Please see Governance Overview here.

Jump to a topic:

• Campaign Finance

• Protecting privacy, consumers, and public officials

• State information portal & rulemaking update

• Elections

• Artificial Intelligence

• Rule Making

Campaign Finance

By Norman Turrill

HB 3392 is said to be the vehicle for a gut and stuff of the technical fixes for HB 4024 (2024). This bill is currently a study of campaign finance by the Secretary of State. Complex amendments are under discussion among Honest Elections, the Secretary of State’s Election Division, the Attorney General’s office, Oregon Business and Industries, Oregon unions and legislative staff. However, no amendments are yet posted on OLIS.

The Elections Division of the Secretary of State is asking the public for feedback until August 22 on draft administrative rules that would implement HB 4025 (2024). It has also appointed a Rules Advisory Committee (RAC) to work on these new administrative rules.

Protecting privacy, consumers, and public officials

By Becky Gladstone 

HB 3766 had a second public hearing in the Senate Judiciary after passing unanimously from the House Floor. League testimony supported the bill as written to allow civil action against an adult who, unbidden, digitally sends intimate images (cyber-flashing) with the intent to harass, degrade or humiliate. Updated League testimony was filed and presented to address amendments quantifying defendant age and limiting damages to $10,000. We recommended reading Criminalising Cyberflashing. 

SB 470 A: A work session on May 15 in House Judiciary passed 7 to 0 for this popularly supported bill, with unanimous support from Senate Judiciary and the Senate floor. League testimony supported the original bill to protect lodgers’ privacy from illicitly taken videos.

SB 473 A has a work session scheduled in House Judiciary for May 19, to create a crime of threatening a public official, after passing unanimously on the Senate floor, League testimony, in support. 

SB 952 A has a public hearing set for May 19, followed by a work session on May 21, in House Rules, after passing on the Senate Floor, along nearly partisan lines, 26 to 13, to consider interim US Senator appointments, League testimony in support. 

HB 2008 B passed a May 13 work session unanimously in Senate Judiciary, after unanimous House Commerce and Consumer Protection support and then also on the House floor. This personal data bill is detailed, basically about protecting personal data for teenagers. League testimony in support.

SB 430 A: Our League testimony in support was filed and comments abridged for hearing brevity, addressing the extensive amendments that broadly address business transparency for consumer protections. The bill is up for a second work session in House Commerce and Consumer Protection on May 20. The initial bill, for online transaction cost disclosure to improve transparency passed in Senate Labor and Business on partisan lines, similarly passing on partisan lines on the Senate Floor, 18 to 11. 

SB 1121 A creates a new crime of unlawful private data disclosure, punishable by a maximum of six months' imprisonment, $2,500 fine, or both. Notably, this calls for criminal court action that can deliver punitive sentences, versus civil court actions, for plaintiff recompense and possible restraining orders. It passed a Senate floor vote unanimously with a House Judiciary May 20 work session. League testimony was filed and presented, supporting the amendment relating to data broker issues, specifically written to protect the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

HB 2930 had a second public hearing on May 14 in Senate Rules, for conflict of interest of public officials’ household members. The League supported this bill brought by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, with presented and written testimony. It passed unanimously from House Rules and from the House floor.

State information portal & rulemaking update

The second quarter EPAB meeting (Electronic Government Portal Advisory Board) is rescheduled for June. EPAB was one of the website oversight providers presented in the Joint Committee on Information Management and Technology informational meeting on May 16, as a follow up to the public hearing for HB 3931, calling for a Task Force to study a coordinated state portal for licensing, applications, etc. See League testimony and our May 5 Legislative Report for the provider listing, mirrored in the May 16 hearing agenda. 

HB 3931 has no work session set, but a public hearing was held on May 2 to create a Task Force to consider a coordinated state portal for licensing, applications, etc. League testimony was updated verbally to include new information from the staff summary on the background of state websites (first in the video agenda, League at 26.30). 

HB 3382 is up for a May 28 work session in House Rules, directing the Secretary of State to maintain an online Rulemaking Information system. Sen. Sollman asked about this concept of a central state rulemaking site in the context of the HB 3931 follow up information presented on May 16, above. 

