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Marion County Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hart issued a temporary injunction today blocking a December executive order by Gov. Tina Kotek.
The December order decreed that state agencies “shall” enter into project labor agreements with labor unions for most state construction projects.
Earlier this month, the Oregon-Columbia chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and a host of its member firms asked Judge Hart to stay that order, which would have gone into effect March 31. They asked Hart to block the order until the court could decide on the merits of a lawsuit AGC and its allies filed in February, challenging Kotek’s authority to issue the executive order. In short, the contractors argue that only the Legislature may make law in Oregon.
Oregon Department of Justice attorneys representing Kotek told the court in a March 17 motion that Kotek’s order meant no such thing.
“The Court should not read the executive order to be a proclamation of law or an attempt at legislation,” the DOJ attorneys wrote. “Much like when interpreting a statute or rule, the court should assume that the governor intended Executive Order 24-31 to be a constitutional expression of her role as the chief executive and not an attempt to usurp the authority of the legislative branch.”
Hart didn’t buy that argument. AGC executive director Mike Salsgiver applauded his decision.
“The judge’s ruling reinforces what our local contractors have been saying since the order was issued last December,” Salsgiver said. “The governor lacks the authority to unilaterally alter Oregon’s system of competitive bidding and open and fair competition.”
The case now continues, with the March 31 deadline for state agencies to implement the governor’s executive order suspended until Hart rules on the substance of the case.
The Oregon Department of Justice declined to comment.
This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project, a nonprofit newsroom covering rural Oregon.