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Rep. Mark Owens uttered a dire prediction as the 2025 Oregon Legislature entered its final four weeks.

“I’m not sure there’s a way to land this plane without crashing it in the next 26 days,” Owens, R-Crane, said Tuesday evening. Oregon’s constitution requires that the legislative session end by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, June 29.

Decisions are lagging and legislation is stacking up, Owens said, because the presiding officers have been reluctant to tell their Democratic colleagues “no.”

His comments came during an online town hall with Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, and Sen. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte. A day earlier, I also attended the town hall held by Democratic Congresswoman Janelle Bynum in Albany. A former state legislator from Happy Valley, Bynum now represents Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.

Congresswoman Bynum and Republican state legislators are in a similar position: They’re in the minority. 

They can make all the headlines-generating noise they want. But whatever success they achieve in lawmaking will arise from good working relationships with the opposing party.

Bynum was in Albany on the third visit of her 10-stop “Give ‘Em Hell Tour,” which continues into August. It began May 10 in Sisters at a joint event with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley.

Talking with reporters on Monday, Bynum said she could rail against President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress while still working across the aisle on projects important to her district. “Your enemy on one bill is your friend on another,” she said.

The Republican state legislators shared similar sentiments on Tuesday.

“The key about being a Republican in the Oregon Legislature is choose your battle. Engage where you have expertise, add value and … a lot of it is building relationships,” McLane said. “A lot gets done here, I think, generally, to try to make bills better. And then there’s that 10% that is partisan. Of that kind, 5% is extremely partisan, and we’re not going to change that.

“So, we can serve our constituents by fighting for appropriations for our district and make sure there’s a level playing field when it comes to services.”

As of Tuesday, the Oregon Senate had voted on 435 pieces of legislation. The vast majority passed with overwhelming Republican support. Fifteen passed with no Republican votes in favor, and 17 more had only one Republican vote. 

Although Democrats control the Legislature, they appear splintered on such key issues as transportation funding. 

 “What is the plan for the transportation package?” Breese-Iverson asked.

“Well, that’s a great question. What is the plan?” McLane responded.

Rumors abound. Owens heard the transportation package would be divided into five bills. McLane thought it would be four. Breese-Iverson heard it would be two.

“The next thing we’re hearing is, do we even get a transportation package? Or do we close this down because we have to be out of here in 26 days,” Breese-Iverson said, “and then we have to come back in a special session to try to do something.”

Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, remains optimistic.

“We’re making progress on key issues like transportation, affordability, improving our schools, making government work better, and our budget process has been very inclusive and deliberative despite a really tough budget environment,” he said in a statement to the Oregon Capital Insider on Thursday.

“Substantive, bipartisan conversations are happening in committee and behind the scenes. Even for the issues that are stickier, I’m proud that senators have maintained their personal relationships while keeping their disagreements focused on the policy.”

The three Republicans said Democrats won’t succeed in diverting any of the next income tax “kicker” for wildfire response, as Gov. Tina Kotek has advocated. Republican support would be needed to reach the required two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.

There is speculation House Speaker Julie Fahey, of Eugene, and the Democrats are using Republican-backed bills as bargaining chips. “The negotiation we currently have is, ‘Give us a kicker or none of the stuff moves,’” McLane said of Democrats.

Republican concern centers on Senate Bill 83, which repeals the controversial wildfire hazard map. The bill unanimously passed the Senate in April but now sits idle in a House committee.

Owens and McLane said Republicans see no reason to capitulate. Because the state is on the hook for the costs of fighting wildfires, that money eventually will come from the general fund without touching the kicker.

In a statement to the Oregon Capital Insider on Thursday, Fahey’s spokeswoman responded: “The speaker has been consistent that we cannot responsibly repeal the wildfire risk maps without also having a clear, workable plan for how we manage wildfire risk in the future, including how we fund that work. Referring SB 83 to the Rules Committee ensured that the bill remains part of that conversation, while allowing space for the Legislature to consider the recommendations of the Wildfire Funding Workgroup. The speaker’s intention is to make sure that all potential options remain on the table as the Legislature works this session to protect Oregonians and their property from wildfires.”

Thursday was Day 136. The session cannot exceed 160 calendar days. Neither the House nor Senate is scheduled to meet again until Monday.

As Owens said early in Tuesday’s town hall, “This session is fascinating.”