year in advance violated the constitution’s requirement for biennial sessions.
However, the judge also said lawmakers can call themselves back in whenever they determine that that there’s an emergency, which is what Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Jeff Merkley did in a Jan. 18 letter to House and Senate members.George, in response to the judge’s ruling, called the leaders’ Jan. 18 letter a ‘‘last-minute stunt’’ and said he hopes the Oregon Supreme Court will block the February session. Courtney, the leading supporter of the move to annual sessions, praised Lipscomb’s ruling, saying it will give Oregonians a chance to see the value of annual sessions.
‘‘I’m glad we heard from a judge who felt we do have the authority to help the state of Oregon,’’ the Salem Democrat said.
The idea behind the February session is to let voters see how well an annual session works, and then to later ask them to approve a ballot measure formalizing the switch to having lawmakers meet every year.
Courtney and other supporters of annual sessions say Oregon’s every-other-year Legislature is a system that dates back to statehood and no longer effectively serves a state that has experienced major growth in recent years.
