Table of Contents
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- Legislative Concepts Shared with Interim Committees During January Legislative Days
- Senate and House Judiciary Committee Members Announced for 2024 Legislative Session
- Interim Senate and House Judiciary Meet Jointly During January Legislative Days
- Public Defense Services Commission is now Oregon Public Defense Commission
- Memorial for Edwin Peterson, retired Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, on February 5, 2024
- Update on File and Serve Electronic Service
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Legislative Concepts Shared with Interim Committees During January Legislative Days
Last week the Legislature met over three days to discuss the upcoming legislative session. Meetings were held on January 10th, January 11th, and January 12th. Topics of discussion touched on a number of policy issues, from proposals to fund wildfire protection to discussion regarding Ballot Measure 110. While the Senate did not hold a floor session, legislators were busy with full days of committee meetings and a deadline to submit proposed legislation for the 2024 Legislative Session by Friday, January 12 at 5:00 p.m. Because of the threat of inclement weather, the third day of the January Legislative Days was held, in part, remotely to allow legislators, staff, and members of the public to avoid potentially dangerous travel conditions.
During Legislative Days, there were a number of opportunities for legislators to share their proposed legislative concepts. Similar to previous short sessions, legislators are limited, for the most part, to introducing two bills, and committees are limited to introducing three bills. While many concepts were shared during the hearings, not all proposals were discussed during Legislative Days and additional concepts may be introduced in the coming weeks. The Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) is expected to be updated with the concepts, organized by bill number, before the first day of the session on February 5, 2024.
For those interested in reviewing the legislative concepts prior to the legislative session, many of the concepts from both committees and legislators have been shared as part of the committee materials for a hearing held on a specific date. Until OLIS is updated, these concepts can be found posted under the “Meeting Materials” tab under each committee’s meeting date. For example, to find proposed concepts under the House Judiciary Committee, visit the Interim House Judiciary Committee meeting page on January 12, 2024, which can be found here. Legislative Concepts are labeled “LC.”
Senate and House Judiciary Committee Members Announced for 2024 Legislative Session
The membership of the 2024 House and Senate Judiciary Committees was announced in the new year. With the exception of former Representative Lily Morgan, who has stepped down from the legislature, and Representative Dwayne Yunker, who was appointed to complete her term, the membership on the committees remains the same.
Senate Judiciary Committee
Vice-Chair Senator Kim Thatcher
House Judiciary Committee
Chair Representative Jason Kropf
Vice-Chair Representative Tom Andersen
Vice-Chair Representative Kim Wallan
Interim Senate and House Judiciary Meet Jointly During January Legislative Days
During the January Legislative Days, the Interim House and Senate Judiciary Committees met jointly on Friday afternoon. Because of the weather, the committees met remotely. During the hearing, each committee voted to introduce their committee bills. In addition, the committees held a number of informational hearings on issues of interest.
The Interim Senate Judiciary Committee voted to introduce three bills. The legislative concepts include:
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- LC 218 – Relating to construction agreements
- LC 228 – Relating to civil matters (see “Summary of Committee Legislative Concepts for 2024” in Meeting Materials for more information)
- Consumer Data Privacy
- Privacy protections for minors’ personal injury settlements
- Temporary adjustments to the recreational immunity statutes
- LC 202 – Relating to public safety
- Designates abuse of a corpse that involves sexual activity as a sex crime
- Clarifies that humane special agents are considered law enforcement officials for driver licenses and identification cards.
The Interim House Judiciary Committee voted to introduce three bills as well. The legislative concepts include:
During the hearing there were a number of informational hearings as well. Topics included:
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- Property tax foreclosure in light of the Tyler v. Hennepin County decision
- A report from the Commission on Statewide Law Enforcement Standards of Conduct and Discipline
- Parole reform
- Senate Bill 337 – update on the Public Defense Crisis Plan
To review the materials, go to either the Interim House or Senate Judiciary Committee meeting held on January 12, 2024. To watch the hearing, click on the blue triangle surrounded by a circle in the upper left-hand side of the screen.
Public Defense Services Commission is now Oregon Public Defense Commission
As of January 1, 2024, the Public Defense Services Commission has become the Oregon Public Defense Commission. Under Senate Bill 337, the Commission, made up of recommendations from the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, the Governor, and the Chief Justice, and appointed by the Chief Justice, will provide oversight of Oregon’s public defense system as it moves to its new structure. The Commission membership includes:
Oregon Judicial Department appointees:
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- Rob Harris
- Susan Mandiberg
- Judge Robert Selander (Retired)
Governor appointees:
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- Alton Harvey
- Adrian “Addie” Smith
- Jennifer Parrish Taylor
Senate President appointee:
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- Tom Lininger
House Speaker appointee:
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- Jennifer Nash
Joint House and Senate appointees:
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- Peter Buckley
Nonvoting members:
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- Representative Paul Evans
- Senator Floyd Prozanski
- Brook Reinhard
- Jasmine Wright
The Commission’s first meeting was held on January 5, 2024.
During Legislative Days, the Commission presented information to a number of committees on the transfer of responsibilities to the new structure, an update on the unrepresented persons crisis, administrative and operational projects including a case and financial management system, and a budget rebalance for the 2023–2025 biennial budget.
Memorial for Edwin Peterson, retired Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, on February 5, 2024
Edwin Peterson, former Chief Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court, passed away on December 2. Justice Peterson served on the court from 1979 to 1993 and was the chief justice from 1983 to 1991. During his time on the court, Justice Peterson led the court’s efforts to organize the state court system under a statewide administrative structure, including development of uniform, statewide trial court rules to be used in all circuit courts, adoption of an electronic case management system, and statewide time standards.
He received numerous state and national awards for his work on diversity, professionalism, and court administration. Peterson was the first recipient of the Oregon State Bar Edwin J. Peterson Professionalism Award in 2003. In 1998 he was awarded the Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics by the American Inns of Court, which was conferred at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Justice Peterson is survived by his wife, Anna Peterson, and two grown children. A memorial service will be held on February 5, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1444 Liberty Street SE, Salem.
Update on File and Serve Electronic Service
The electronic filing vendor for Oregon’s circuit courts and the Oregon Tax Court, Tyler Technologies, has changed how individuals who are served through File & Serve access documents. Previously, after the court accepted a document, File & Serve would send the individuals served by the filer an email with a direct link to the filed document. Now, after the court accepts a document, File & Serve will send an email that includes a field that requires the individuals served by the filer to enter their email address before they can download the document.
This is a recent change, and we are still gathering more information from our vendor. If you encounter issues, please contact Tyler Technologies’ support team https://odysseyfileandserve.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new. If, after contacting Tyler Technologies’ support team, you still have questions or concerns, please reach out to Sam Dupree at [email protected]; or (971) 283-1133.
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2024 Oregon State Bar Officers and Public Affairs Chair
David Rosen, President, Oregon State Bar
Myah Kehoe, President Elect, Oregon State Bar
Lee Ann Donaldson, Immediate Past President, Oregon State Bar
Curtis Peterson, Chair, Public Affairs Committee, Oregon State Bar Board of Governors
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