Connor Radnovich Salem Statesman Journal Published 11:02 PM EST Nov 9, 2018 With ambitious policy goals for the upcoming legislative session, Democrats won supermajorities in both chambers during Tuesday’s midterm election, but Senate President Peter Courtney isn’t taking a victory lap looking forward to 2019. If anything, he said, the new supermajority in the Senate makes his job harder. “Don’t get me wrong, at times I have to just go with D’s, I know that. But I don’t start out there,” Salem’s Democratic senator said. “It gets tougher from that standpoint, trying to remind Democrats they’re responsible for Oregonians everywhere in the state of Oregon, even if their numbers are greater than the Republicans … So, yes, it gets much harder, much harder.” Supermajorities of 18 seats in the Senate and 38 in the House give Democrats the power to pass tax measures and other “bills for raising revenue” that require a three-fifths majority without the need for Republican support. The last time Democrats had supermajorities in both chambers was 2009. Republicans are resigned to the belief that Democrats will use their newfound supermajorities to push through new policies and pay for them with additional taxes and fees. Last session, Democrats were one seat shy of a supermajority in both chambers, meaning they couldn’t pass new taxes without at least one Republican. “It is about to get a lot more expensive to live in our state,” House Republicans spokesman Preston Mann said in a statement. Their best shot to avoid these undesirable outcomes, Mann said, is Courtney… [Read full story]
Leave a Reply