HJR 9 is a proposal that would change Oregon's Constitution and therefore needs to be sent to a vote of the people. It is proposing that the number of Senators be increased to 36 and that each county would be considered a Senate District. The bill is the work of State Representatives Mark Owens (R-Crane) and David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford).

The bill has been assigned to the House Committee on Rules. It has not been scheduled for a hearing at this time.

“I recognize the changes proposed are complicated, but the principle behind this bill is what matters,” said Rep. Owens. “Our vast rural communities are not one-in-the-same and our counties have varied interests that deserve more representation in the Capitol. Right now, the system is outdated and takes for granted the diversity of our region. My hope is this legislation starts an important conversation about ensuring all Oregonians have a voice in their Capitol.”

This bill would certainly tip the balance of power toward rural Oregon. Currently, large metropolitan counties send several Senators to Salem and many rural counties are gathered together to make up one Senate District. Were the bill to pass and be approved by the people, large, urban counties would get one Senator, as would all the rural counties.

The Oregon Senate has an interesting history. The Original Oregon Constitution had the counties as Senate districts, though the layout of counties in Oregon was a bit different than we know it today. Additionally, Oregon did not redistrict between 1907 and 1960. In 1954 through a ballot initiative, Oregon changed to a "one person, one vote" system in which each Senate District completely contains two House districts, giving us the district configuration we have today. Though the actual districts change every ten years as they are redistricted, there are always 60 House districts and 30 Senate districts.

In 1964, the US Supreme Court decided in Reynolds v. Sims that legislative districts need to all have roughly the same amount of residents in them. In 2016, Evenwel v. Abbott the High Court backed off that decision. Neither case dealt with Oregon Directly.

If you know a House District, you can always calculate the Senate district. If it's even just divide by two. If it's odd, add one and divide by two. So House District 14 (even, so divide by two) is in Senate District 7 and House District 45 (odd, so add one and divide by two) is Senate District 23.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-01-27 07:43:37

Last Update: 2021-01-27 14:07:31