Oregonians will be able to enter the Capitol during regular business hours and may watch legislative proceedings from the galleries of either chamber located on the third floor. “We are committed to ensuring the legislative process is accessible and safe during the upcoming session,” the statement said. “The recent wave of cases and hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant is concerning. After speaking directly with OHSU infectious disease doctors and public health officials, we decided to move our committees to a virtual format.”
The Oregon Capitol will remain open to the public when lawmakers convene Feb. 1 for a monthlong session. Senate President Peter Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek announced that while all legislative committee meetings during the upcoming 2022 session will take place virtually, the public will be allowed in the building.
Capitol visitors will be required to comply with public health and safety guidance which includes wearing masks inside to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Capitol employees who can work remotely have been asked to do so during the session to help curb the spread of the virus which continues with the new omicron variant. Upgrades in the House and Senate wings have been completed, officials said, and these areas will be open to the public during the February session.
The presiding officers closed the Capitol building in March 2020 as the initial wave of COVID-19 cases hit Oregon. The building was kept closed to the public for the three special sessions in 2020 and the duration of the 2021 legislative session, much to the displeasure of Republicans. The Capitol being closed to the public was the professed reason former Republican Rep. Mike Nearman allowed dozens of rioters — some armed and wearing body armor — to gain access to the building during the December 2020 special session.
Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, who is also chair of the Oregon GOP, voted “no” on nearly every bill during the 2021 session in protest of the building being closed.
