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Committee sends bill on preventive services and standing orders to House floor after rejecting amendment
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Summary
The committee approved sending Senate Bill 1598 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation after rejecting a dash-2 amendment that would have changed 'may not' to 'shall not' in standing-order language. Legislative counsel said 'may not' and 'shall not' are legally equivalent; Oregon's state epidemiologist said standing-order authority would not allow compelled vaccination.
The Oregon House Committee on Health Care voted Thursday to move Senate Bill 1598 to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation after rejecting a dash-2 amendment.
Legislative staff described SB 1598 as requiring state-regulated health plans to cover specified preventive health services, including immunizations; authorizing the state public health officer to recommend services for coverage and to issue standing orders for providers to dispense drugs and devices; and directing the Oregon Health Authority to publish related guidance on its website. Staff said the measure passed the Senate and that a dash-2 amendment was on OLIS.
Representative Diehl brought the dash-2 amendment, which would have replaced language saying a standing order 'may not' require someone to receive, use, administer, or withhold a drug or device with language stating the public health officer 'shall not' do those things. Representative Deal said she favored 'shall not' because to a layperson it reads as a stronger prohibition.
Victor Reuther, legislative counsel, told the committee there is no legal distinction between 'may not' and 'shall not' in this context, noting ORS 174.100 and the Legislative Counsel drafting manual treat the phrases as equivalent expressions of an absolute prohibition. "Shall not and may not are equivalent expressions of an absolute prohibition," he said.
The committee voted on the dash-2 amendment and rejected it during roll call. Representative Chernoz moved to advance SB 1598 as introduced with a due-pass recommendation; the motion passed. During questioning, a committee member asked whether the bill's standing-order authority could have been used in 2020 to require vaccination for entry into public spaces. Dean Seidlinger, Oregon's health officer and state epidemiologist, said he did not believe the standing-order authority provided in the bill would permit compelling someone to get a vaccine and that emergency authorities used during the COVID-19 pandemic were a different legal channel. "I think the standing-order authority that you are voting on now would preclude that authority from being used, to compel someone to get a vaccination," Seidlinger said. Legislative counsel corroborated that nothing in the bill would grant power to compel vaccination.
A committee member announced plans to file a minority report on SB 1598; the chair acknowledged notice was served. The committee adjourned after finishing its business and said it will reconvene in June for planned informational presentations.
