April 18, 2023

First Legislative Deadline Passes

On April 4, and with a few exceptions, the legislature completed its review of proposed legislation in each bill’s chamber of origin. Those bills that were not voted out of committee by the end of the day on the 4th died and will no longer be considered this legislative session.

If you are interested in a particular bill, go to the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) (https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1#), click on “Bills” on the right-hand side, and enter the bill number. Those bills that did not receive a work session where the bill was voted out of committee by April 4, 2023, will not be moving forward this session. There are exceptions to this rule. For example, if a bill is currently in the Rules Committee, the Ways and Means Committee, or one of the Revenue Committees, the April 4 deadline does not apply.

Please find below a partial list of some of the bills that did not move forward this session. These concepts may be revived in an amendment later this session, or they may be reintroduced in the 2024 or 2025 legislative sessions.

Senate Bill 909– Updates and modernizes laws that govern formation, governance, operations and conversion of limited liability companies in this state and relations among members, managers and third parties with respect to limited liability companies in this state.

House Bill 2672– Establishes Public Law School Tuition Forgiveness program.

House Bill 2950– Bars creditors’ claims against decedents’ estates if no petition for appointment of personal representative or small estate affidavit is filed within 18 months following decedent’s date of death.

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Restructure of Oregon Public Defense System Moves to Ways and Means 

This session, the Oregon Legislature has continued its work to update and restructure the public defense system in Oregon. Since last May, the Three Branch Workgroup has met during the interim and during the legislative session to review the report and recommendations from the 6^th Amendment Center and to consider Oregon’s unique needs.

On March 30th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 337 A. The bill, originally introduced as a placeholder, was amended with the -1 amendment, which included a number of changes to the existing system. The bill, as amended, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and was forwarded to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for additional review. Some of the proposed changes include

• • changing the name of the Public Defense Services Commission to the Oregon Public Defense Commission;
  • modifying the makeup of the commission, changing the appointment process, and specifying the qualifications of commission members;
  • identifying the duties of the commission;
  • transferring the commission from the Judicial to the Executive Branch; and
  • modifying the delivery model.

In addition to SB 337, the House Judiciary Committee forwarded House Bill 2467, which would provide additional services to public defense providers. Examples include legislative direction to increase wages for public defenders so they are commensurate with other state employees with similar responsibilities, as well as training and recruitment, a state-funded loan repayment and forgiveness program, grants to Oregon law schools to support recruitment efforts, and increased reporting requirements. HB 2467 moved out of the House Judiciary Committee on April 3rd and moved down to the Joint Ways and Means Committee for additional consideration.

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Bills of Interest 

House Bill 337 A – Directs Public Defense Services Commission to study ways to improve provision of public defense services within this state, and to provide results of study to interim committees of Legislative Assembly no later than December 31, 2024.

House Bill 3294 A – Requires county clerk to replace recorded instrument with court-ordered version that redacts discriminatory language.

House Bill 5532 – Appropriates moneys from General Fund to Public Defense Services Commission for certain biennial expenses

Senate Bill 233 – Increases salaries of state court judges.

Senate Bill 619 A – Permits consumers to obtain from a controller that processes consumer personal data confirmation as to whether controller is processing consumer’s personal data and categories of personal data controller is processing, list of specific third parties to which controller has disclosed consumer’s personal data and copy of all of consumer’s personal data that controller has processed or is processing.

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Ways and Means Co-Chairs Release Proposed Budget Framework

Under Oregon’s constitution, the legislature must pass a balanced budget every two years. On March 23, the co-chairs of the Joint Ways and Means Committee released their 2023–2025 proposed budget framework. This proposed framework takes into account the current services provided by the state, the current economic and revenue forecasts, and unique needs in certain policy areas. This budget also takes into consideration the Governor’s proposed budget, which was released in early February.

This biennium, the co-chairs, Senator Elizabeth Steiner and Representative Tawna Sanchez, have released a budget that accounts for actions already taken by the current legislature. For example, the legislature already passed HB 2001, which provides significant funding for housing and homelessness throughout the state.

In addition, the co-chairs’ proposed budget incorporates cuts in the 2023–2025 budget that will result in partial funding for all three branches of government. The proposed Oregon Judicial Department’s budget is a 2.5% decrease in funding of the expected 2023–2025 current service level. While this is an increase in state funding over the current biennium, it will not fully fund the expected costs for the next biennium.

The co-chairs’ proposed framework recognizes that additional funding may be necessary for the Public Defense Services Commission. The Ways and Means Public Safety Committee will hold its first informational and public hearings on the Public Defense Services Commission 2023–2025 budget beginning on April 17, 2023. Hearings on HB 5532 will last until April 20.

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