Public hearing held on bill to license debt-resolution providers and require consumer safeguards

The committee held a public hearing on House Bill 3,779, which would define and regulate debt resolution services and providers, require registration with the director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), and specify consumer disclosures, record-keeping and restrictions on provider actions.

Representative Vicky Breeze Iverson, sponsor of the bill, said Oregon has among the highest consumer-debt burdens and that existing state law caps inhibit access to debt-resolution services now available in many other states. “The average Oregon household owes $66,950 in consumer debt,” Representative Vicky Breeze Iverson told the committee, and she described HB 3,779 as an effort to align Oregon statute with federal regulations and other states to provide an additional debt-resolution option for consumers.

Steve Baum, legislative director for the American Association for Debt Resolution, testified virtually describing how industry programs typically work: a comprehensive cash-flow assessment, enrollment of unsecured accounts into a program, consumer-controlled deposits into an insured dedicated account, negotiation of settlements with creditors, and fee collection only after individual debts are settled and payments made toward settlements. Baum said his industry’s members typically negotiate settlements that result in 30–35% savings for enrolled consumers and that the bill codifies federal protections while adding state licensing and disclosure requirements.

Committee staff noted the measure requires providers to furnish signed agreements, maintain customer telephone lines, provide regular account statements, retain records for specified periods, and prohibits certain provider actions; the bill becomes operative July 1, 2026, and takes effect 90 days after adjournment sine die. The committee closed the public hearing; no vote was taken in this session.