74th Oregon Legislative Assembly

74th Oregon Legislative Assembly

The Seventy-fourth Oregon Legislative Assembly was the Oregon Legislative Assembly (OLA)'s period from 2007 to 2008. (The Legislative Assembly is the legislative body of the U.S. state of Oregon, composed of the Oregon State Senate and the Oregon House of Representatives.) There was a regular session in 2007, and a shorter special session in 2008.

The 74th was the first Oregon legislature since 1989 in which both its houses were controlled by the Democratic Party of Oregon, which won a one seat majority in the House in the 2006 elections. (Democrats had previously taken control of the Senate in 2004, and retained it in the 2006 elections.) Democrats took credit for addressing a number of issues, and for adjourning a day before a self-imposed deadline (and before Independence Day, for the first time since 1995). Republican legislators, however, noted that there were no tax reforms to accompany the $15.1 billion (21%) increases in spending over the prior two-year budget. Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski did not veto any bills during the session, and expressed general approval of the session. In August, after the session's conclusion, he did veto one bill which would have allocated $4.6 million in Portland General Electric ratepayers' fees to pay off a loan on behalf of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

The Statesman Journal praised Kulongoski for being more engaged with the legislative process than he had been in the past. The paper also criticized the legislature for failing to take action on two critical issues, instead referring them to popular vote.