MEDFORD, Ore. – Oregon’s newest legislators were sworn-in Monday morning. The legislature is preparing for a unique session beginning next week. It’ll feature a mixture of in-person and virtual meetings.
The Oregon capitol welcoming in a new batch of freshmen legislators Monday, including Republican State Rep. Lily Morgan.
“We’re gonna be beating the drum for Southern Oregon and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,” said State Rep. Morgan.
The former Josephine Co. Commissioners is the first woman to win her district. She’s also part of the first female-majority legislature Oregon’s ever seen.
“It’s neat to be apart of history, but we’re here to do a job and we want to represent all of Oregon,” said State Rep. Morgan.
The Republican is assigned to 4 committees, including Wildfire Recovery.
“We have some work to do to help restore people who lost their homes, whatever it takes so they can rebuild as quickly as possible,” said State Rep. Morgan.
Ashland State Rep. Pam Marsh is the Vice-Chair of the Wildfire Recovery Committee.
The Democrat said this year’s regular session will be different than years past.
“Most of our committee work actually will be done in our homes. We’ll be in that virtual world,” said State Rep. Marsh.
That means increased accessibility to all Oregonians.
“For residents of Southern Oregon, there’s actually some good news here, which is that the session is going to depend entirely on electronic and telephone input,” said State Rep. Marsh.
Capitol officials said they want to invite public comment, while also protecting people from COVID-19.
Oregon’s regular session starts next Tuesday, January 19. State Rep. Marsh tells NBC5 security has increased tremendously due to recent threats to state capitols in Oregon and beyond.
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