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House Rules Committee opens hearing on bill to set process for ballot titles and court review
Summary
The House Committee on Rules held a brief public hearing June 18 on House Bill 3390-2, a dash-2 amendment that would create a joint legislative committee to prepare ballot titles and explanatory statements for certain constitutional referrals and allow Oregon Supreme Court review; no vote was taken.
Chair Bowman opened the House Committee on Rules meeting at 8:10 a.m. June 18 and convened a public hearing on House Bill 3390-2, a dash-2 amendment that committee staff said would change how ballot titles and explanatory statements are prepared for certain referrals to the ballot.
Melissa, a committee staff member, summarized the dash-2 amendment to committee members, saying the base bill was a placeholder and that “the dash 2 amendment replaces the measure and creates a joint legislative committee to prepare the ballot title and explanatory statement for any amendment to the Oregon Constitution referred to the ballot … during the 2025 regular session, or if all or part of any act is referred to the ballot by the assembly or by a referendum petition.” She said the measure “permits an elector who is unsatisfied with [a] ballot title or explanatory statement to petition the Oregon Supreme Court” and authorizes the court to modify the title or statement or refer them to the attorney general. She also said the amendment declares an emergency and would become effective on passage.
Vice Chair Draisen asked whether the language addressing referrals by the legislative assembly matched past practice and how often referendums require a ballot title. Melissa replied that the portion about referrals by the legislative assembly “is the same as the 2023 and I think the previous 1 was 2020 measures” and that “the portion around referendums is new.”
Draisen said he would vote no while he investigates whether the measure amounts to a “legislative end run” that could affect how the legislature’s work is presented to voters. “I have been public about the fact that I think that, some of the work that's been under consideration this legislative session absolutely deserves and warrants a vote of the people,” he said, adding that a transportation tax under consideration could prompt a referendum and that he wanted to “safeguard” how such material is presented to the electorate. He concluded, “So I will be a no today out of that concern.”
Chair Bowman closed the public hearing on House Bill 3390-2 and adjourned the meeting. No committee vote on the bill was recorded during the session.
