GOP Senators' Walkout in Oregon Jeopardizes Key Legislation and Careers

Oregon Senate Republicans are considering challenging a new attendance law that caps the number of unexcused absences lawmakers can accrue at 10, which would bar them from running for reelection if exceeded. However, a legal memo from Stoel Rives lawyers for Basic Rights Oregon, the ACLU of Oregon, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon says that the challenge is unlikely to succeed as Measure 113 does not violate lawmakers' constitutional rights to free speech and to protest, nor their right to run for office. Senate Democrats hold 17 seats, leaving them three short of a quorum, and the requirement that two-thirds of the members of a chamber must be present to constitute a quorum and to hold floor votes is a weakness in Oregon's legislative procedures.