State of Oregon Constitution
Draft #12 July 15, 2024

Section 1: The legislative power of the State shall be vested in a Legislative Assembly consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except for the Referendum, Initiative, and County Commissioner powers as defined in Article 4.

Section 2-a: The Senate shall consist of one Senator representing two counties sharing a common border. A term shall be six years and may not exceed a maximum of sixteen (16) years of lifetime service. The Senate shall be divided into three groups according to time in office. The most senior one-third shall have their office for two years until the next biennial election. The mid senior one-third shall have their office for four years until the biennial election. The least senior one-third shall hold office for a six year term. The Senators shall continue to be divided into three classes, in accordance with the division seniority under the former provisions of this Constitution, so that one-third, as nearly as possible, of the number of Senators shall be elected biennially. The term of office shall begin the second Monday of January after the general election.

Section 2-b: No person except a citizen of the United States of America shall be eligible for the Office of the Senator. A person shall be a minimum of twenty-one years of age and a resident of Oregon for a minimum of three years and a resident of one of the counties they will be representing a minimum of one-half year at the time of swearing into office.

Section 3. No member of Congress, federally appointed official, or federally employed person shall be eligible to be Senator for one year after their discharge or resignation from office or employment.

Section 4. Vacancy in Office of the Senator. In the case of removal from office, death, resignation, or disability as prescribed by law, the Governor shall appoint a replacement until the next biennial election to replace or complete the full term of office. The appointee shall also meet the requirements of Section 2-b.

Section 5-a: The House of Representatives shall consist of 61 elected positions representing an equal number of The People consisting of 1/61 of the population of the State as counted by the National Census. A person shall be a minimum of fifteen years of age and a resident of Oregon for a minimum of three years and a resident of the district they will be representing a minimum of one-half year at the time of swearing into office.

Section 5-b: The Governor shall be responsible for defining the boundaries for the 61 House Districts. No district shall be allowed to be larger than four percent of the total land mass of the State. All districts shall have a maximum of eight corners in their layout with natural boundaries such as rivers or major roads considered as one edge. County borders are not to be considered for boundaries. The Governor and Senate shall have some discretion of no more than ten percent.

Section 5-c: The Senate shall approve of the boundaries by a simple majority. The Governor and the Senate are required to complete the boundary definition by the end of all years ending in 2. The new boundaries shall be supplied to the Secretary of State for immediate publishing and shall be used for biennial elections ending with 4.

Section 5-d: Vacancy in Office of the House of Representatives. In the case of removal from office, death, resignation, or disability as prescribed by law, the Governor shall appoint a temporary replacement until the next biennial election. The appointee shall also meet the requirements of Section 5-a. A replacement appointment shall not be made if less than 60 day before the general election.

Section 6: The Legislative Assembly shall meet and be in session starting February 1st of each year. The session of each odd numbered year shall be the working session. The session of each even numbered year shall be the make-up session.

Section 7: The Senate shall additionally be in session starting June 1st and October 1st of each year for approval of appointees or other Senate duties not requiring a Legislative Assembly. The President of the Senate and Governor shall have the authority to wave a session should matters of State be few in number or not of a pressing nature.

Section 8: Compensation. No Bill of any kind shall be released for the signature of the governor without two Sponsors from the Senate and four sponsors from the Representatives. Failure to have all of the necessary Sponsors will render the Bill null and void. Sponsorship may be removed by any Sponsor up to when the Governor signs the Bill into Law and may not be withdrawn after the Bill becomes Law.