Should Legislature meet every year? Lawmakers ponder ballot question.
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The Daily Astorian: Oregon is one of just five states that still hold biennial sessions. But that's probably going to change soon. A ballot measure is in the works for the November election that would amend the Oregon constitution to require the legislature to meet every year for 135 days in odd-numbered years and up to 45 days in even-numbered years.
The 45-day session could be extended five days at a time if approved by a two-thirds vote in both houses. The 135-day session would include drawing up the state's two-year budget. Necessary budget adjustments would be the focus of the 45-day session. The measure being talked about, SJR41, passed out of the state Senate rules committee earlier this week. State Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, was a member of the public commission that came up with the idea of annual sessions and she said she testified in favor of making the change. Meeting every year would allow the legislature to make adjustments before "things get too far out of whack," she said, and would make things more user-friendly for lawmakers, many of whom have other jobs to support themselves and their families. Noting that the current system of meeting only every other year got started when the state was mainly rural, Boone said, "We're able to meet every year. We're not on horseback any more."
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