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Oregon State Legislature

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Oregon State Legislature

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General Information
Type:   State legislature
Term limits:   None
2012 session start:   February 1, 2012
Website:   Official Legislature Page
Leadership
Senate President:   Peter Courtney (D)
House Speaker:  Arnie Roblan (D)
Bruce Hanna (R)
Majority Leader:   Diane Rosenbaum (D) (Senate),
Tina Kotek, (D)
Kevin Cameron (R) (House)
Minority leader:   Ted Ferrioli (R) (Senate)
Structure
Members:  30 (Senate), 60 (House)
Length of term:   4 years (Senate), 2 years (House)
Authority:   Art IV, Oregon Constitution
Salary:   $21,612/year + per diem
Last Election:  November 2, 2010
16 seats (Senate)
60 seats (House)
Next election:  November 4, 2012
14 seats (Senate)
60 seats (House)
Redistricting:  Oregon Legislature has control

Contents

The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is a bicameral consisting of an upper house, the Oregon State Senate, and a lower house, the Oregon House of Representatives. There are no term limits for either house in the Legislative Assembly.

The legislature is a citizens' assembly (meaning that most legislators have other jobs.)

Sessions

Article IV of the Oregon Constitution establishes when the Legislature is to meet. Section 10 of Article IV states that the Legislature will meet in regular session once every two years. The section goes on to establish starting dates for these sessions, but these dates have been changed by law (as the section allows). Under current law, sessions convene on the second Monday in January of all odd years.[1]

Section 10 of Article IV also requires the presiding officers of both legislative houses to convene an emergency session of the Legislature when a majority of the members of each house request an emergency session.

2012

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

In 2012, the Legislature will be in session from February 1 through March 6.

Major issues

In their month-long 2012 session, the legislature is expected to mostly deal with issues from the previous session which includes proposals from Governor John Kitzhaber (D) for implementing federal healthcare reforms, requiring an annual "achievement compact" for school districts, and increasing funding for children and families. They will also address the state budget, job growth and economic development regulation of state timber harvest, foreclosure assistance, and tax reform.[2]

2011

See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions

In 2011, the Legislature was in session from February 1 through June 30. [3]

2010

See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions

In 2010, the Legislature did not hold a regular session. However, the Legislature was in special session from February 1st to February 25th.[4]

Senate

The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state. Each member represents an average of 127,702 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[5] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 114,047.[6] 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.

Oregon State Senators serve four year terms without term limits. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the decade-old law, Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992), that had restricted State Senators to two terms (eight years) on procedural grounds.

Like certain other upper houses of state and territorial legislatures and the federal U.S. Senate, the State Senate can confirm or reject gubernatorial appointments to state departments, commissions, boards, and other state governmental agencies.

Oregon, along with Arizona, Maine, and Wyoming, is one of the four U.S. states to have abolished the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, a position which for most upper houses of state legislatures and indeed for the U.S. Congress (with the Vice President) is the head of the legislative body. Instead, a separate position of Senate President is in place, removed from the Oregonian executive branch.

Current Make-up

The latest elections for the Oregon State Senate occurred on November 7, 2006. 15 of the Senate's 30 seats were open for election. The Democratic Party retained their majority, with no loss or gain of seats for any party. Shortly after the 2006 election, Senator Ben Westlund, whose seat was not up for election in 2006, announced his party change from Independent to the Democratic Party. His switch resulted in the current make-up of 18 Democrats, 11 Republicans and 1 Independent.

Party As of May 2012
     Democratic Party 16
     Republican Party 14
Total 30


House of Representatives

The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state. Each member represents an average of 63,851 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[7] After the 2000 Census, each member represented 57,023.[8]

Party As of May 2012
     Democratic Party 30
     Republican Party 30
Total 60


Legislators

Salaries

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

As of 2011, members of the Oregon Legislature are paid $21,612/year during legislative sessions. Legislators receive $109/day per diem tied to the federal rate.[9]

The $21,612/year that Oregon legislators are paid as of 2011 is the same as they were paid during legislative sessions in 2010 and increase over the $18,408/year during in 2007. Per diem has increased from $99/day in 2007 to $116/day in 2010 and decreased to $109/day in 2011.[10][11]

The Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate receive twice as much salary as other legislators. These salaries have been determined by statute. [12]

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Oregon legislators assume office the second Monday in January.

Joint Legislative Committees

There are 7 joint legislative committees in the Oregon State Legislature:

Decommissioned Joint Committees:

External links

References

  1. ↑ Legislator faq
  2. ↑ Oregon Live, "Oregon lawmakers hope for quick, civil session that tackles budget, health care and schools," January 29, 2012
  3. ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
  4. ↑ 2010 session dates for Oregon Legislature
  5. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  6. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  7. ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
  8. ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
  9. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
  10. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2010 Legislator Compensation Data"
  11. ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
  12. ↑ "Oregon State Legislature: Frequently Asked Questions," 2011
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