Top Democrats are backing a proposal to stem the growing tide of bills flooding the Oregon Legislature.
Legislators attend the opening session at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Ore. on Monday, Feb 2, 2026.
Saskia Hatvany / OPB
Proponents say the bill would make the legislative process more efficient and transparent, while critics fear it could stifle debate and rock the balance of political power in Oregon.
House Bill 4002, which saw its first public hearing Thursday, would limit Oregon’s 90 lawmakers to 30 bills each during a long legislative session. It would also limit Gov. Tina Kotek and state agencies to 100 bills combined.
Statewide elected officials — such as the secretary of state or treasurer — and members of the judicial branch would be limited to 10 bills. Legislative committees could propose up to 10 bills and five more at the request of the committee chair or member of the minority party.
The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means, which crafts the state’s budget, would be excluded from that limit.
“The sheer number of bills makes it harder for the public to follow what’s happening, harder for reporters to separate serious proposals from symbolic ones, harder for legislators in both the majority and the minority to get a hearing on their bills,” said House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Lane County, who is sponsoring the bill and spoke at Thursday’s public hearing.
More than 3,400 bills were introduced during last year’s legislative session, the highest total in at least 15 years. Most of those bills died, Fahey noted, and it takes time for staff to review them all.
“With only five months to consider 3,400 measures, it is nearly impossible to give each one the scrutiny and public input it deserves,” said Fahey, who noted that vast sums of taxpayer money are used on bills that don’t progress in the capitol.
The bill would not apply to short sessions, which are 35 days and convene in even-numbered years. Other states have similar rules, Fahey said. Leading Democrats like Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, are also supporting the bill, along with at least two Republican lawmakers.
“We as legislators still don’t have time to read every bill that goes across the floor,” said Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane. “Are we serving our public correctly when we’re here full time with full-time staff and we can’t track? I would say no.”
But a bipartisan panel of legislators pushed back on the proposal Thursday, arguing that it could hinder the lawmaking process and suppress the voices of their constituents.
“My job today is to try and throw myself in front of the tank and say that efficiency, however you want to couch it, is not equal to liberty,” said Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth.
In public testimony, Evans voiced concern about the governor being allowed to propose more bills than lawmakers themselves.
“This is not about efficiency. This is about control.” If the bill passes, he said, “What you’re going to end up with is the folks who have power, having more.”
Two Republicans spoke in opposition. Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, is widely known as one of the most prolific bill drafters in the Oregon Legislature.
“I represent roughly 160,000 constituents, and every single one of them deserve their voice to be heard,” he said. “If I want to draft 160,000 bills, I should be able to do it.”
He called the bill “a direct assault on the minority party in this state” because it would give far more bills to Democrats who already hold supermajority power.
“Passing this legislation only limits the minority’s voice,” said Brock Smith. He added, “It is absolutely ludicrous that we are contemplating taking away not just the voice of the minority, but the voice of the people in this state with this piece of legislation.”
Fahey proposed a similar bill last year, which did not pass.
The bill has a work session scheduled for Feb. 17.
