Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, discusses the 2020 legislative session with reporters. (Jake Thomas/Salem Reporter)
SALEM — You could say that Oregon is a bit “odd.”
Until 2012, the state’s legislators only met in odd-numbered years, a practice dating to 1885.
But the sessions got longer as lawmakers grappled with issues facing a growing state. By the 1980s, the average session lasted six months, according to the secretary of state’s office.
In 2010, voters said “yes” to allowing annual sessions — and limiting the number of days in each session. So now, in every even-numbered year, lawmakers and lobbyists descend on the Capitol for a “short session” of up to 35 days.
Confused yet?
In the 10 years since voters approved the change, the short . . .
