More than 2,200 legislation were filed by Oregon lawmakers before to the start of the 2025 legislative session. Concerns are being raised that the avalanche will clog the system and limit the attention given to worthy proposals because that is at least a 25-year record.
The legislature isn’t more productive as a result of the overwhelming number of bills: Over the past ten years, thousands of measures have been introduced both before and during each session, but the number that ultimately became law decreased.
Lack of restrictions has contributed to the phenomena where more bills are introduced before the session begins but less legislation is passed before it concludes. In brief sessions, which last roughly a month and occur in even-number years, each of the 90 senators or representatives in the Legislature is limited to filing a maximum of five legislation. 2024 was the most recent. However, during lengthy phases that last roughly five months and take place in odd-numbered years, like 2025, the possibilities are endless.
Whether the early bill-filings record results in a record for the entire 2025 session is still up in the air. Legislative leaders, however, who previously hesitated to suggest bill restrictions for fear that they would stifle free expression or the exchange of ideas, are now at least considering the possibility of limiting the quantity of bills that MPs can submit during lengthy sessions.
Senator Floyd Prozanski, a Democrat from Eugene who has been in the Legislature for 30 years, stated, “I think this may be, well, yeah, I’ll say it’s the tipping point for maybe a more serious and robust discussion.”
Since the start of this session on January 21, Prozanski has been the primary sponsor of 41 bills. As the Senate Judiciary Committee’s chair, he also faces the increasingly challenging duty of determining which legislation should be given a public hearing and vote in order to potentially advance, and which should be quietly killed before their merits are even discussed.
There are just 14 newly elected lawmakers this session, which some legislative leaders believe may be the reason for the high number of measures filed early in the legislative season. According to leaders, those with greater experience typically submit more new laws after settling into their positions.
Some attribute the higher numbers to a growing desire to be heard in the face of a widening party gap: Some Democrats in Oregon could feel compelled to reaffirm their progressive views through new state legislation now that President Donald Trump is in office. Even if Trump-inspired legislation is certain to fail in the Democratically controlled House and Senate, Republican lawmakers in the state might be encouraged to introduce it.
All things considered, the suggested actions for this session vary from extremely serious to less urgent. They include lighter measures like designating February as Oregon Truffle Month and the T-bone as the official state steak, as well as meaty bills that try to address Oregon sailing test scores among schoolchildren and the need to prepare for the upcoming fierce wildfire season.
However, a lot of initiatives are so-called placeholder laws, which give MPs the freedom to make significant changes to them beyond the deadline in late February for introducing the majority of new proposals. According to House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, these bills might have contributed to the overall inflating of the numbers.
According to Fahey, a significant portion of those bills will never be implemented. She is the primary sponsor of only five legislation this session while having numerous additional responsibilities as the senior House leader.
Fahey and other legislative leaders are debating the number of cases that a lawmaker should bring. Is fifty appropriate? Or one hundred?
Some legislators have gone much beyond those possible boundaries with today’s flexible regulations.
Some members of the House and Senate, without naming them, appear to believe that everything they have seen or listened to requires a law, according to Prozanski.
Prozanski is not required to identify high-volume bill filers. A daily status report is released by legislative staff. Rep. Paul Evans, a Democrat from Monmouth, is the main sponsor of 310 measures, according to Friday’s results. Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, comes in second with 154.
Prior to the start of this legislative session, Rep. Paul Evans, a Democrat from Monmouth, filed 310 bills in his personal record. On January 14, 2025, he appears at the House dais.Graves, Mark/The Oregonian
Evans claimed that throughout his ten years in the Legislature, 310 might have been a personal record. Evans noted that a perplexed constituent had asked him the same question last week when The Oregonian/OregonLive questioned him about why he has filed so many.
His answer? He feels that everyone’s viewpoint on how to improve society should be heard, even if I find some of the ideas that people bring to me odd. Evans stated that he will typically introduce a bill if constituents give him the information he needs.
According to Evans, states should serve as the test bed for democracy. I am aware that some of the ideas I currently have will not pass. However, they initiate dialogue.
According to Brock Smith, 154 bills is by no means a record for him. However, he claimed that the much higher number he entered during the previous lengthy session was entirely valid.
Brock Smith stated, “Of course it is.” 160,000 people are my constituents.
“Every bill has a purpose,” he remarked.
Referring to Republicans in the Legislature, Brock Smith stated that the only way to have a discussion about what we or I believe to be a problem in this state is to propose legislation.
On the Senate floor in 2024, Sen. David Brock Smith, a Republican from District 1, is pictured at his desk.One of the Oregonians, Dave Killen
He is adamantly opposed to any attempt to restrict individual lawmakers’ filings. Because of worries over trash and human waste getting into the state’s waterways, he has submitted a number of laws, including one to crack down on homeless camping. He stated that these bills are likely to fail in the current political environment.
Will there be a hearing for that bill? “Brock Smith said.” I don’t think so.
Brock Smith, however, stated that he must try.
According to lobbyists, a deluge of legislation may result in crowded committee sessions with limited opportunity to hear from Oregonians who have a vested interest in the success or failure of a bill. When time is limited, members of the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association may have their allotted three minutes of testimony reduced to two, according to Greg Astley, director of government affairs for the organization. A restaurant owner, hotel manager, or any other member of the public may feel a great deal of pressure to communicate their message.
According to Astley, it can be extremely nerve-racking for people.
To follow the measures they care about through the legislative process, advocacy groups like Oregon Business & Industry use bill tracking services, according to Erik Lukens, a spokesman for the business group based in Wilsonville.
However, Lukens said that it is very challenging for the typical individual to keep up with what the Legislature is doing when they are reading through so many laws.
This session, Aimee Green is covering the Oregon Legislature. You can contact her at [email protected] or @o_aimee, or 503-294-5119.
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