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Oregon Association of County Clerks outlines election, recording duties and proposed bills to Rules Committee
Summary
The Oregon Association of County Clerks (OACC) presented to the Senate Rules Committee on Feb. 3, 2025, describing statutory duties (elections, recording land records, public services), revenue/fee distribution, operational challenges and five legislative proposals including fee adjustments and a petition blackout period.
Rochelle Long, Klamath County clerk and president of the Oregon Association of County Clerks (OACC), briefed the Senate Committee on Rules on Feb. 3 on the association's responsibilities and legislative priorities.
Long said county clerks administer elections, maintain land records (deeds, mortgages, recording of death certificates), hold property-value appeal hearings, issue marriage licenses and maintain jurisdictional contact lists for reporting to state agencies. She described the OACC as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by local county jurisdictions and said clerks perform additional fee-based services (passport processing, notary services and, in some counties, wedding ceremonies) to support mandated functions.
Long ran through a sample election schedule showing that even special-district elections require months of staff time and said clerks must contend with frequent statutory changes that affect administration. The presentation included a Jackson County fee breakdown showing how recording fees are distributed: the slide presented a sample where about 61% of a first-page recording fee goes to state agencies, roughly 19% to the local surveyor, 8% to the county clerk and 11% to a county GIS department.
The OACC indicated five bills they intend to pursue this session: adjustments to fees, cleanup bills for public-records fee language, authorization for deputy county clerks to perform marriage ceremonies, and a proposed blackout period for submitting petition signatures to ease clerk office workload during elections. Long said the petition matter could see amendments as stakeholders confer.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about appointed vs. elected clerks and fee details. Long said seven Oregon counties have appointed clerks or elections directors (Benton, Clatsop, Hood River, Lane, Multnomah, Umatilla and Washington).
