Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Committee Actions Votes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee introduces two LCs and sends UCC update on digital assets to the floor
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to introduce two legislative concepts as committee bills and forwarded Senate Bill 167 (UCC amendments for digital assets/electronic money) to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation.
In a work session the Senate Committee on Judiciary introduced two legislative concepts (LCs) for committee bills and voted to send Senate Bill 167 to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation.
What the committee introduced: Senator Thatcher moved and the committee voted to introduce LC 2797 (dated 01/28/2025), relating to amendments to the Oregon Death with Dignity Act, and LC 4624 (dated 02/03/2025), relating to municipal solid waste incinerators. The committee clerk recorded a roll‑call introduction with the following responses: Senator Brogdon — Aye; Senator Gelser Gluin — Aye; Senator Manning — Aye; Senator McClain — Excused; Vice Chair Thatcher — Aye; Chair Prozanski — Aye. The chair stated the motion carried and the LCs were placed on file in OLIS as introduced committee bills.
UCC, digital assets and a floor vote: The committee also considered Senate Bill 167, which updates the Uniform Commercial Code to address digital assets and electronic money, clarifies who has "control" of a digital asset for perfection and priority purposes, recognizes electronic records and signatures, and contains a limited transitional schedule for pre‑existing transactions.
Senator Thatcher expressed caution about the potential long‑term implications should central bank digital currencies emerge, saying he was concerned the state might be "putting the cart before the horse." Carl Bier, University of Oregon, speaking on behalf of the Oregon State Bar, told the committee that a potential U.S. central bank digital currency would be a federal matter and that SB 167 does not itself enable a federal central bank currency. "If there were to be, it would be strictly a matter of federal law," Bier said, adding that SB 167 instead aims to establish property rights and transactional predictability for private digital assets.
The committee took a roll‑call vote to send SB 167 to the floor with a due pass recommendation. The roll call as recorded: Senator Brogdon — Aye; Senator Gelser Gluin — Aye; Senator Manning — Aye; Senator McLean — Aye; several members exchanged brief procedural remarks but the clerk announced the motion carried and SB 167 was referred to the floor.
No final floor action occurred in committee — SB 167 was given a due pass recommendation and the LCs were introduced for bill drafting and referral into the committee bill process.
