Monday was the beginning of the end, the first day of the last week of the 2021 session of the Oregon Legislature.

The session that began in winter on the final day of the presidency of Donald Trump near the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (infections, vax?), has clocked 153 days.

“Hard to believe, really,” wrote Sen. Michael Denbrow, D-Portland, in his weekly e-mail to constituents. “It’s been such a strange one, really.  But when the dust settles, and fingers crossed nothing blows up this week, I believe it will turn out to have been a highly productive one.”

Even in the last week, new bills were offered. By Sunday night, four bills were listed on the House “first reading” calendar – even though the state legislative information system showed no bill history.

Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, introduced HB 3413, which would bar anyone  expelled from the Legislature from being appointed to fill a seat in the Legislature. Only one legislator has ever been expelled in Oregon’s history – Rep. Mike Nearman, R-Independence, earlier this month. Some GOP activists have suggested pressuring county commissioners who would select Nearman’s successor to appoint Nearman. 

Members of the House BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) caucus introduced HB 3414, which declares racism as a public health crisis in the state.