OREGON CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE - Imam Muhammed Najieb, director of the Muslim Community Center of Portland, gives the invocation Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017, on the floor of the Oregon House.

SALEM — President Donald Trump was omnipresent as state lawmakers commenced their 160-day legislative session at the State Capitol Wednesday.

Outside the Capitol, hundreds of protesters stood on the building’s steps to rally against Trump’s executive order last week temporarily banning refugees and visa holders from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country.

Inside, state lawmakers began the process of policymaking as they face uncertainty about what policy changes could still come from the Trump administration, including a likely repeal of the Affordable Care Act and others that could affect the state’s federal funding.

“My sense of it is with what is going on in Washington, D.C., especially on issues like the Affordable Care Act, there is a growing sense that we are on our own,” said Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick, D-Portland. “There is so much confusion back there, so much that is frankly distressing to many Oregonians going on out there that there is a sense that we need to work together.”

State lawmakers this session have to contend with a $1.8 billion revenue shortfall stemming from a reduction in federal contribution to subsidized health care for low-income residents, spikes in human services caseloads and rising state pension costs. But the tone of the session largely reverberated Wednesday with resistance to Trump.

Hundreds of protestors assembled on the Capitol steps in opposition to Trump’s executive order concerning immigration and urged Gov. Kate Brown to join other states in suing the administration to stop enforcement of the order.

“There’s obviously a great deal of concern here for our vulnerable neighbors who are under attack by the actions of the White House,” said House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland. “We’ve resolved to stand with them and to use very legal tool at our disposal to protect them.”

In a gesture of resistance to Trump’s executive order, House Speaker Tina Kotek kicked off Wednesday with an invocation from a Portland imam.

Imam Muhammed Najieb, director of the Muslim Community Center of Portland, recited opening chapters of the Quran on the floor of the House.

“I hope the recitation he shared with us today helps send the message to those in the Capitol and to Oregonians across the state: everyone is welcome here,” Kotek said in a statement.

Meanwhile, on the floor of the Senate, Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, spoke to some Democrats’ anxiety concerning the Trump administration.

“We understand how Democrats may be feeling, especially when they look at the Washington, D.C., situation, and it’s a terrible thing to be without any access to the levers of power,” Ferrioli said. “We certainly know how that feels here in Oregon.”

Ferrioli said he hoped that Democrats would work with Republicans to solve the state’s pressing problems. Republicans have asked Democrats for reforms to the Public Employees Retirement System, spending curtailment and adjustment to the carbon fuels standard in exchange for their support of tax measures for general revenue and transportation.

Despite the Legislature’s Democratic majority, Republican votes are needed to pass tax measures, which require a three-fifths majority vote.

“We need compromise on key legislative issues before us, and we would like to start by reaching out. Republicans are reaching out to Democrats in the spirit of compromise, and we hope that this sets a tone for a very productive legislative session,” Ferrioli said.

Some Republicans said they worry the state’s $1.8 billion budget gap may grow larger as federal matching formulas change under the new presidential administration. One of those potential changes is the way health care is subsidized for the poor under Medicaid. Republicans in Congress have vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, casting more uncertainty on Oregon’s state budget.

“We’ve seen this play out in the reverse when Democrats in Congress had a Democratic president, red states suffered,” said Rep. Julie Parrish, R-West Linn. “Now, it’s the opposite. Now, we’re a blue state with a red federal administration, and we have the potential to make our $1.8 billion budget hole worse.”

One area where lawmakers from both parties agree is on their desire to pass a transportation package this session.

“To be frank, since I’ve been in this building, this is the one session that has actually so far, been the most civil and been the most nonpartisan,” said Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, who sits a joint committee crafting the transportation package.

Two Democrats and two Republicans are heading up that effort.

Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, said this session gives “an opportunity for Oregon to shine and really demonstrate our Oregon values and to make Oregonians proud of the place that we live.”

Paris Achen

Portland Tribune Capital Burea

503-385-4899

email: pachen@portlandtribune.com

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