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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering the state.
Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) exercised the power of his office this afternoon in a fraught moment for the legislative session’s signature policy bill. He booted Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone) off the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment and claimed Meek’s seat for himself.
Wagner did so after Meek expressed opposition to House Bill 2025, the long-awaited, much-maligned effort to shore up the finances of the Oregon Department of Transportation. Oregon Public Broadcasting first reported Meek’s concerns about the bill.
“I am frustrated to the highest level,” Meek said in a June 17 committee hearing. “And you can expect a no vote out of me right now.”
There are 12 members of the joint committee. If Meek were to have voted no, and the five Republican members did so as well, that would have stopped the bill from proceeding to the House floor for a vote. By joining the committee to vote “yes,” Wagner will facilitate that floor vote, although there remain questions about whether there are sufficient yes votes to pass it there.
The bill includes numerous tax increases and new taxes and, according to a Legislative Revenue Office analysis, would eventually raise $1.95 billion a year in new revenue by 2033-2035.
Democrats hold super-majorities in both chambers. They need those numerical advantages in order to meet the threshold for passing new taxes—but even one defection in either chamber would likely sink the bill, as Republicans have expressed unified opposition.
In a brief exchange with the Oregon Journalism Project as the Transportation Committee prepared for a scheduled 2:30 pm meeting today, Meek expressed surprise and disappointment at being removed from the committee. And his reaction to removal makes it even less likely he would support the bill on the Senate floor.
At least initially, Wagner’s move appeared to have backfired.
State Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Gladstone), one of the House Democrats whose votes is crucial to passage of HB 2025, sent out a message on Instagram in response to the official notification of Meek’s removal from the committee.
“This is absolutely ridiculous!!,” Hartman wrote. “I stand with @senatormarkmeek!
“We are here to elevate the voices of our constituents and we are saying NO to insane tax increases!! And this is what happens! Shame.”
When the committee meeting finally began, about 35 minutes late, Meek sat silently at the dais, as did Wagner. Republican members offered various amendments to the bill, which Democrats batted down.
Finally, after a party-line vote to refer HB 2025 to the House floor, Meek broke his silence, saying that he’d only learned just before the meeting was to begin that Wagner was dismissing him.
Meek again voiced his concerns about the substance of the bill, which he called “unaffordable.”
“This package is fundamentally flawed for many reasons,” he said, adding that he believed the committee rushed the bill toward a vote rather than taking the time to get it right. Meek added that he was willing to work to craft a slimmer version of the bill, but that offer fell on deaf ears.
Ultimately, Meek’s removal gets the bill to the House floor, where it will face GOP opposition and some Democratic skeptics, such as Hartman. Should it pass there, Meek left no doubt about his position should it arrive on the Senate floor.
“I will be a no vote,” he told the committee.