Call it a special, supplemental, emergency or February session. Rep. Sara Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat and Sen. Frank Morse, a North Albany Republican, agree: The first attempt at yearly legislative sessions was just too short.

An almost obsession on meeting for the minimum time possible might have made any real work more difficult to do, Gelser said.

“A complete focus on getting out on time shifted to ‘We’ve got to get out of here as quickly as possible,’” she said. “I don’t think Oregonians are served by bringing everyone together and to leave a week early just so we can leave a week early.”

The special session was scheduled to conclude last week, but instead wrapped up Feb. 22. Oregon is one of six states where the Legislature doesn’t regularly meet every year. Lawmakers used this session to see if there was a need to meet annually.

Perhaps the most publicized decision of the curtailed session was the approval of $200 million in bonds for a new basketball arena at the University of Oregon.

“There are few bills that I wanted to vote against more,” Gelser said. “I don’t believe basketball should have been the focus of the special session.”

Despite that, both voted to pass the bill, but for different reasons.

Gelser said she was unable to vote against support for public safety programs and funding for Clatsop County Community College that were wrapped up in the UO arena bill.

Morse, on the other hand, saw the Legislature squeezed in part because a $100 million gift from Nike founder Phil Knight was tied to their support of the arena.

“Sadly, the University of Oregon basketball stadium is a situation of misplaced priorities,” he said. “But I put it in the context of a business decision.”

Both legislators teamed up against Initiative Petition 40, being circulated by former legislator and former Republican Party chairman Kevin Mannix.

Initiative 40 would require mandatory sentences for property crimes and, as estimated, would cost the state cost hundreds of millions of dollars. A partner petition, Initiative 41, would earmark 15 percent of lottery proceeds — about $100 million — to fund public safety programs.

While the Legislature this session approved a competing measure for the November ballot at a significantly reduced cost, Morse said he expects to take up amendments to the initiative process in 2009 that require petitioners to calculate and publicize an initiative’s costs.

“If people are being asked to vote on a policy issue, there should be a trailing part that explains the cost,” he said. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say we want to do this and not pay for it.”

Matt Neznanski can be reached at 758-9518 or matt.neznanski@lee.net