The Oregon Senate was unable to reach a quorum during their brief floor session Sunday morning as Republican senators continued their unexcused absence from the Capitol.

Democratic senators said Republicans have not returned their calls and even top lawmakers don't know where negotiations stand to bring Republicans back into the building.

“We don’t have any indication that they have plans to return at this point," Senate Democratic Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, said. "Tomorrow is an actual work day and they need to come back to work."

Around 150 protesters showed up Sunday morning amid an unusually large police presence at the Capitol, one day after a scheduled floor session was canceled when Oregon State Police identified a credible threat from militia groups.

Some protesters were there to advocate against the passage of House Bill 2020, a sweeping greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade bill, while others showed up in support of the 11 absconded Republican senators

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"It’s been a difficult time for all of Oregon, all of us," Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, said as he prepared to adjourn until Monday at 10 a.m. "I ask the senators that are not here to please, if you would, come to the building."

The Republican senators fled Salem last week to deny Democrats the opportunity to pass HB 2020, which was scheduled to be taken up on the floor Thursday. Democrats have enough votes to pass the bill; it's already passed the House of Representatives.

Gov. Kate Brown has authorized the Oregon State Police to find the absent senators and return them to the Capitol building.

Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr., R-Grants Pass, said in a statement that they will not come back to the Capitol at this time.

"Democrats were reactionary to rumors and lacked the courage to face these Oregonians by closing the Capitol building on Saturday," he said. "My caucus and I continue to stand firm and remain out of the state."

The Three Percenters, an anti-government militia group, offered their support to the senators, including "security, transportation and refuge." Senate Republican caucus staff said they were not accepting any help from militia groups.

The Senate also imposed a $500 per day fine on the senators for being in contempt of the Legislature.

A GoFundMe page was launched Wednesday in support of the Republican senators and had raised nearly $40,000 as of Sunday afternoon. A political action committee with the same goal was established a day later, though any contributions don't have to be disclosed for several weeks.

Among the loggers, retirees and everyday Oregonians who showed up at Sunday's protest was Kareem Patton, who identified himself as a member of the Multnomah County Three Percenters. He said the group has about 100 members.

He denied that any planned threat toward the Capitol or lawmakers came from his organization, saying there are different groups with various levels of structure and it's impossible to account for what one person might say.

"I'm a part of the militia and there's no concerted effort or anything to want to hurt or harm state lawmakers," Patton said. "We disagree. We may not like them, but we're not in the business of trying to intimidate or hurt democratically elected people. That's not how America works."

Courtney said Friday the Oregon State Police told him a threat made against state police by Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, inflamed the militia groups.

"Send bachelors and come heavily armed. I’m not going to be a political prisoner in the state of Oregon. It’s just that simple," Boquist said Wednesday during an interview with Portland television station KGW. The remark came after Brown and Senate Democrats said they would send state police after Republicans if they walked out.

One of the Facebook event pages for Sunday's protests used his comments as a rallying cry.

However, most protesters Sunday seemed to be focused about HB 2020.

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Wayne Nehl, a retired trucker from Silverton, said he's worried about the financial impact of the bill on industry, including logging.

By increasing taxes, he said, Oregon should expect to see more people leaving for states like Idaho, where taxes and regulation are less burdensome.

The walkout in the Senate reflects the wide divide between rural and urban Oregon, Nehl said.

Avoiding Senate floor sessions means Republicans can deny Democrats the quorum they need to do any business. Democrats are in the supermajority with 18 members, but they need two Republicans to reach a two-thirds quorum.

This walkout marks the second for Senate Republicans this year.

The previous walkout was in early May and ended with Democrats killing a pair of priority bills and agreeing to let Republicans have a bigger say in negotiations around HB2020, the carbion gas emissions bill.

At the time, Republicans agreed not to walk out again. But with this second walkout, they say Democrats failed to live up to their side of the agreement.

The state police were not called during the previous walkout, nor were fines imposed.

This session is not the first time lawmakers have denied quorum as a legislative tool.

There is no indication any Republican senators will show up Sunday, but Democrats have elected to hold a floor session in case two can be located and brought to the Capitol.

Republicans in both chambers have opposed HB 2020 throughout the 2019 legislation session, both the policy in the current version of the bill and the process that led to it. They said they were kept out of critical negotiations and their suggestions were discounted, while Democrats contend that some Republican proposals made it into the bill.

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Senate Democrats have repeated over the past week that HB 2020 is in its final form and no changes will be made. Senate Republicans are still asking for changes.

The only Republican and Democratic senators who are known to have spoken to each other since the walkout began are Courtney and Baertschiger.

Sen. Michael Dembrow, D-Portland — the Senate Democrat's top lawmaker on HB 2020 — said he has not been involved in any negotiations. His attempts to contact his Republican colleagues have not been returned.

"I’m really troubled and I hope they can find a way to reject this path that Sen. Boquist has taken them on and can find a way to come back and do the people’s business," Dembrow said.

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