It was a good week for Oregon’s governor and the Legislature, giving hope for pragmatism triumphing over partisanship. But there also were warning signs.

“You know, sometimes the Legislature can become divided. We’ve seen that in the past years, but this is a bipartisan effort, bicameral effort,” Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, said Wednesday after the Legislature completed action on two bills addressing homelessness and housing.

With lightning speed – for politicians – and genuine bipartisanship, the 2023 Legislature met Gov. Tina Kotek’s demand to quickly invest $130 million toward reducing homelessness. Kotek plans to sign the package, which lawmakers expanded to $200 million, as soon as the paperwork reaches her desk.

“We are working right now in communities around the state to hear what their plans are (and) hear how they’re going to reach the outcomes that we’re hoping to meet with the money. We’re going to get those dollars out the door as soon as we have those,” Kotek told journalists on Wednesday in St. Helens.

Oregon’s new governor does not sit around. After taking office on Jan. 9, she declared a state of emergency due to homelessness the next day. The Senate completed legislative action on the policy and spending package Tuesday night, a mere eight weeks after lawmakers got down to work.

“It was important that we take this step early on in the session because if we had waited and followed the normal process through the legislative session and signed this bill at the end of the session rather than relatively close to the beginning of session, it would not have taken effect until August,” said Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis.

“We are going to be able to start taking steps with these new resources in April, not in August.”

Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Portland, one of the key advocates, said Kotek respected the separation of powers and let lawmakers do their job.

In turn, lawmakers – and the public – are counting on the Kotek administration to make sure the money is spent effectively. The legislation requires agencies to give quarterly updates to lawmakers.

Kotek certainly has been consistent with her main priorities. Last week she urged legislators to improve how schools and communities help children learn to read and write. This week she backed legislation to expand mental health and addiction-treatment programs. She also took her One Oregon Listening Tour to Columbia and Benton counties.

With the votes already lined up for the housing package, HB 2001 and HB 5010, the Legislature’s final approval was anticlimactic. The only questions were the margin of victory and how long it would take the Senate’s computer-generated voice to read the bills in their entirety – nearly three hours, during which senators either chatted or left the chamber.

Most Republicans supported the package despite saying it did too little to encourage new housing development. Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, spoke in favor while expressing hope that the Legislature would yet do more this year to encourage housing production.

Among the seven senators voting “no” was Sen. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles. He described HB 2001 as “a homelessness bill disguised as a housing bill.”

Another Republican theme was that the Legislature must fix Measure 110, because it has failed to reduce drug addiction among Oregonians, including with homeless individuals. In contrast, Kotek and other Democrats have said the measure needs more time to work.

Partisan divisions echoed even more loudly as lawmakers took up Democratic bills that restrict access to firearms, expand Oregon’s assisted-suicide law, and guarantee access to abortion and gender-affirming care.

At a press conference about the gun legislation, Democratic advocates talked of bipartisan support even though Republicans staunchly oppose the bills.

“I think that bipartisan support in and outside of this building are two different things,” Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, said. “This is always a very charged conversation, but we have been tasked with this work and we will continue to uphold the values of the folks that voted us into office.”

By the way, Gov. Kotek hasn’t gotten everything she wants from her fellow Democrats. The Legislature’s proposed state budget outline for the next two years, which was released Thursday, differs sharply in some ways from her budget proposal. 

That is not unusual. Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, who co-chairs the budget-writing committee, noted that a governor’s job is to create a vision for the state. The Legislature must craft the actual budget.