Judiciary committee advances construction wage-liability bill, immigration legal-aid funding request and mortuary-board discipline changes

The Senate Committee on Judiciary met Wednesday for multiple work sessions and committee motions that advanced three substantive bills to the Senate floor or to the budget committee.

Senate Bill 426 (construction wage liability)

Senate Bill 426 would make project owners and their general contractors jointly and severally liable for unpaid wages owed to construction workers on certain projects, authorize civil actions by unpaid workers or representatives, and create disclosure and withholding mechanisms for subcontractor payroll records. The committee considered two competing amendment packages: a dash-10 amendment offered clarifications and a 21-day right-to-cure; a dash-11 amendment (sponsored by Senator McLean) added subrogation rights that would let an owner or general contractor who pays unpaid wages step into the worker's position and seek recovery from the unpaid-wages fund administered by the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).

After debate the committee adopted the dash-10 amendment and then voted to move SB 426, as amended by dash-10, to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation.

Sen. McLean, sponsor of the dash-11 substitute, described dash-11 as a compromise intended to get unpaid workers paid promptly while preserving BOLI's existing unpaid-wage collection process. "If you gotta pay them to get them paid, then you can then tender that claim to the system we already have in place, the unpaid wages fund in the BOLI system," McLean said, explaining the subrogation concept in dash-11. McLean said she removed penalty wages from her draft and narrowed the measure's scope to developers and general contractors rather than homeowners.

Senators who expressed support for the dash-10 compromise said it improves the original bill but voiced concerns about the bill's independent-contractor presumptions and other drafting questions that will be considered before floor action. The committee recorded the dash-10 adoption and the subsequent motion to send SB 426 to the floor; both votes carried in committee (roll-call summaries recorded in the hearing record).

Senate Bill 703 (immigration legal-services grants)

Senate Bill 703 would direct the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) to distribute grants to nonprofit service providers to help eligible noncitizens pay for immigration legal services to change immigration status, require participating nonprofits to report results, direct DHS to refer eligible individuals to the nonprofits, set an explicit state policy objective and set an appropriations target of $6 million from the General Fund. The bill declares an emergency effective on passage.

The committee moved SB 703 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation and a referral to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means for consideration of the appropriation. Several senators said they supported the program concept but voiced fiscal concerns about adding a $6 million general-fund request in a tight budget environment; some urged outside fundraising and private sponsorship to augment state resources.

Senate Bill 872 (mortuary and cemetery board disciplinary authority)

Senate Bill 872 would give the Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board explicit authority to issue reprimands, license limitations, conditions of probation, license disciplinary actions and emergency suspensions; it would also raise the per-violation civil-penalty cap to $5,000. The committee considered a combined dash-3 amendment (incorporating a earlier dash-1 and dash-2) that clarifies board investigative authority for trainee registrants and removes the board's authority to assess the costs of disciplinary proceedings.

The committee adopted the dash-3 amendment and moved SB 872, as amended, to the Senate floor with a due-pass recommendation. Senator Manning agreed to carry the bill to the floor.

Other procedural items

At the start of the hearing the chair announced scheduling adjustments: Senate Bills 165 and 926 were rescheduled to April 2; Senate Bill 233 was carried over to Monday, March 31. The committee closed the March 26 business and adjourned to resume work on the posted bills at subsequent hearings.

What comes next

SB 426 and SB 872 were reported out of committee with do-pass recommendations and are now on the Senate calendar. SB 703 is referred to Joint Ways and Means for the appropriation request. Committee members said they expect additional floor review and technical edits, particularly for SB 426, and several senators signaled continuing fiscal scrutiny for SB 703 at Ways and Means.

Detailed outcomes (committee-level)

- SB 426: Dash-10 amendment adopted in committee; bill moved to the floor with a do-pass recommendation (committee roll-call recorded). The committee debate recorded objections to the measure's breadth from members favoring the alternate dash-11 package.

- SB 703: Moved to the floor with recommendation to refer to Joint Ways and Means for the requested appropriation of $6,000,000 (due-pass with referral).

- SB 872: Dash-3 amendment adopted; bill moved to the floor with a do-pass recommendation.

Committee staff posted fiscal and revenue impact statements and amendment text to OLIS; legislators said they will continue refining statutory language and fiscal assumptions before floor consideration.