As Oregon House slowdown continues, lawmakers prepare bill to avoid government shutdown

SALEM – Legislative budget writers are preparing a backup plan in case lawmakers and the governor don’t finish up their work by the end of June.

While that plan, known as a continuing resolution, is a routine part of the legislative process, it comes as Republicans in the Oregon House continue to slow the pace of work by requiring bills to be read in their entirety.

With a new budget cycle starting July 1, any state agency without an approved budget would have to close its doors. House Bill 5048 would allow those agencies to continue operating at the spending level approved in the just-expired budget. The money they spend would effectively be borrowed from the new budget, once approved.

Democrats have insisted they’ll wrap up on time, despite the GOP-led slowdown. It would require a vote of approval by two-thirds of the House and Senate for lawmakers to continue working past their constitutional deadline of June 30.

Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2019/05/as-oregon-house-slowdown-continues-lawmakers-prepare-bill-to-avoid-government-shutdown.html