The Oregon Legislature’s Democratic majority clearly likes to think of itself as a smart bunch of cookies. Either that, or it thinks the state’s citizen voters are a bunch of dumb ones. How else to explain the Legislature’s willingness in the last few years to ignore the requirements contained in ballot measures that have been approved by voters?

That’s what they did in 2017, when they argued that raising a tax or applying it to more people really isn’t raising revenues. Because it isn’t, the tax-raising lawmakers concluded they did not have to have the three-fifths majority vote in both houses of the Legislature required by 1996’s voter-approved Ballot Measure 25, a constitutional amendment.

They attempted an even more interesting way of skirting the amendment this year. They wrote into carbon-tax legislation that the measure wasn’t in fact, a revenue raising bill, though it would raise revenue. Perhaps Congress should use the same trick to declare deficit spending is not deficit spending.

Oregon lawmakers have not stopped with tax measures.

Way back in 1994 voters approved Ballot Measure 10, which said lawmakers could not reduce voter-approved criminal sentences without a two-thirds majority in each legislative house. Then, in 2008, voters approved a string of stiff sentences for a variety of property crimes. Lawmakers delayed implementation of Measure 57 by two years — perhaps for good reason — and they said the state could not afford the extra prison expenses that came with it.

But last year, lawmakers ignored both measures 57 and 10 and passed legislation that reduces sentences on some property crimes. Not surprisingly, they were sued, and a Clackamas County Circuit Court panel recently found the legislation to be unconstitutional.

Now the case is headed to the state Supreme Court. Whatever the court may rule, any party that votes to play fast and loose with voter intent is giving voters good reason to vote them out of office.

Editor’s note: This editorial has been corrected because a measure number was incorrect, as was the year in which voters approved it.