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Oregon Lawmakers Discover Reading Aloud Takes Time

Joe Wolf
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Flickr - http://tinyurl.com/z8o86qr

Republicans in the Oregon legislature are taking advantage of a little-used procedural move to force bills to be read out loud in their entirety. It's adding up to some lengthy floor sessions.

The Oregon Constitution requires bills to be read out loud before final passage. Usually lawmakers agree to waive that rule in the interest of time. Not this month. One bill took just over an hour to read.

Republicans are using the stall tactic because they say majority Democrats are pushing through too many high profile bills during this five-week session.

House Speaker Tina Kotek has countered by making lawmakers themselves join the read-aloud sessions -- some with more success than others. One lawmaker even turned legislation into a song:

So far, Democrats haven't scrapped any of their bills for the sake of the clock.

The 2016 session of the Oregon legislature began February 1 and is slated to wrap up by March 6.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.