Kristyna Wentz-Graff
Originally published on June 26, 2021 7:18 pm
Oregon lawmakers put a bow on an unprecedented five-month legislative session Saturday, passing major bills on clean energy, wildfire prevention and police reform before adjourning their chambers for a final time.
After breaking early Friday to some legislators’ dismay, the Legislature spent Saturday hustling more than 50 bills in quick succession. In a session that had sometimes been marked by rancor, lawmakers closed out in collegial and lighthearted fashion -- some of them notably dressed down for the affair in shorts and novelty t-shirts.
Carrying on a Capitol tradition, legislators in the House and Senate opened their chamber doors shortly after 5:30 pm, waving at each other across a Capitol rotunda that has remained eerily empty for more than a year as a final resolution adjourning the session “sine die” passed in the House.