SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republicans in the Oregon Senate say they’ll end a more than weeklong walkout over climate legislation that ground the Legislature to a halt.
Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger said Friday that Republicans will return Saturday to vote on budget bills and other priorities for conservatives.
He says he’s confident the Senate can work through the dozens of measures before the legislative session ends at midnight Sunday.
Republicans fled the state to deny supermajority Democrats the numbers to vote on a proposed cap on carbon.
As the political crisis dragged on, Democrats said they didn’t have enough votes to pass the proposal targeting climate-changing emissions and implored Republicans to return to vote on other critical bills.
Baertschiger says the mission was to kill the climate proposal and “that’s what we did.”
