Oregon House Rules Committee Chair Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, subpoenaed 21 missing Republican House lawmakers Thursday, summoning them to testify before his committee about their unexcused absences this session.

The hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. March 5, three days before the end of session.

"All we're wanting to make sure is they can come in and be held accountable for their actions, which is come tell the public why you think this is appropriate," said House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland. "At minimum that seems like a good enough ask at this point."

Kotek said its possible Democrats have not "perfectly executed" the subpoenas, but there was no progress being made on asking Republicans to return to the Capitol and the constitutional deadline is rapidly approaching.

"I am not optimistic that we will resolve this," Kotek said.

House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, called the subpoenas the latest example of Democrats' "strong-arm tactics."

"We will not be intimidated," she said. "We remain resolved to serve the hardworking families of Oregon who have asked for the abuse of power to end and for cap and trade to be referred to the people."

Kotek said she and Drazan did not speak Thursday.

On Monday, Senate Republicans fled the Capitol after a greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade bill passed out of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, the final hurdle before the bill could receive a vote on the Senate floor.

House Republicans followed their Senate counterparts out the door on Tuesday.

Despite Democrats holding supermajorities with 18 in the Senate and 38 in the House, they still need two Republicans to reach a constitutionally required two-thirds quorum in each chamber. Without a quorum, no business can be conducted on the floor.

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Holvey was authorized to take this action Thursday evening during a brief meeting of the House Rules Committee where he questioned Legislative Counsel Dexter Johnson as to the Legislature's authority to compel absent members.

Through questioning by Holvey, Johnson explained that lawmakers were limited in what they could do to compel attendance — salaries and per diem cannot be touched, for example.

Holvey expressed frustration that it seemed the minority party, though their denial of quorum, could stop all legislators from fulfilling their constitutional duties.

"This isn't really anymore about compromise on bills, it's not about any particular bill anymore, this is about our democratic process, this is about our institution, it's about fundamental principles of democracy," Holvey told reporters after the hearing.

Holvey added that are still many unanswered questions and paths of inquiry that would be investigated in the coming days, including: what potential penalties exist if Republicans defy the subpoenas and can lawmakers be subjected to subpoenas while the Legislature is in session.

Both Holvey and Kotek said they hope House Republicans return on their own accord before March 5.

The Oregon Constitution allows lawmakers meeting without a quorum to "compel" members to attend, but does not spell out exactly how that is done.

In the past, the governor — at the request of either the speaker of the House or Senate president — has authorized Oregon State Police officers to track down absent lawmakers.

This happened most recently in 2019, when Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, requested state troopers search for 11 absent Republican senators and Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, authorized them to do so.

Troopers did not locate any of the senators, who had fled the state during their nine-day walkout.

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Courtney has said he is not interested in activating Oregon State Police this year. And Courtney's spokeswoman Lisa Taylor said Thursday that Senate Democratic leadership is not going to issue subpoenas for absent Republican senators.

Kotek said earlier during a floor session exchange with Holvey Thursday morning that she was hesitant to involve the police.

"My preference at this point is not to authorize that because I believe our state troopers should be focused on their core public safety functions," Kotek said.

However, Kotek said she would look into whether leadership could "reduce" the funds in the absent lawmakers' accounts that pay for supplies and staff.

The only Republicans in the Capitol are those representing Bend: Rep. Cheri Helt and Sen. Tim Knopp.

Both Republican caucuses raised policy and process concerns about the cap-and-trade measures, Senate Bill 1530, saying Democrats were abusing their supermajorities by not considering any Republican amendments and the bill would bankrupt rural Oregon through increased gas and energy prices.

Democrats deny ignoring the minority party, saying SB 1530 is significantly different than its predecessor, House Bill 2020, specifically because they took rural concerns into account. They say this version has protections against price increases for rural Oregonians while still allowing the state to reach its carbon emissions reductions goals.

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SB 1530 would set gradually declining limits on statewide carbon emissions and create a marketplace for polluters to buy credits, or allowances, for each ton of emissions they release annually.

The major target of the program is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2035, and 80 percent below by 2050.

The bill has been long sought by environmental advocates as a way for the state to curb its carbon emissions in response to climate change.

Republicans contend that the Legislature is too divided for them to vote on SB 1530 and instead the bill should be referred to voters. Democrats are against this, saying that voters elected them precisely so they would make these difficult decisions.

Contact reporter Connor Radnovich at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich