House Judiciary hears bill to shorten court-debt collection windows, direct study of automatic expungement

The House Committee on Judiciary held a public hearing Wednesday, March 12, on House Bill 3,825, which would shorten how long courts and collection systems may pursue criminal monetary judgments — proposing 10 years where the most serious conviction is a felony and five years where the most serious conviction is a misdemeanor — and direct the Oregon Judicial Department to study automatic expungement and report back by Sept. 15, 2027.

Supporters and legal-service providers told the committee the change would relieve long-running financial burdens on low-income Oregonians while preserving restitution owed to victims. "This bill is meant to start a conversation," Representative Willie Choetzen said, framing the measure as an attempt to balance accountability against long-term harm that fines and fees impose on people without ability to pay.

Advocates said old court debt is disproportionately uncollectible and harmful. Gus Patel Tepper, a supervising attorney at the Policy Advocacy Clinic at Berkeley Law, told the committee his research using Oregon Judicial Department data and surveys found that the large majority of outstanding court debt is unlikely to be collected and that collection activity drops significantly after a few years. "Old debt is just one…