Oregon lawmakers took the first step this week toward passing a far-reaching family and medical leave insurance plan that was years in the making and could impact the lives of workers across the state.

“At some of the most difficult stressful times of their lives, when the people they love need them the very most, hundreds of thousands of Oregonians are forced to choose between their jobs and their loved ones,” House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, told her colleagues in a floor speech Thursday. “We have the power to change that right now with this critical piece of legislation.”

Lawmakers from both parties agreed and passed the plan on a 45-13 vote, with two representatives excused.

If the state Senate approves the landmark plan, Oregon would join seven other states with paid family or medical leave, Williamson said. That seemed likelihood, given House Bill 2005 was negotiated by businesses and paid leave advocates.

But it was thrown into doubt this week when Senate Republicans staged their second walkout this session, this time to block a scheduled vote on a climate change bill.

Republicans’ absence could kill not only that carbon-capping plan, House Bill 2020, but also paid family medical leave and a slew of other policy proposals, since any bills that have not passed both chambers would be wiped out after the June 30 state constitutional deadline for the Legislature to adjourn.

The stalemate could doom a controversial tobacco tax referral, which also passed the House Thursday and if approved by the Senate, would raise $346 million per biennium to pay for Oregon’s Medicaid program.

House Speaker Tina Kotek’s proposal to effectively eliminate single-family zoning in large Oregon cities could also perish.

In all, more than a hundred budget and policy bills or resolutions that are still alive in the Oregon Legislature would be kaput if Senate Republicans continue their walkout through the end of the month. Gov. Kate Brown has suggested she might call lawmakers back for a special session on July 2, but any legislation would have to be reintroduced and go through all of the normal committee and floor votes. There’s also no guarantee Senate Republicans would agree to help provide the 20-member quorum necessary for the Senate to conduct business.

“I’d really like to get some work done,” said Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, D-Portland, as she walked on to the Senate floor Friday morning.

And it’s not just Democrats in the Senate who are frustrated. During a meeting to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill that would provide more disclosure to people buying property in flood zones, Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Happy Valley, realized the implications of amending the bill: it would have to go back to the Senate.

“If we make a change today,” he said, “there’s a good likelihood that due to the other things that are swirling about, the bill would just die.”

That didn’t sit well with fellow Democrat, Rep. Mark Meek of Oregon City. Meek felt the Senate’s version of the bill was worse than doing nothing at all, and he didn’t want the Senate Republican walkout to result in a compromise he didn’t support. “I have a bill that was supposed to go over there today, and it’s going to die,” he said. “That’s life.”

In the end, Reardon decided to stick with the Senate's version, which means it won’t have to go back to that chamber for approval.

Other bills yet to pass the Senate include budgets for several large state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Oregon Health Authority, and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which distributes funds to universities and colleges. Lawmakers have some breathing room on the budget, since the Legislature already passed a continuing resolution that would authorize state agencies to continue current spending levels through September 15.

A bill to renew and increase a tax credit for hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers and their families is scheduled for a House vote Monday and then would need Senate approval.

There is also legislation to put any referral of Democrats’ new multibillion-dollar business tax before voters in a January special election, and to overturn accompanying education spending and personal income tax breaks if voters reject the business tax.

Legislation to limit the death penalty to a narrower category of murder cases was amended in the House so it would have to return to the Senate for a concurrence vote. And a proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain legal driver’s licenses just passed the House this week.

As for paid family and medical leave, at least one supporter is still optimistic it will pass sometime soon. “There is strong support for the bill as it was negotiated, and it’s bipartisan support,” Oregon Business & Industry President Sandra McDonough said on Friday. “So our hope is it’s passed this session. If that doesn’t happen, I think our expectation is this bill is the vehicle that would be the basis for legislation that would move forward in a special session or whenever they do it.”

Paid family and medical leave is popular with Oregonians. According to a poll commissioned by supporters in late February and early March, 72 percent of the 1,000 voters surveyed support such a program. McDonough said she is not currently worried that, in the face of Senate inaction, supporters of the policy might refer it to voters in November 2020. That possibility motivated business groups to push for a negotiated version in the Legislature this year.

Under the plan passed by the House, Oregon workers could receive up to 12 weeks of paid leave starting in 2023 to bond with a new baby, recover from a serious illness or care for a family member with serious illness. The insurance plan would also cover time to bond with new adopted and foster children and deal with domestic violence. The cost would be split 60-40 between workers and employers, with a contribution exemption for businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

Might voters ding lawmakers who caused the death of politically popular bills such as paid family and medical leave?

While the timing of the walkout has put the end of the 2019 legislative session in turmoil, Pacific University political science professor Jim Moore doesn’t think the fallout will help or harm legislative candidates in 2020.

“It’s going to be tough for either (party) to use it, because unless you make this the center of your campaign, voters 18 months from now are going to say ‘I don’t care,’” he said. “Voters will care about health care, education and the economy. A procedural thing like this, I don’t think is going to move voters from either side.”

— Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

— Chris Lehman

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