This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

There often are two major signs that a legislative session in Salem, Oregon is drawing to a close for another year.

One is that a deadline is approaching.  Over two-year period, legislators, by law, are allowed to be in session for a specific number of days.  It is about 190, with 160 for the long session (in odd-numbered years) and about 30 for the short session (in even-numbered years).

So, come late June, lawmakers will have to think about getting out of town if they want to make the deadline.  The specific ending date is June 25.

It is possible that the deadline might not be made, so, if it isn’t, there is one more option:  Adjourn the regular session, then open a “special session” to finish up the work.

In theory at least, deadlines make it important to do business quickly.  Or, if you are a Republican and in the minority, you don’t want to do much business, especially if that business involves abortion and gun control bills Democrats want.

So, read below, to see how Republicans are delaying things.

One other major issue is left unresolved at this point.  It is the only issue legislators must handle when they come to Salem:  Approving the State of Oregon budget for 2023-25.  More hard work on that will occur as soon as the next biennial revenue forecast is produced on May 17.  What is done must be in balance – that is, expenses have to equal revenue.  No proposed debt is allowed.

The second sign a session is nearing the end is that tempers begin to run short.

One side gets mad – usually these days those in the minority in the Oregon House and Oregon Senate, the Republicans.

Democrats want to push through their political agenda, including abortion and gun control, which you could say they’ve earned the right to do by winning the majority.

But here is what is happening in the Senate, according to a newsletter from Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend:

“As you may have heard by now, members of the Senate Republican and Independent Caucuses protested during today’s floor session.  The reason for this is simple.  The bills that are being passed by the majority do not meet the requirements of the Oregon Constitution, Senate Rules, and Oregon law.

“When this was brought to the attention of the majority, it decided it was inconvenient for them to follow the law and attempted to continue passing unlawful bills.”

So, many of Knopp’s Republican colleagues walked away, thus depriving Democrats from having a quorum on the Senate floor so business could not be done.  Some of you may have thought that Oregon voters approved a new law prohibiting walkouts. 

Yes, but it’s not that simple.  Senators can get certain excuses not to be on hand and, though it is likely Senate President Rob Wagner will tend not to give many excuses any longer, some Republicans already have been excused for a time or two.

In all, if senators reach 10 unexcused absences, the law passed by voters says they can run for re-election.  One senator was reported to have said he doesn’t care.  In other cases, some senators say they intend to challenge the law in court.

Beyond walkouts, Knopp says he leading two other efforts to stop bills he and his colleagues don’t like.

• They are demanding all bills be read in their entirety, not just, as in the past, the titles of those bills.  [As an aside, Democrats have acquired a computer to read the bills.]

• They are demanding that the language in bills that do not meet a requirement to be at an eighth-grade reading level be sent back for re-writing.  [The Legislature’s chief attorney has pushed back, saying either that bills already meet that standard, or it is entirely subjective to tell if they do or not.]

As I write this, it appears that legislative leaders are engaged in talks to see if there if a way past the impasse.

It often is said that making laws is a little like making sausage.  You don’t want to watch in either case.

At this time of the session, it’s sausage-making.  And, for that reason alone, I am glad I am retired, so don’t have to watch on-site, though I have a lot of respect for my former lobbying colleagues who are still hanging out at the Capitol, as well as those lawmakers who are trying to do what they believe “to be the right thing.”

This means I have a lot of respect for all of those who are in Salem to attempt to make government better for all us.  That does not include everyone at the Capitol.  It does include “those who are trying to make government for all of us.

A boss I worked for many years ago in Oregon state government often said one of the easiest things to do “was to be cynical about legislative processes.”  He counseled against that.  I agree with him.