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Bill would expand liability and remedies for unregistered farmworker camps, sponsors say
Summary
House Bill 3194 would create joint and several liability for landowners who knew or should have known their property hosted unregistered farmworker camps, add a rebuttable presumption when leases forbid housing, eliminate a mandatory injunction requirement, and raise penalties from $500 to $2,000 or actual damages, proponents said.
A Senate Rules Committee public hearing June 20 examined House Bill 3194, a measure to revise the Camp Operator Registration Act (CORA) and increase accountability for unregistered farmworker housing.
Representative Pam Marsh, the bill sponsor, said the legislation responds to a rise in unregistered camps—particularly tied to illegal cannabis operations—and aims to hold operators and, in some cases, landowners accountable. “House Bill 31 94 addresses housing issues for the workers who are most impacted by illegal grows and increases landowner accountability,” Marsh said.
The bill would create joint and several liability for landowners who “know or should have known” that their property was being used as an unregistered farmworker camp. It would provide a rebuttable presumption that a landowner did not know about an unregistered camp if the landowner provides a written lease expressly prohibiting such housing; that presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence that the landowner knew or should have known.
Martha Sonato of the Oregon Law Center, testifying in support, described HB 3194 as “narrowly crafted to apply only to unregistered camp operations, not legal registered operations that follow health and safety laws.” Kate Susman of the Northwest Workers Justice Project said the sponsors agreed to shift the burden of proof so a worker seeking damages must show the landowner knew or should have known—a change intended to address Farm Bureau concerns.
The bill would also remove the statutory requirement that workers must seek an injunction to pursue claims under CORA, a change proponents said reduces a procedural barrier for seasonal work settings. Penalties would be modernized from $500 to $2,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater; proponents said that level was negotiated as a deterrent and that stakeholders including the Oregon Farm Bureau and Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers were neutral on the amended measure.
Jenny Dressler of the Oregon Farm Bureau said the group reached neutrality after negotiating language on the rebuttable presumption and on penalties. Witnesses noted many Oregon farms are rented—Dressler cited roughly 4,500,000 acres of leased farmland as context—and said the rebuttable presumption was essential to protect landowners who include lease terms banning housing.
No committee vote was recorded during the public hearing.
