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New Oregon Laws..January 1st 2008

by Tryan Hartill

UPDATE
Look below RE: Domestic Partnership…...

Here is a short overview of some of the laws that will take effect on January 1st 2008.

Domestic Partnership

In May 2007 Ted Kulongoski signed the Oregon Family Fairness Act. Which will allow same sex couples to establish a Domestic Partnership. This Act will give same sex couples most of the rights as Married Couples, although no ceremony is required. In September, groups that wanted to overturn the Act failed to turn in the 55,000 necessary signatures for it to appear on the November ballot. Couples can file forms with county clerks starting Jan. 2. Also related is HB2, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

UPDATE

As of tonight, the domestic Partnership bill looks to be on hold. Some of the groups that collected signatures in an attempt to put the Act on the ballot is challenging the State regarding the signatures.

They came very close to the 55,179 needed to have the Domestic Partnership law voted on by the people of Oregon, coming up about 120 short.

District Judge Michael Mosman has set a Feb. 1st hearing to see if in fact they were short of the required signatures.

Minors Behind The Wheel

Other laws starting January 1st involve younger drivers. Next week it will be illegal for anyone under 18 to use a cell phone while driving. Max fine is $90. Also going into effect will be HB 2148, which increases the penalty when a minor is convicted of possessing alcohol while driving. And HB 2147, which says that anyone under 21 can have their drivers license suspended for a MIP conviction.

Also worth noting is Washington’s text message ban. On Tuesday it will be illegal for all folks who drive on Washington roads to text message. Although this is a secondary offense (cannot be pulled over for it) it carries a fine of $101. A full ban on cell phone use (without a hands-free device) will take effect July of 2008.

Drunks Behind The Wheel

Starting in 2008, 1st time drunk driving offenders will be required to install and use a ignition interlock device for one year and for 2 years after their second conviction. Ignition interlock systems cost about $2 a day, plus installation and removal fees.
Also a new crime will be on the books, aggravated vehicular homicide. This relates to a person who is convicted of a second vehicular homicide while intoxicated and carries a minimum 20 year sentence. Also going into effect is a law that sends someone to prison for 7 1/2 years if they are convicted twice of seriously injuring someone while driving under the influence.

Other laws related to driving can be found here.

At the Workplace

The minimum wage will rise to $7.95 and is the smallest jump in 3 years. We will go from the second highest in the nation to the 4th.

Senate Bill 248 will limit non-competition agreements.

SB 583 imposes the toughest workplace security laws in the nation. Every Oregon employer who keeps personal information must:

  • Designate a security officer
  • Conduct a risk assessment
  • Assess the safeguards in place to manage the risks
  • Train employees in security policies and procedures
  • Require by contract that service providers maintain adequate security (note the connection to the trend discussed above)
  • Adjust the security program over time to meet changing circumstances
  • Implement adequate physical and technical safeguards
  • Properly dispose of personal information

More new workplace laws can be found here and some free legal advice on the new laws can be found here.

Odds and Ends

Other Laws:

HB 2513 prohibits gift cards that expire.

SB 431 prohibits landlords from having motor vehicles towed without notice except under special circumstances.

HB 2163 requires all cigarettes sold in Oregon to be fire safe.

SB 10 restricts officials from receiving more than $50 gifts and addresses other Government ethics issues.

The Department of Land Conservation and Development will start sending notices to Measure 37 filers.

Have a safe and prosperous 2008 (Without breaking any laws of course…)

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20 comments on this article (post your own)

1 On Dec 27, 12:17 pm, walter richards wrote:

What’s so “fair” about the “Family Fairness Act”?

I don’t care about the whole “domestic partner” issue. I think gov’t should get its nose out of the marriage business, anyway. But what’s unfair is that it’s only for homosexuals. What about heterosexual couples who don’t want to go through the rigamarole of gov’t/church permission to get “married”? Why do they still have to wait years for it to be legalized as a “common law” marriage? And what about bigamists? If multiple people love each other so much they can’t decide on which ONE person to marry, why are they still discriminated against?

2 On Dec 31, 02:28 pm, mari wrote:

Good points … but FYI bigamists are those that marry more than one. Polyamorists are those who engage in romantic relationships with more than one in an open and honest way.

Mari

3 On Dec 31, 02:52 pm, walter richards wrote:

So? It’s bigamists that are discriminated against, by laws forbidding such. I don’t know of any law forbidding “polyamory” (or is it “polyamorism”).

4 On Jan 1, 11:11 am, Garrett wrote:

Societies that have multi-marriages, and hence many children with the same father, developed genetic disorders due to inbreeding. You really don’t want that.

