Bid to have House vote on governor’s emergency powers fails

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Members of the Oregon House narrowly have defeated a move to consider a bill that would give the Legislature oversight of the governor’s emergency powers, enacted most recently to address the coronavirus pandemic. The motion to pull the bill from the rules committee was defeated with 28 votes against doing so and 27 in favor, including several Democrats. One republican and one Democrat are the chief co-sponsors of the bill. The House Republican caucus noted in a statement after the vote that all Republican House members want to make the governor accountable to the Legislature.