Scott Swanson
The year 2020 produced some unusual laws, as Oregon grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, which materialized shortly after legislators convened in February for their biannual short session.
Legislators’ attention rapidly focused on the new threat, and the result was a slate of laws focusing on some of the fallout of the coronavirus and the unrest that arose following the death of George Floyd.
Some of those laws kicked in for real on Jan. 1, though one, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act approved by voters in the November election, will go into effect next month.
Pandemic Response
House Bill 4212: This law, which was effective immediately upon passage last June, was a response to the COVID pandemic that created a relaxation of normal open meeting rules and established rules for meetings held under pandemic conditions, and makes accommodations for budgetary issues as a result of the pandemic.
Specifically, it authorizes governing bodies of public bodies – cities, school districts and other service districts, etc., other than the State of Oregon, to conduct all public meetings using telephone or video conferencing technology or through other electronic or virtual means.
It requires that if a governing body elects to conduct a virtual public meeting, it must supply means by which public can listen to or observe the meeting, with some exceptions, and requires that recordings of meetings be made available to the public, if technology allows. It also clarifies meeting notice requirements.
It also modifies quorum requirements to exclude members of local governing bodies who are unable to attend because of illness due to COVID-19. It specifies that meetings held in person must maintain social distancing.
House Bill 4401: This law, signed by Gov. Brown Dec. 23 after the legislature approved it earlier that day in a special session, extends the rental moratorium that followed the state of emergency declaration by the governor on March 8, 2020.
First, a review of where we’ve been: Executive Order 20-11 prohibited law enforcement from delivering notices of eviction, and on April 1, Executive Order 20-13 placed a temporary moratorium on residential and non-residential evictions for non-payment, both on March 22.
During its first Joint Special Session in June, the Legislure passed House Bill 4213, which established an eviction moratorium for residential and non-residential tenants through September 30, 2020 and allowed a six-month grace period for tenants to repay outstanding rent by March 31, 2021.
The grace period established in HB 4213 applied to rent accrued between April 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020.
On Sept. 28, Brown issued Executive Order 20-56, extending the temporary moratorium on residential eviction for nonpayment to Dec. 31, 2020. This second executive order did not apply the tenant grace period for repayment to rent accrued between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020, which meant that landlords could lawfully terminate a tenancy beginning in January 2021 for nonpayment of rent between October 2020 and January 2021.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey from Oct. 28 to Nov 23, 2020, 12% of Oregon renters are behind on rent payments.
Data provided by the National Council of State Housing Agencies estimates that between 27,700 and 56,100 Oregon households may have been at risk of eviction on Jan. 1, 2021. Statewide, the total estimated revenue shortfall from unpaid rent will range between $155 to $274 million.
Rental nonpayment has led to financial hardship for some Oregon landlords, especially small landlords who rely on rental income to cover personal expenses as well as property maintenance, utilities and taxes, according to an analysis provided legislators as they considered HB 4401.
House Bill 4401 extends the moratorium on eviction without cause through June 30, 2021. The measure also extends the moratorium on eviction for nonpayment through June 30, 2021, for tenants who declare a hardship.
It establishes a landlord compensation fund to cover rental assistance and authorizes Oregon Housing and Community Services to distribute rent assistance to recipients of CARES Act Emergency Solutions Grants, which includes community action agencies and culturally specific providers, who will make payments directly to landlords upon tenants’ applications.
New State Restrictions on Law Enforcement
The death of George Floyd and other African-Americans who died while being arrested, and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement following those, resulted in a number of laws that created some new parameters for law enforcement officials. All of the following became effective immediately upon the governor’s signature, which took place in June.
House Bill 4205: This new law requires officers to intervene when they know, or reasonably should have known, that another officer is engaged in misconduct. Misconduct can include unreasonable or unjustified use of force, or force used in violation of an agency’s policies; sexual harassment or sexual misconduct; discrimination against a person based on protected class; committing a crime; or violation of the minimum standards for fitness for public safety personnel. Officers also have a duty to report the misconduct and are protected from retaliation for doing so.
House Bill 4207: This new law created a comprehensive, centralized database of law enforcement officer discipline records, available to the public, which did not exist prior to its passage. In fact, existing state law prohibited agencies from disclosing information related to an investigation of a public safety employee that did not result in discipline unless the employee agreed to the disclosure, the public’s confidence in the agency would be adversely impacted by not disclosing the discipline, or nondisclosure might adversely impact an investigation of the employee’s behavior by the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training.
The newly created database is publicly accessible and includes information on the employee’s work history, education, training, and certifications, including whether a certification has been suspended or revoked.
House Bill 4203: This new law prohibits police in Oregon from using choke holds or other “force that impedes the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of another person by applying pressure on the throat or neck of the other person,” unless the circumstances would justify the use of deadly physical force under the law. Prior to the law’s passage, the state police academy did not instruct trainees on the use of choke holds or similar methods, though law enforcement agencies may have provided “supplemental training and authorize(d) use,” according to an analysis provided legislators as they considered the bill.