Elections

By Barbara Klein

SB 580 A-Eng. This Senate bill passed unanimously in that chamber and had a first reading in the House where it has been referred to the Rules Committee. The bill requires more and quicker transparency when candidates file information. Concessions were made to accommodate challenges between large/small, urban/rural counties. This bill would help the League’s voter service work.

Without comment, SB 44 was passed over in the agenda on May 14th at which time it was to have a work session. While re-scheduled for May 19th, that work session was later removed from the committee agenda. An attempt to reach a committee member on this matter was unsuccessful. Related to elections, SB 44-4 (for which the League provided testimony) changes statutes to account for vote recounts, tallying or write-in votes when using Ranked Choice Voting, which four Oregon jurisdictions currently do. Another amendment to the bill changes the language of voter registration “cards” to “applications”.

HB 5017 relates to the financial management of the state library. There was a work session held on 5/15 by the Joint General Government Subcommittee. At that time the 2025-2027 budget, as recommended by the Legislative Fiscal Office (LFO) for HB 5017 and -1 and -2 amendments, was passed and sent to the full W&M committee. Not everything that had been requested for the library system was granted, but there were increases in the budget, representing levels of inflation only. LFO analysis can be viewed here. The League submitted testimony in February on the bill. In part, that testimony stated: “The Oregon State Library lists partnerships with 39 organizations, the League of Women Voters being one of them. We have been partners for many years, supplying information about Oregon elections. The State Talking Books Library helps us provide voting information that is accessible to the Library’s registered clients.”

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By Lindsey Washburn

HB 3936 A regards acquisition of AI from other countries. Rep. Nathanson's office called for confirmation of the League's position on this bill based on our previous testimony. We support the bill passed with amendment to remove "country of origin." The bill passed the House and is now back to JLCIMT. 

HB 2299 Enrolled added deepfakes to the category of unlawfully disseminated intimate images. Passed and the President has signed. The League supported this bill but did not submit testimony.

Rule Making

By Peggy Lynch

A number of bills related to agency rulemaking and the role of the legislature, many of which are listed below, are getting work sessions.The League and others have concerns about many of these bills. The legislature’s job is to set policy.  The agencies are responsible for implementing that policy.That action often requires rulemaking to clarify the details around that implementation. But the League is concerned when legislators “get a second bite at the apple” by relitigating the legislation when rulemaking is only meant to implement, not change policies or facilitate an agency’s mission.Blurring those lines is problematic.

HB 3569, a bill that would require a Chief Sponsor (legislator) of a bill to be a part of a rules advisory committee for legislation they had a hand in passing, passed the House and now goes to Senate Rules.  

The League continues to follow the bills listed on the March 17 agenda of the Senate Committee On Rules since some of the bills relate to the process of rulemaking (SB 437, SB 1006, SB 370, SB 483) and SB 411, SB 895 also in Senate Rules and HB 2454 in House Rules.

Separately, the League was invited to a conversation among state agency rules staff on addressing concerns of the Governor and in an attempt to standardize the process statewide. The Governor has provided Rulemaking Guidance to state agencies:

This document includes questions received from agencies since the Governor’s letter. This document includes additional resources for agencies including direction to post updates to the Transparency site, a website template that agencies can use (if they choose) to develop their pages, and links to other comprehensive agency rule making sites to review. There is a broader discussion to increase transparency and consistency in the state agencies’ rulemaking process. A second meeting related to the state agency rules process is set for June with an invitation to the League to continue to participate.

We are concerned with HB 3382, since the requirements of the Secretary of State to gather ALL the state agencies’ rulemaking, including all materials, would be overwhelming. Individual state agencies provide that information on their rulemaking websites.  

Because the League is often engaged in rulemaking, we regularly comment on legislation that would affect changes in Oregon’s current Administrative Rules.  We have provided testimony in opposition to HB 2692, a bill that would create complicated and burdensome processes for agencies to implement legislation with their rulemaking procedures. Sadly, a work session is scheduled for May 28 in House Rules.

Interested in reading additional reports?  Please see our Climate Emergency, Revenue, Natural Resources, and Social Policy report sections.