Oregon House suspends notice rule and adjourns after members leave, blocking scheduled votes

Salem, Ore. — On Feb. 23 the Speaker of the Oregon House announced an immediate suspension of House Rule 8.15 notice requirements to accelerate session business, and later the chamber recessed for committee meetings. After reconvening the House lacked a quorum because several Republican members had left the chamber, and leadership adjourned without taking votes on several bills scheduled for final passage that day.

The Speaker invoked House Rule 8.15 subsection 6 to suspend the 48-hour and 24-hour notice requirements ordinarily required for initial public hearings and other meetings, saying the move was intended "to complete the work of the 2026 legislative session and provide for an orderly move towards Sine Die Adjournment" (announcement recorded on the floor).

Earlier in the morning, the House approved a motion to accept Representative Jason Krupp's resignation from the House Committee on Conduct and appointed Representative Tana Sanchez as co-chair and Representative John Lively as alternate; the nominations were adopted en bloc after recorded votes on the floor.

After the afternoon recess the Speaker criticized members who left the chamber, saying their absence prevented action on bills that had been scheduled for votes. "I'm disappointed that our Republican colleagues decided to leave this building instead. Because of that, we didn't vote on a single bill," the Speaker said on the floor.

With no quorum present, Representative Nathanson moved to adjourn until 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2026; the motion was adopted without objection and the House adjourned.

What's next: Leadership may reschedule votes once a quorum is present. The rule suspension and the absence of a final vote on several measures create immediate procedural consequences for the remainder of the session.