House Bill 4208: This new law defines tear gas and prohibits use of tear gas by law enforcement agency for crowd control except during riots.
Other New or Recently Enacted Laws
House Bill 4206: This law, which became effective on Jan. 1, authorizes the state Department of Agriculture to establish a program for state inspection of the processing and sale of meat products from amenable species (exotic species of livestock and fowl not covered by existing statutes) and nonamenable species (exotic species under voluntary inspection, such as bison, domestic rabbits, domestic deer, pheasant, quail, and captive raised waterfowl), except for equine species.
This law requires ODA to inspect meat products and authorizes the agency to license establishments operating under the program.
House Bill 4210: This law, which became effective on passage last June, removes the authority of courts to impose driving privilege suspensions based on an individual’s failure to pay traffic-related court fines or meet requirements ordered in lieu of fines.
Under existing state law, a court can order the suspension of an individual’s driving privileges if that individual fails to pay court fines related to a driving offense or fails to meet a requirement ordered in lieu of a fine.
The suspension will stay in place for 20 years unless the individual presents a reinstatement notice from the court to Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services showing that the individual has paid the fine in full, is making payments following a court-approved payment plan, is enrolled in a preapprentice program, or is a registered apprentice.
Under the new law, individuals who have had their driving privileges suspended for failing to pay traffic-related fines are eligible to apply for a hardship permit. These permits allow suspended individuals to drive for certain specific purposes, such as for work, medical treatment, or to provide other necessary services to themselves or family members.
The new law prohibits new suspensions from being imposed on or after Oct. 1, 2020.
Senate Bill 1602: This law, which became effective last July, solidified a landmark agreement between timber companies and environmental groups, brokered in February 2020, to establish clean water protections in Oregon’s forest communities, focusing on “science-based” forest management practices in the state.
The bill also bans the use of aerial pesticides near homes and schools and would would also create buffers between logging sites and the waterways inhabited by salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
It requires the governor to faciliate mediation sessions, within 18 months of the bill’s passage, between loggers and environmentalists to continue modernizing the state’s forest practices, and requires an update to the legislature in 2021 regarding the status of those sessions.
A key emphasis in the legislation is notice of permitted aerial spraying, with provisions for people who want to be notified to get that notice from the Oregon Department of Forestry.
Tobacco Tax Increases: As a result of Measure 108, approved by voters in the November general election, a tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products began Jan. 1 in Oregon.
The following increases have gone into effect, according to the Oregon Department of Revenue:
The cigarette tax has increaed by $2 per pack of 20 and $2.50 per pack of 25.
Little cigars, collectively weighing 3 pounds or less per 1,000, must be sold in sealed packages of at least 20. The packs are taxed as cigarettes and will require an Oregon cigarette tax stamp.
Inhalant delivery systems, such as vaping and e-cigarette products, are now taxed at a rate of 65% of the wholesale purchase price.
The cap on the tax on cigars increases from 50 cents to $1.
Revenue from the increased taxes will be used to fund health coverage for low-income families, including mental health services, and to fund public health programs, including prevention and cessation programs, addressing tobacco- and nicotine-related diseases.
Driver licenses for all: House Bill 2015 was approved by Oregon legislators in 2019, but went into effect Jan. 1.
It removes the requirement to prove legal presence when applying for a standard Oregon driver license or ID card. A standard driver license or ID card is not REAL ID-compliant.
People who want a driver’s license must still show proof of name, identity, date of birth and Oregon residency, pay a fee and pass a driving test.
The standard driver’s license will not be REAL ID compliant, so when the Transportation Security Administration begins enforcing REAL ID, which is set to start on Oct. 1, 2021, people with the standard driver’s licenses will not be able to get on a plane. A valid passport, REAL ID or another federally accepted document will be required.
Those licenses will not trigger automatic voter registration, unlike other Oregon driver’s licenses.
According to The Oregonian, proponents of the new law believe it will benefit more than just undocumented immigrants – they believe domestic violence survivors, the elderly and others may also have trouble accessing citizenship paperwork.
This isn’t the first time Oregon has allowed those without documentation of citizenship to get a driver’s license. Previously, the state issued eight-year driver’s licenses without requiring such documentation, but the last of those licenses expired in 2016.
Decriminalization of low-level drug possession: Measure 110, also called the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, approved by voters in the November election, decriminalizes small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use. The new law takes effect Feb. 1.
Though the law does not legalize drugs, a person caught with a small amount of drugs, including Schedule I drugs such as heroin and LSD, will face “no more than a Class E violation.” That person will then face a $100 fine, which may be waived if the person seeks treatment.
People with either a felony criminal conviction or two or more past drug convictions may face more serious penalties. Laws surrounding the sale or possession of large quantities of drugs remain unchanged.
The law provides for statewide addiction/recovery services, partially funded by marijuana taxes. Specifically, it mandates the establishment and funding of “addiction recovery centers” within existing coordinated care organization service areas by Oct. 1, 2021. The addiction/recovery centers would provide drug users with triage, health assessments, treatment, recovery services.