Below is the bar’s package of Law Improvement Proposals for the 2019 Oregon Legislative session.
For any questions about these concepts and the OSB Law Improvement process, contact the OSB Public Affairs Department at [email protected].
BOARD OF GOVERNORS:
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- SB 357 – Legal Aid Statutory Allocation – Increase the statutory allocation to legal aid services while establishing an annual increase based on the consumer price index (CPI). Support the Oregon Judicial Department’s access-to-justice efforts. Amended into SB 5513. Passed, effective date: August 9, 2019.
- SB 358 – OSB Housekeeping Bill – Expand ORS 9.565 to allow for disclosure of an attorney taxpayer’s tax information by the Department of Revenue to the Oregon State Bar for the purpose of disciplinary proceedings. Eliminate the statutory prohibition on charging the membership fee to 50-year members. Modifies provisions regarding submission of certification and disclosures for lawyer trust accounts. Passed, effective date: September 29, 2019.
BUSINESS LAW SECTION:
- SB 359 – Ratification of Defective Corporate Acts – Update the Oregon Business Corporation Act, which is modeled after the Model Business Corporation Act to provide for ratification of defective shareholder or director corporate action and a process for affected parties to contest the ratification. Substantially similar changes are proposed for the Oregon Nonprofit Corporation Act. Passed, effective date: January 1, 2020.
DEBTOR-CREDITOR SECTION:
- HB 2459 – Lien Information Statements – Establish a statutory provision under which a person who is an “authorized requester” may send a request in a statutory form to the person who holds an encumbrance against real property for a “lien information statement” to obtain pertinent payoff information. Passed, effective date: January 1, 2020.
ELDER LAW SECTION:
- HB 2460 – Heir Liability for Deferred Property Taxes – Clarify that a transferee is not liable for the purposes of the deferred property tax program if the transferee does not receive an interest in real or personal property from the estate. Passed, effective date: September 29, 2019.
MILITARY AND VETERANS SECTION:
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- HB 2461 – Housing Hotline and Assistance for Servicemembers – Expands resources available to active servicemembers, including creating a referral list of programs that assist low-income veterans with housing stability. Includes date collection provisions through Oregon Criminal Justice Commission. Amended into HB 2530. Passed, effective date: January 1, 2020.
- HB 2462 – Servicemember Data Collection and Education – Establish outreach to servicemembers who have experienced combat injuries. Includes data collection and court outreach in navigating the legal system. Passed, effective date: January 1, 2020.
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS LAW SECTION:
- SB 360 – ORS Chapter 65 Update – Comprehensive update to ORS Chapter 65. The proposal has been updated from HB 2609 (2017) to address issues raised by outside stakeholder groups. Passed, effective date: May 24, 2019.
SUSTAINABLE FUTURES SECTION:
- SB 361 – Prudent Investor Rule – Amend the prudent investor rule in the UPIA to clarify that fiduciaries may take into account Environmental, Social, and Governance factors when making investment decisions and developing investment strategies. Passed, effective date: January 1, 2020.