Betting pools are forming at the Oregon Capitol to guess when the 2017 Legislature will adjourn. July 10 is the absolute deadline under the state constitution, but next week is the expectation.

Some lawmakers have alerted constituents that town-hall meetings and coffees scheduled for Saturday might be canceled, because the Legislature could be in session that day. Senators have been told they might work through the weekend, including July 4.

Not helping matters is a nasty cold, or similar affliction, that is making its way through the Capitol. House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, is among the sufferers.

• Pa, are we there yet? Although the transportation-finance package could yet fall apart, legislators and Gov. Kate Brown say the sticking points have been resolved and it’s on track for passage. AAA and the truckers association recently came on board with their own plan.

The current agreement adds money to promote electric vehicles and includes checks on the state’s expansive Clean Fuels Program. Environmentalists like the electric vehicles and expect the fuels program to do so well that the legislative checks won’t be needed; detractors predict the opposite, and welcome the checks.

Side note: Several Democratic and Republican legislators drive electric vehicles. Gov. Ted Kulongoski promised to buy one when he left office, and he did. But he told me that his wife uses it more often, because it’s too small to carry his canoe, which fits better atop his SUV.

• A tax to nowhere: A nearly $200 million tax increase despised by Republicans has passed the Oregon House but has dead-ended in the Senate.

President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, is averse to bills that will blow up in the Senate. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, made clear to his fellow senators that the transportation package was dead if the small-business tax increase remained alive.

House Bill 2060, which barely passed in the House on a 31-28 vote, scales back a tax cut that small businesses received in 2013. The majority Democrats cast the tax credit as primarily benefitting wealthy individuals.

Some Democratic senators favor HB 2060. Others would rather avoid voting on it. A “yes” vote would infuriate small-business constituents, potentially endangering senators’ re-election chances unless they represent a heavily Democratic district. A “no” vote would anger Democratic supporters who wanted more revenue for schools and other programs in the state budget.

• Yelling at the media: Although Senate Republicans appear to have discreetly blocked that tax increase, their communications office was going after it anyway, which led to this retraction from them:

“Following outcry after denouncing the Statesman Journal for defending the Speaker of the House illegally hiking taxes 41 percent on the smallest businesses in Oregon, even those with less than ten employees, Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli retracted his ‘fake news’ comment and released the following statement:

“‘I apologize for the use of the term ‘fake news’ in my recent highly critical comments on the Statesman Journal’s editorial piece, ‘Republicans doth posture too much over end of tax credit.’ I should have characterized the piece as ‘crappy journalism,’ not fake news.'”

• A veritable plethora of not-so-well-chosen words: One aspect of press releases — of any writing — is that the more adjectives and adverbs they string together, the less effective they are. I once heard that whenever writers use adjectives or adverbs, they should feel a bit of failure for not employing the most-precise verbs and nouns.

I was amused by the histrionics in this press release from Sen. Dennis Linthicum, R-Klamath Falls, about Senate Bill 1054: “The reprehensible Certificate of Need process is abominably forced by the diagnostically problem-plagued Oregon Health Authority (OHA), which is suffering a severe status of whirling credibility, among so many, but especially veterans advocates, for its actions some have called ‘bureaucratic terrorism.'”

• A tax that might be in trouble: The Legislature kept the Oregon Health Plan afloat by expanding the “provider tax” paid by hospitals and others. The Republican health care plan in the U.S. Senate could severely restrict or end that arrangement. That prospect has Gov. Brown concerned.

Meanwhile, there is talk of an Oregon referendum to refer the provider tax to voters, which has Democrats scrambling to respond.

• Legislative levity: Lawmakers are giddy about the Legislature’s impending adjournment. Or maybe they’re just worn out.

Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, told the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday that he had been busy all day rallying support for his transparency legislation.

“I haven’t eaten or gone to the bathroom. I’m going to complain to BOLI” about his work conditions, Whisnant quipped to laughter from the senators.

On Tuesday, the House Rules Committee took a break so a lawmaker could floss his teeth. Sort of.

Actually, chair Rep. Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland, called a recess while waiting for legislative paperwork to arrive (via computer). That led Rep. Rob Nosse, D-Portland, to announce that he’d be back after flossing, which led Williamson to quip that this was the first time she’d called a flossing recess.

• No goodbyes for this birdie: The Western Meadowlark apparently will remain Oregon’s official state bird. The House Rules Committee has not scheduled action on a Senate bill that would hand that status to the osprey. A potential compromise being floated was to retain the meadowlark while designating the osprey as the official state raptor.

• Republicans, Democrats and lobbyists: One oddity of the Oregon Legislature is that lobbyists and political hangers-on congregate in the foyer outside the Oregon House chamber. They can watch the House proceedings on a large TV; a similar, cozier set-up is outside the Senate chamber.

The activity level and noise in the foyer are reliable indicators of how concerned lobbyists are about their bills.

State representatives, both D’s and R’s, will leave the House chamber — except during votes — in response to lobbyists’ messages asking to talk. I spotted several legislators talking with lobbyists in the foyer during a short span Wednesday morning.

I’m often in that area because around the corner is the only public place I’ve found in the Capitol that has a computer worktable with electrical outlets … and all of four seats. When it comes to public accommodations, this is not Portland International Airport.

Dick Hughes has been covering the state’s political scene since 1976. Contact him at TheHughesisms@Gmail.com or follow him at Facebook.com/Hughesisms.