Senate Judiciary Committee hears bill letting counties raise mediation fee cap, requires new reporting

Chair Senator Floyd Prozanski called the Senate Judiciary Committee to order on Feb. 3 and opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 97, which would let counties increase an optional surcharge on marriage licenses and domestic-partnership declarations and would require new reporting on county conciliation and mediation funds.

The bill "authorizes counties to increase fees for marriage licenses and declarations of domestic partnership up to $50 above the base fee and permits periodic adjustments based on the consumer price index," Kimberly McCullough, senior counsel for government relations for the Oregon Judicial Department, told the committee. McCullough said the measure also "requires each county treasurer to provide quarterly financial reports on conciliation and mediation accounts to the presiding judge of the judicial district," and that presiding judges would submit an annual summary to the state court administrator. The bill sets the first quarterly reports by Oct. 31, 2025, and the first annual reports by July 30, 2026.

Nut graf: Supporters said the bill addresses rising demand and uneven access to family-law mediation across Oregon by giving counties a local funding option and creating a reporting mechanism so the judicial department and counties can identify and address disparities.

McCullough told the committee mediation in family-law cases "provides parents with opportunities to work together for their children's benefit," reduces litigation costs and the time children are exposed to parental conflict, and offers an out-of-court path that can be less costly than hearings. She said state general-fund dollars pass through to counties but "state funding for these services has remained relatively flat in recent years" while demand and costs have risen.

Tim Dooley, legislative affairs manager for the Association of Oregon Counties, testified in support as well. "Indexed to inflation, this fee would be slightly more than $50 today," Dooley said, noting the $10 surcharge was enacted in 1977 and has not been increased. He said the bill also allows the statutory maximum to be adjusted by the consumer price index so counties would not need to return to the Legislature to raise the cap in future years.

Dooley added that limited access means only about half of family-law cases with children currently receive mediation in some counties and that participants in counties that do provide services sometimes pay $100 to $200 per session. The bill, he said, "enables counties to make investments in conciliation and mediation services" and the reporting requirement "sets up a reporting mechanism for county treasurers and presiding judges to give the state court administrator information on expenditures and fund balances."

Committee discussion on SB 97 was brief; no committee questions were asked after testimony and the chair closed the public hearing and moved to the next item on the agenda.

Ending: The public hearing record for SB 97 closed with no committee action taken during the Feb. 3 session. Supporters said they expect the reporting requirement to help identify where services are limited and where counties may choose to use the raised cap to expand access.