2025 OSB Law Improvement Program

The following are Law Improvement Proposals submitted by OSB Sections and Committees which are under review by the Oregon State Bar Board of Governors for the 2025 Oregon Legislative session. The Board of Governors Public Affairs Committee will discuss these proposals at a Legislative Forum on April 15, 2024.

For any questions about these concepts and the OSB Law Improvement process, contact the OSB Public Affairs Department at [email protected].

CONSUMER LAW SECTION:

      • HB 2462  – Construction Contractors Notice Requirements. This bill would require Construction Contractors Board (CCB) licensed Contractors to give consumers a written “work completion notice” that would trigger the existing one-year clock on consumer complaints to the CCB. Currently some consumers miss this deadline because they were unaware that the contractor considered the work completed and that the deadline had already passed.
      • HB 2463  – Small Claims Notice Requirements. This bill would clarify that the recipient of a Notice of Small Claim may request a jury trial of the amount identified as “Total” on the Small Claim Form exceeds $750. This may include fixed fees and costs in the Small Claim. Currently some parties may not recognize that they have a right to request a jury trial when fees or other costs push the total over $750.

COUNCIL ON COURT PROCEDURES:

DEBTOR-CREDITOR SECTION:

      • SB 167 – Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Amendments & New Article 12 re Digital Assets.   The UCC is a national model act which has previously been adopted in Oregon. The UCC standardizes rules for many commercial transactions to facilitate interstate commerce. This proposed bill would adopt in Oregon the new UCC Article 12, which has been proposed by the Uniform Law Commission. This new article addresses transactions such as digital assets, virtual currencies, blockchain, and artificial intelligence. These types of transactions are new and did not exist when the original UCC was passed. In addition, LC 516 corrects a drafting error in ORS 95.270(5)(b) that was passed in the Debtor-Creditor section’s bill in 2023, HB 2330.

ESTATE PLANNING SECTION:

      • SB 168 – Estate Planning & Administration Omnibus Proposal. This bill would amend several statutes related to probate administration:
        • Amends ORS 111.200 to correct a drafting error that omitted ORCP 45 in a list of rules that apply in contested probate proceedings.
        • Amends ORS 112.105 to correct a drafting error that has caused complications for children of unmarried parents attempting to establish parentage.
        • Amends ORS 112.238 to address the application of the harmless error statute and clarify what documents may be used to establish testator intent to create a will. This statute was passed in 2015, but it is unclear if it can be applied to writings created before that date. LC 517 proposal would apply the rule to writings created at any time, but only for the purpose of decedents dying after 1/1/2026.
        • Amends ORS 114.510 to clarify provisions related to the Simple Estate Affidavit.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS: 

      • SB 166 – ORS Chapter 9 Omnibus Bill. This bill would make three changes to the Bar Act:
        •  The bill permits the OSB Board of Governors to establish its own quorum requirements for meetings in place of the existing 2/3 requirement in statute.
        • The bill changes terminology in statute that generally refers to OSB “members” and instead refers to OSB “licensees”.
        • The bill updates wording in several sections of Chapter 9 to correctly reference rules promulgated by the Supreme Court.

Policy Option Package: 

      • POP 130 – Funding request for civil and immigration legal services.