PORTLAND, Ore. — Dozens of new laws went into effect in Oregon on New Year's Day. While most represent subtle changes to state law, they collectively impact a broad range of subjects, including criminal law, business, health care and housing.
This year marked Oregon's long legislative session, one roiled by a record six-week-long Republican walkout in the state Senate. Despite that, lawmakers introduced thousands of bills and succeeded in passing over 650 that Gov. Kotek signed into law.
Bills that include an emergency clause go into effect immediately, and others can have a particular effective date. But any bill that doesn't specify an effective date becomes effective on the first day of the next year — in this case, Jan. 1, 2024.
Because some of the most eye-catching bills went into effect immediately, a number of the bills that begin New Year's Day are the type that might otherwise fly under the radar. Here are a few that we felt were noteworthy.
SB 1043: Narcan for discharged patients
This bill requires that hospitals, long-term care facilities and drug treatment centers provide patients with at least two doses of the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone upon discharge, assuming the patient was there for treatment of an opioid use disorder. The Oregon Health Authority is charged with providing the naloxone.
It's not uncommon for someone who has gone some time without using drugs to relapse, then immediately overdose as their bodies no longer have a tolerance to the same amount they were using prior to treatment. Thanks to the increased availability of naloxone nasal sprays like Narcan, SB 1043 was introduced as a potential safety measure for countering these overdoses, which are often deadly.
SB 340: Organized retail theft
Retail theft has been a concern with a lot of political heat in the last year or two, as major chain stores in Portland cite it as the reason why they're closing up shop. SB 340 was drafted in response to these complaints, ratcheting up some of the consequences for people convicted of theft. Under the bill, the crime of "organized retail theft" will be added to the repeat property offender statute, so sentences will be harsher for people who were previously convicted of that crime. It also adds to the crime of first-degree theft, so someone who "recklessly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury" to someone else during a theft will be guilty of that crime. Prosecutors will also have more flexibility in when or where they file charges.
HB 3320: Hospital financial assistance
Nonprofit hospitals in Oregon have programs where they will reduce or cover the cost of someone's medical bills if they can't otherwise afford them, commonly called "charity care." But multiple sources have accused hospitals of heaping medical debt on patients who should have been eligible for charity care. HB 3320 is supposed to create more protections for those patients, directing hospitals to be more forthcoming about options for financial assistance and keeping the door for that assistance open for longer. Hospitals will have to refund patients for their medical bills if it's later determined that they are eligible for assistance.
SB 529: In-custody substance abuse treatment
People incarcerated in the Oregon Department of Corrections are much more likely than the rest of the state population to have a substance use disorder — something now acknowledged in state law through SB 529. And with the entire state grappling with a crisis of addiction and lack of access to treatment, this bill is supposed to make it easier for inmates to access drug treatment while incarcerated. The bill removes some outdated requirements for prison programs, including that they be "highly structured and regimented" and "include a component of intensive self-discipline, physical work and physical exercise" — it really can't be overstated how much the old statute emphasized discipline and physical labor.
Importantly, SB 529 provides that DOC programs include a wide range of treatment services, recovery activities, engagement with peer mentors, educational and vocational services and self-help groups. They must address addiction as a chronic disease and recognize that participants have individualized needs.
HB 2772: Domestic terrorism crimes
A few bills in the 2023 legislative session concern what the legislature defines as domestic terrorism or "paramilitary activity." The first, HB 2772, creates two new crimes: first-degree and second-degree domestic terrorism. Both involve either the destruction of "critical infrastructure" — which includes a laundry list of utility services and public or private infrastructure — or deploying a "toxic substance," which is just about anything that can cause death or serious injury when ingested, inhaled, consumed or absorbed.
Another bill, HB 2572, proved controversial while it was making its way through the legislature due to its potential for broad application. Generally speaking, it defines "paramilitary activity," which includes the use of deadly weapons in public patrols or drills, carrying weapons when disrupting government proceedings, assuming the duties of a law enforcement officer or government official, or using that activity to intimidate or coerce others. The Oregon Attorney General will be empowered to take civil or investigative action in order to gather information on paramilitary groups. Someone injured as a result of paramilitary activity can also bring civil action against the person or people responsible.
Finally, SB 618 adds the use of body armor to the list of considerations for a court when determining "aggravation" while sentencing someone for a criminal conviction, if the person was wearing body armor to either facilitate the crime or in fleeing from it.
HB 3632: Expanding sex abuse statute of limitations
This bill is a simple but important one. It expands the statute of limitations for first-degree sex crimes to 20 years from 12, or by the time the victim turns 30 years old if they were a minor at the time of the abuse — whichever is later. This change applies to all crimes committed before or after the law takes effect, but does not revive any prosecutions that were barred by the old statute.
HB 2095: Photo radar expansion
Prior to 2024, only the state of Oregon and a handful of cities were authorized to operate photo radar for traffic enforcement. HB 2095 expands that option to all cities in the state, assuming they cover the costs of operation. It also eliminates restrictions on the number of hours per day that photo radar can be used at a location and expands the authority of a city to set speeds for some residential streets — even if it's 10 miles per hour lower than the speed set by law, but they can't go lower than 20 miles per hour.
HB 2032: Domestic partnerships for all
Before same-sex marriage became legal nationwide under a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Oregon passed a law in 2007 known as the Oregon Family Fairness Act. It allowed same-sex couples to register as legally recognized domestic partners. Not only is that law still on the books, HB 2032 expands on it. Starting in the new year, opposite-sex couples can also apply for a domestic partnership, meaning all couples will have the same sets of options available to them.
SB 82: Insurance coverage for wildfire damage
With more and more Oregonians losing their homes to wildfire in recent years, lawmakers are trying to provide them with greater protections if they find themselves facing the unthinkable. SB 82 was designed to establish certain requirements for insurers before they decided to cancel or not renew a homeowner insurance policy or increase premiums due to wildfire risk. Insurers must also allow homeowners at least 24 months to repair, rebuild or replace damaged or destroyed property if the loss was due to a fire subject to Oregon's Emergency Conflagration Act. Insurance companies are barred from using the state's wildfire risk map as a basis for canceling, declining to renew or increasing premiums on a policy.