SALEM, Ore. — On Thursday, Governor Brown announced that she had authorized Oregon State Police (OSP) to bring back Republican senators to finish the current session following a walkout staged by the lawmakers over a controversial climate change bill.

“After many hours of well-intentioned, respectful negotiations on Wednesday, the Senate has come to an impasse. The Senate Republicans have decided to abandon their duty to serve their constituents and walk out. The Senate Democrats have requested the assistance of the Oregon State Police to bring back their colleagues to finish the work they committed to push forward for Oregonians.

"As the executive of the agency, I am authorizing the State Police to fulfill the Senate Democrats’ request. It is absolutely unacceptable that the Senate Republicans would turn their back on their constituents who they are honor-bound to represent here in this building. They need to return and do the jobs they were elected to do," Governor Brown said.

Republican senators left on Thursday morning to deny Democrats a quorum in the Senate. The move derails a planned vote on House Bill 2020, which would institute a cap-and-trade program aimed at fighting climate change. Republicans have said that the bill would kill jobs and force many companies to leave the state entirely.

In a statement on Thursday, Oregon Senate Republicans said that they wanted the cap-and-trade issue referred to the ballot "so every Oregonian has a voice."

While not precisely common, both the practice of minority lawmakers fleeing a state to deny a quorum — and the response of a Governor sending state police to collect them — are not unprecedented in the United States.

According to a Tweet from Senate Republicans, they are also facing fines for every day beyond Thursday that they keep away from the Capitol.

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CLICK HERE for more context on the bill and Republican opposition that has spiked since it passed the Oregon House.

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On Thursday afternoon, Oregon State Police (OSP) released a statement indicating that they intended to comply with Governor Brown's directive, which they said aligned with the Oregon Constitution.

"Consistent with the provisions in the Oregon Constitution, the Senate President requested the assistance of the Oregon State Police to bring Senators back to the capital to resume the legislative process," the agency said. "Consistent with her authority under Oregon law (ORS 181.050), the Governor has directed OSP to provide that assistance."

"OSP has assisted in resolving a similar situation in the past, and, with the help of diplomats from both sides of the aisle, the Department has done so in a peaceful, gentle, and process-supporting way which allowed members of our Legislature to return to work without forfeiting the good relationships essential to moving forward collaboratively and productively," OSP continued.

The agency said that it would use established relationships with the senators and staff to keep communication polite.

"While we obviously have many tools at our disposal, patience and communication is and always will be our first, and preferred, option," OSP said.

As the elected leader of Oregon's executive branch, state police are obliged to serve the Governor, OSP stressed. Given a lawful order, state troopers were "fully committed" to following through.