Oregon Legislature

When the 2023 Oregon legislative session begins in earnest on Tuesday, there will be new leadership, a host of new faces and some very familiar problems.

Rep. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, a state representative for House District 1, was unanimously appointed to fill the vacant seat for Senate District 1. That seat was left open by Dallas Heard, who resigned earlier this month.

On Friday night, Oregon state senators nominated Rob Wagner, of Lake Oswego, to serve as their next Senate president. The full Senate will vote on the nomination in January. Wagner was first appointed to the state Senate in 2018 and has recently served as caucus leader.

Oregon voters appear to have impaired the ability of state lawmakers in the minority party to block contentious bills by fleeing the Capitol, a maneuver Republicans employed in 2019 and 2020.

After three years, and several revisions, it seems everyone agrees the system for dealing with harassment complaints in the statehouse is broken.

Republicans on the House Conduct Committee said Kotek created a hostile workplace for another lawmaker in 2019. Democrats disagreed.

An investigation suggested Kotek did nothing wrong while pressuring a lawmaker in 2019. Some say she crossed the line as House speaker.

The Democratic candidate for governor has been accused of creating a hostile work environment by threatening another lawmaker's career in 2019 while she was House Speaker.

It’s been more than a year since Oregon’s Legislature had what’s known as a legislative equity officer, the official who is supposed to coordinate a response to harassment and retaliation complaints within the Capitol.

According to legislative research, the rate of home ownership for Black Oregonians is less than half the rate for white Oregonians.