Oregon senators face $500 fines for fleeing, threaten to sue

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republican state senators in Oregon continued to engage in a high-stakes game of brinksmanship Friday with Democratic lawmakers, saying they are prepared to sue if the Senate president goes through with a threat to impose a $500 fine for each day they delay a vote on a landmark climate plan.

"We will file legal action," said Sen. Tim Knopp, a Republican from Bend who has said he has been in three states in the past three days. "If they were trying to bring us back, threatening to arrest us and impose fines isn't going to work."

Senate Majority Leader Ginny Burdick pushed back, saying Republicans have no legal course as the fine is explicitly written in statute.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown deployed the state police Thursday to try to round up 11 Republican senators who fled the Legislature — and in some cases, the state — to thwart the passage of a cap-and-trade proposal that would dramatically lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The minority GOP caucus wants the plan to be sent to voters instead of being instituted by lawmakers — but negotiations with Democrats collapsed, leading to the headline-grabbing walkout.

But none of the GOP senators appeared Friday. A GoFundMe to cover the rogue lawmakers' expenses and fines raised over $4,000 in less than a day.

State Police can force any senators they track down in Oregon into a patrol car to return them to the Capitol, although the agency said in a statement that it would use "polite communication" and patience to bring the rogue lawmakers back. Knopp confirmed that he was contacted by the state police, but he said he declined the superintendent's request to return back to the statehouse.

The GOP senators will be fined $500 a day per person if enough of them remain absent to prevent a vote. Democrats have an 18 to 12 majority in the chamber,...