The ‘regamoral is very slight. Go to the court and pay a fee. Not saying you should ahve to do that, just that it’s really not that much effort.

I believe, however I may be wrong, that this law would require a homosexual couple go through that same ‘regimoral’

I also believe that the government should stay out of marriage, but since it isn’t we should try to apply it equally to everybody. It’s also stupid that the government bans any two legal adults from marring. It’s not like if the government allows it, churches have to recognize it.

5 On Jan 1, 04:01 pm, mtm wrote:

“Societies that have multi-marriages, and hence many children with the same father, developed genetic disorders due to inbreeding.”

What? That statement doesn’t make sense. Only if the father is having children with one of his daughters or if siblings are inbreeding with one another would that statement have credence. Setting up that particular lifestyle to be isolated in the United States, so that basically all they have is one another’s families to turn to when the children come of age, is not exactly a true representation of polygamists the world over. Certainly the polygamists of South America, the Polynesian Islands, Africa, Asia, India, the Middle East, etc., have not experienced consanguineous mating to the extent that isolated communities in America have. Anytime you have inbreeding in any type of community the chance of genetic disorders will rise.

The practice of polygyny is thriving in America, we are just hypocrites and slackers. Mistresses and affairs abound, children out of wedlock, no or very little child support being paid, and one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world but we are very holier than thou and won’t allow plural marriages, don’t encourage people, DEMAND people to be financially responsible for those they hop into the sack with. Thinking with the wally while protecting the wallet seems to be our national motto.

6 On Jan 1, 04:20 pm, Becky wrote:

Anyhow, same sex couples arent’ the only ones that benefit from domestic partnership laws in Oregon. I live with my opposite sex partner, to whom I am not married, but share financial and domestic responsibilities, and because of domestic partnership laws, he is able to insure me on his health insurance policy, a luxury that is not common in many places… Domestic partnership is a great opportunity for same sex couples, but really, it’s great for a lot of people in Oregon, same sex couple or not. Household dynamics are changing, and it is progressive and positive of Oregon for recognizing that.

7 On Jan 11, 08:50 pm, Karisten wrote:

What I would like to address is that persons under the age of 21 who are issued an mip can have their license suspended…. when it says NOTHING about suspending the license of a drunk driver. A good percentage of mip’s are issued to minors who have not been driving nor plan to drive.
I was given an mip on the 2nd of January (talk about great timing), and I think that having my license suspended would in no way make me a better person. (For the record, I received an mip after having a drink with my boyfriend at dinner, in our own apartment, before two of my friends showed up and became loud and we received a noise complaint. My two friends were NOT drinking, were both driving their own cars, and my boyfriend and I were both far from intoxicated)
My boyfriend and I are both 19. I work 30 minutes from home, completely support myself, and am putting myself through school. I CANNOT do this without a license. I am not saying that I will do this, but taking licenses away from minors will only increase the number of minors that drive without a license. I did not make a mistake, but I think taking my license away would be a little harsh.
I would also like to know what kind of consequense minors without licenses are going to receive???? I am not a partier, nor do I drink on a regular occasion. The police officer issuing my mip said that suspending licenses serves as good punishment because most parents pay their children’s mip fine and all the offender gets is a slap on the wrist. I highly doubt that my parents will pay my mip fine when they will not even pay my student loan that they took out… I have already served a huge consequence by having to take off from work for my court date and I will pay monetarily for my mistake. I know I am not alone!

8 On Jan 12, 07:43 am, mtm wrote:

I agree with you, Karisten, and I think once you become an adult it is constitutionally illegal to have an ageist law. Which brings us back to why its okay to be old enough to decide to die for your country but not old enough to decide to drink. A nineteen year old should not be getting an mip in their own home. MAYBE other minors if they are visiting and drinkng, MAYBE providing to those visiting minors, if we are going to have such an illegal law on the books. But not the minor who is the occupying resident. What is ridiculous is if you were living with your parents at the age of nineteen and were having that same glass of wine with dinner you wouldn’t have gotten an mip, but here you are living on your own, financially responsible for your own bills, your own education, paying your own way and now you can’t have that sip of wine. Utterly hippocritical society we live in. As punishment for the capital offense of being a responsible adult and living on your own that cop gave you a ticket, which may result in your loosing the ability to live on your own, complete school, drive to work, since we don’t have an adequate public transportation system. All of this hinging on the random decision of the cop that shows up at your door. Bizarre.

9 On Jan 12, 12:07 pm, I need some KY Im tired of being dry humped wrote:

mtm wrote: “Which brings us back to why its okay to be old enough to decide to die for your country but not old enough to decide to drink” I totally agree with that statement,it is all about control.

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