This content was published: June 12, 2009. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
With revenue imbroglio behind them, the end is near for the session
Photos and Story by Dana Haynes
Buckle up.
You know how they say the most dangerous parts of any airplane trip are the takeoff and landing? The latter is true for legislative sessions, too.
Things are moving lightning fast in Salem right now.
Rep. Michael Dembrow, whose district includes the Cascade Campus, summed it up nicely in his weekly newsletter, released just a few minute ago: “When I say things change day by day, I’m not kidding!” he wrote. “We planned on sending this newsletter yesterday, but as the revenue package hit a snag in the Senate, I decided to wait.”
I hear people in Salem predicting that next Friday could be “sine die.” That’s Latin for “without the day.” In essence, at the end of every floor session, every day, the two cabinets adjourn with the intention of returning the next day or, in the event of a weekend, on Monday. On the last day of the session, they adjourn without a day of return: Sine die.
Me, I think next Friday is too optimistic. I give it two weeks. There are too many big bills still wending their way through the chambers.
But we’re close.
See you at commencement, tonight.
dana
About Dana Haynes
Dana Haynes, joined PCC in 2007 as the manager of the Office of Public Affairs, directing the college's media and government relations. Haynes spent the previous 20 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for Oregon newspapers, including ... more »