In its final hours, the oddest of Oregon legislative sessions got even weirder.

Sunday began normally – at least normally for this quite abnormal 2023 Legislature. Secretary of the Senate Lori Brocker opened the Senate’s final floor session by thanking senators for their work amid the unique challenges this year, including the State Capitol’s “seemingly constant construction that has resulted in this particularly interesting session, where it always smells like where you get your car fixed and sounds like where you get your teeth fixed, but times 10.

“OK, we’ve dealt with all of that together. And then there’s the periodic ebb and flow of a legislative session and some of the challenges and joys that go with that.”

Brocker’s inspiring words earned a standing ovation.

Ah, but soon came the political crankiness. By Sunday afternoon, one senator had walked off in disgust, Gov. Tina Kotek had failed to resuscitate one of her top priorities, and lawmakers simply rejoiced that the topsy-turvy session was over. 

“Colleagues, on the Girod Scale, this is the best bill of the session,” Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, said when the Senate took up Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 to adjourn the 160-day session.

All of Oregon’s 90 legislators voted for the bill – well, except for the six senators and 12 House members who weren’t there.

Even that final vote illustrated the differences in collegiality and collaboration between the House and Senate.

House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, marked the missing representatives as officially “excused.” Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, dunned his six senators as “absent.” They were Democrat Aaron Woods of Wilsonville, Republican Bill Hansell of Athena, who was at his grandson’s wedding in Pennsylvania, and four senators who did not return from the session-stalling walkout – Brian Boquist, I-Dallas; Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek; Dennis Linthicum, R-Beatty; and Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer.

During the last-day drama, three House-passed measures collapsed in the Senate. That is unusual because the majority Democrats set the agenda and line up votes ahead of time. Passage of regular legislation requires 16 affirmative votes in the Senate and 31 in the House.

The most glaring failure was controversial House Bill 3414 allowing cities to expand the land available for housing. Fifteen senators voted “aye,” one short of the required majority. To no avail, Kotek then personally lobbied senators in the Capitol, seeking a 16th vote so the bill could be reconsidered and approved.

Action on that bill was part of the multipoint negotiated agreement ending this year’s record-setting walkout by Republican and Independent senators. Kotek had told me last week that she was contacting legislators to ensure the framework was followed.

On Sunday, however, two Democratic senators apparently reversed course and bailed on HB 3414 

“I thought I had commitments to get the votes we needed,” Democrat Kotek said when I asked her on Wednesday what happened. “Republicans were able to muster eight votes. I thought we could get eight votes from the Senate Democratic Caucus to pass the bill.

“And my job was to see if there was an opportunity for reconsideration.

“If you have any other questions about that, you probably should bring them up with leadership,” she said, referring to Senate Democratic leaders. “All I know is we don’t have the bill.”

I had asked the Senate leadership. Wagner told me he didn’t know the details of Kotek’s intervention.

By the way, Kotek also blamed absent Senate Republicans whose presence might have ensured passage.

Here’s a bit of the nitty-gritty:

Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, carried HB 3414 on the Senate floor on Sunday.

More than two hours earlier, a bill about drug prescriptions and pharmacy managers (HB 3013) had failed by two votes after having passed the House 11 days earlier on a 53-4 vote. Meek voted for that bill.

Meek also changed his vote to “aye” on HB 2128, thereby providing the 16th vote for passage. Another controversial measure, the bill related to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. A 17thvote emerged later when Woods, who was gone during the initial tally, returned and asked to be recorded as voting “aye.” That bill then squeaked through the House by one vote, 31-20.

But once HB 3414 failed despite Meek’s pleas, he stalked out of the chamber. In his absence, the Senate subsequently fell one vote shy of supporting HB 3242 dealing with medical malpractice.

If the above sequence sounds confusing, it was. Lawmakers and onlookers were scratching their heads.

And as of 4:26 p.m. Sunday, the 2023 session was history.

The majority Democratic legislative leaders held press conferences touting a successful 2023 session. Kotek simply provided a lengthy press release doing the same but noting, “the legislature missed a critical opportunity to address housing production by failing to pass House Bill 3414.” The minority Republican legislative leaders, Sen. Tim Knopp of Bend and Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson of Prineville, issued shorter press releases highlighting victories in passing some bills and holding Democrats accountable.

However, in remembering the 2023 Legislature, let us return to the words that nonpartisan Secretary Brocker spoke to the senators on Sunday 

“I’ve heard folks say that it takes a bit of hubris to run for office because it’s kind of risky. I don’t know about that. But I do know that it takes tons of humility to serve.

“All of you come here to work for the people of Oregon. Different districts filled with people who may lean one way or the other or a mix. I guarantee in each of those districts you have folks with views and ideas that are diametrically opposed. You listen to them all.

“You bring together people within the district, and then you listen in this building to lobbyists and agency folk. You listen to your colleagues, some of whom you agree with, some of whom you don’t agree with – some who you like, and maybe even some of them not so much all the time.

“But you come together to do it, for the people of Oregon. As an Oregonian, I am deeply grateful for what you do.”