SALEM – The Oregon Senate hammered out an accord Tuesday on how Democrats and Republicans should share power in the evenly divided chamber – coalescing behind legislative veteran Sen. Peter Courtney, D-Salem, as the new presiding officer.

The new balance of power will mean some loss in clout for lawmakers from east of the Cascades, all of them Republicans, but they will remain in influential positions when it comes to the budget, land use and business policy.

For a decade, Republican lawmakers had run the show in the state Senate – and kept priorities of conservative-leaning Central and Eastern Oregon percolating.

”We had the ability to block some really ugly stuff,” said Sen. Steve Harper, R-Klamath Falls. ”That’s something we won’t have.”

But Republicans won’t be powerless, either.

The power-sharing deal ensures neither Republicans or Democrats can steamroll the other, Harper said.

Longtime Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland, will serve as the second-in-command, and will have the ability to block decisions by the Senate President. Committee chair seats are split between the parties.

The last time the Senate was split 15-to-15 was in 1957, and it took 251 separate ballots before lawmakers could agree to a president, Courtney said. He hailed Tuesday’s unanimous vote as the first step in a session he said would make history for its spirit of cooperation.

”We are the first wagon on this Oregon trail,” he said.

Committees will have even numbers of Republicans and Democrats, which means only bills with bipartisan support will reach the Senate floor for votes.

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Courtney served seven House terms before joining Senate

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Still, committee chairmen and chairwomen will be able to massage legislation.

Sen. David Nelson, R-Pendleton, who will be the chairman of the Senate Business and Labor Committee, said his colleagues understand the rules have changed.

”It means we are going to have to work cooperatively to get stuff through,” he said.

Sen. Bev Clarno, R-Redmond, who was named the Senate Republican Leader in December, said she was pleased a deal came together in the second day.

Harper said he knew lawmakers would feel a sense of urgency once the session began and find a resolution.

”There is a certain wisdom to getting 30 people in a room staring at one another,” he said. ”It’s called synergy.”

Courtney, 59, who was in the hospital in November with a ruptured appendix, thanked his wife and three sons for their support and singled out fellow lawmakers for praise, including Clarno.

Courtney, who is known for his colorful floor speeches and ability to find compromises, was the House Minority Leader in 1995 and nominated Clarno for House Speaker.

He served seven House terms before being elected to the Senate in 1998 and again in November.

The impasse in the Senate had threatened to stall business because committees had not been formed and bills couldn’t be heard.

The House – where Republicans hold 35 of the 60 seats – decided two months ago that Rep. Karen Minnis, R-Wood Village, would be the new House Speaker. The House quickly organized Monday and committees started meeting Tuesday.

James Sinks can be

reached at 503-566-2839

or at jamess@cyberis.net.