Scott Swanson
Now that it’s 2014, it’s going to cost you more if you get caught using your cell phone while driving, or to buy cigarettes, and you aren’t allowed to unreasonably tether your animal for more than 10 hours a day.
Those are among hundreds of new laws passed by the Oregon Legislature last year that went into effect Jan. 1. They are listed in the 190 pages of the state Legislative Administration Committee’s 2013 Summary of Legislation, which can be viewed by clicking on the appropriate link at the bottom of the page at http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Pages/Publications-Reports.aspx.
One of the most-publicized of the new laws is the new minimum wage requirement, which has increased from $8.95 to $9.10 per hour. The minimum wage adjustment will mean that directly-affected employees working 30 hours a week will have $234 more to spend on goods in 2014, according to a statement from the state Bureau of Labor and Industries.
In 2002, Oregon voters passed an indexed minimum wage that increases based on the Consumer Price Index, a figure published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics to track prices for a fixed market basket of goods. A rise in inflation prompted the minimum-wage increase.
Legislation enacted in the special legislative session this fall increases the state tax on a standard, 20-count pack of cigarettes by 13 cents: from $1.18 to $1.31.
“Ordinarily, the consumer pays the tax as a part of the price when purchasing cigarettes from an Oregon retailer,” said Chris Wytoski, manager of Oregon’s tobacco tax program.
“Consumers must remember that they are responsible for filing and paying the tax on cigarettes purchased on-line or otherwise brought in from outside the state.”
Oregon’s total tobacco tax revenue, from cigarettes and other tobacco products, is about $250 million per year. The revenue supports the Oregon Health Plan, the state General Fund, and the Tobacco Use Reduction Account.
Portions of cigarette tax revenue are also specifically dedicated to cities, counties, and public transit and, with recent legislation, mental health programs.
Additional information for consumers, retailers, and distributors is available at http://www.oregon.gov/dor/tobacco.
Other new laws for the new year include:
n Higher fines for cell phone use. Texting or talking on a cell phone while driving will cost an offender at least $142 and up to $500. Also, smoking in a car while a child under 18 is present is no longer legal. A first offense will fetch a maximum fine of $250 and citations can cost up to $500 for repeat offenses.
n On the medical front, minors are no longer permitted to use tanning beds without a doctor’s written permission and new mothers are now allowed to take their placentas home.
Minors 14 or older can now obtain, without parental knowledge or consent, outpatient diagnosis or treatment of mental or emotional disorders or chemical dependency from professional counselors and therapists.
Also, state residents diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder will be able to participate in the state’s medical marijuana program.
n Employees who qualify under the Oregon Family Leave Act will be able to take up to two weeks of unpaid bereavement leave. The state leave law applies to companies with 25 or more employees within the state and to employees who have worked an average of 25 hours per week for at least six months.
n It is now a misdemeanor to use a leash that is not a “reasonable” length, depending on the size of the dog and where it is tied up.
The bill also makes it a crime to tether a dog with a collar that chokes or pinches when pulled. And it sets a tethering time limit of 10 hours a day, or 15 hours if the tether is on a running line.
Violators would be subject to a maximum fine of $1,000.
The bill goes further, however, adding new language that would make it a Class A misdemeanor if a dog dies or is seriously injured from being improperly tethered, punishable by a fine of more than $6,000.
n Similarly, the Legislature has banned horse tripping – tripping a horse by its front legs when it is moving fast and done for entertainment, not when it’s done for medical purposes or normal horse management and the horse is first roped around the neck.
According to the Humane Society, which backed the ban, horse tripping in Oregon has occurred in “Big Loop” rodeos in which two mounted horsemen chase a horse, usually a small yearling, into the arena and rope its front legs as it travels at a fast gallop. It also happens in clandestine charreada rodeos, where a single roper on foot ropes the front legs of a horse as it gallops past in the arena. When the front legs of a galloping horse are roped, the animal trips and falls violently to the ground.
According to the Humane Society, horse tripping has been banned in 11 other states, including states with strong rodeo traditions, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The practice has been banned in film and television productions for over 50 years.
n Police can now use red light camera photos in Oregon for more than just traffic violations. A new law allows police to use red light camera photos in criminal cases involving felonies, Class A misdemeanors as drunken driving and writing bad checks, as well as red-light-running infractions.
Becky Straus, ACLU’s Oregon legislative director, told Northwest Watchdog in March that it’s concerning when the state sets up surveillance for a specific purpose but then brings it back to the legislature to start expanding the reach.
“It just seems to be creeping ever so slowly toward a surveillance state,” Straus said.
n Under a pair of laws passed last year by the Legislature, universities, colleges and employers no longer can compel a student, worker or prospective employee to hand over passwords to social media accounts. National media have reported instances of colleges requesting students’ and prospective students’ user names and passwords to social media sites, or that prospective students access their sites in the presence of college staff.
The law does not extend to K-12 schools and does not apply to accounts maintained solely for educational purposes, if the student has been informed that the account may be monitored. Also, it allows institutions to request specific content of a student’s social media account in the course of investigations into student misconduct or for purposes of compliance with applicable laws or regulations.
n Landlords will no longer be able to turn away rental applicants solely on the basis of whether they receive federal Section 8 housing vouchers. Landlords will also be able to require tenants to maintain renter’s liability insurance. The law prohibits blanket “No Section 8” policies and requires landlords to accept rental applications, although renters could still be denied for credit or other reasons.
n A new law requires health clubs, Internet, cable and other companies to allow customers who are service members called into active duty to suspend and reinstate their service accounts.
n Operators of mug shot websites must remove mug shots for free if the pictured Oregonian can show they were found not guilty or if their charges were dropped or expunged. The law pertains to online sites that compile hundreds of mug shots by automatically scouring jail web sites. It requires owners of the sites to remove a mug shot for free if the person in the photo can show they were found not guilty or if their charges were dropped or expunged.
According to the Oregonian, Portland criminal defense attorney Ryan Anfuso brought the bill to the Legislature after hearing from clients who had spent hundreds online trying to scour Google searches for their names ahead of job applications.
n Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, undocumented graduates of Oregon high schools who meet specified criteria can pay resident tuition and fees at state universities. To qualify, students must meet high school attendance criteria and must have demonstrated an intent to become a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
Nonresident tuition at Oregon universities currently averages $22,000 per year, as opposed to $9,000 paid by residents. Oregon joins fifteen other states with some form of tuition equity, including Washington, California, Utah, Texas, and New York.
n Candidates can now run for more than one position on unpaid, volunteer district boards in the same election. The law previously prohibited candidates from filing for more than one district office in the same election, unless the district office had fewer than 10,000 voters. Such districts include water supply district boards, parks and recreation district boards, transportation district boards, metropolitan service district boards, rural fire protection district boards, county service and school district boards.
Northwest Watchdog news service contributed to this report.