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Senate passes bill to shield sellers in conservation land transfers from criminal liability
Summary
The Oregon Senate passed House Bill 2256A to clarify that sellers transferring property for land- and water-conservation purposes will not be criminally liable if the parcel was not a legally established lot.
The Oregon State Senate on third reading passed House Bill 2256A, which supporters said will protect sellers who transfer land for conservation purposes from criminal liability if the parcel being transferred was not formally established as a legal lot.
Senator Pruzanski, sponsor on the floor, said the bill "ensure[s] that individuals who want to enter into these contracts and transfers of land for the purposes of retaining the land and maintaining the land for the benefit of land and water conservation transactions that the seller would not be held, criminally liable for transferring land that was not a legal lot." He said the bill came out of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee on a 4-1 vote.
Senator Pruzanski told colleagues he had provided the Republican leader with a letter from the McKenzie River Trust dated May 1, 2025, describing the issue in greater detail. The sponsor said the bill aims to remove a legal barrier that can deter sellers from participating in conservation transfers.
The clerk called the roll and the Senate declared House Bill 2256A passed after the third reading; the transcript records that the bill "having received a constitutional majority, is declared passed." The Senate returned the measure for whatever next steps are required under legislative procedure.
No amendments or substantive floor debate opposing the bill were recorded in the transcript excerpt. The transcript does not record the final numerical vote breakdown by yes/no for every member beyond the clerk's declaration of passage.
