Chapter 468 Oregon Laws 2003

AN ACT

HB 2763

Relating to voters’ pamphlets; creating new provisions; amending ORS 251.325 and 251.335; and declaring an emergency.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 251.325 is amended to read:

251.325. (1) The Secretary of State by rule shall adopt a schedule and procedures for preparing, printing and distributing county voters’ pamphlets. The schedule and procedures shall include but not be limited to deadlines for filing material for the voters’ pamphlet, and except as otherwise provided by law, the format of material to be submitted and the size and other requirements applicable to candidate portraits.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, at the time materials are filed under ORS 251.335, each candidate for nomination or election to the following offices shall pay to the county clerk the following fee for space in the county voters’ pamphlet:

(a) An office to which a salary or other compensation beyond expenses is attached, $100.

(b) An office to which a salary or other compensation beyond expenses is not attached, $25.

(3) At the time materials are filed under ORS 251.335, each candidate for nomination or election to a city or county office at the primary or general election shall pay to the county clerk the following fee for space in the county voters’ pamphlet:

(a) If the number of active electors in the electoral district is less than 1,000, $25.

(b) If the number of active electors in the electoral district is 1,000 or more and less than 10,000, $50.

(c) If the number of active electors in the electoral district is 10,000 or more and less than 50,000, $100.

(d) If the number of active electors in the electoral district is 50,000 or more, $300.

[(2)] (4) The Secretary of State by rule shall adopt a schedule of fees to be charged by the county clerks for including [portraits of candidates, statements and] arguments in the voters’ pamphlet. The fees need not reflect the actual cost of producing the voters’ pamphlet.

(5) The county clerk shall refund [the] a filing fee described in this section to any person who applies for the refund not later than the last day for filing material for inclusion in the voters’ pamphlet. When a refund is made, the material for which the fee was paid [shall] may not be included in the pamphlet.

(6) As used in this section, “electoral district” means a county, the part of a city located within the county or, if a candidate is elected by zone or subdistrict of the county or city, the zone or subdistrict in which the candidate is nominated or elected.

SECTION 2. ORS 251.335 is amended to read:

251.335. (1) Not later than the date specified by the Secretary of State, any candidate for nomination or election to county, city or special district office within the county, or an agent of the candidate, may file with the county clerk of a county that prepares a county voters’ pamphlet a portrait of the candidate and a typewritten statement of the reasons the candidate should be elected. The portrait and statement must comply with the applicable rules of the Secretary of State.

(2) The county clerk [shall] may not accept the filing of a statement or portrait of any candidate unless the filing is accompanied by the appropriate fee [as prescribed by the Secretary of State] described in ORS 251.325.

[(2)] (3) As used in this section, “district” has the meaning given that term in ORS 255.012.

SECTION 3. (1) The amendments to ORS 251.325 and 251.335 by sections 1 and 2 of this 2003 Act apply to:

(a) Filing fees paid on or after the effective date of this 2003 Act; and

(b) Filing fees paid prior to the effective date of this 2003 Act by a candidate for any special district office for inclusion of a candidate portrait and statement in a county voters’ pamphlet prepared for the election held on May 20, 2003.

(2) If a candidate for any special district office paid a filing fee prior to the effective date of this 2003 Act for inclusion of a candidate portrait and statement in a county voters’ pamphlet prepared for the election held on May 20, 2003, and the amount of the fee was higher than the fee specified in ORS 251.325 as amended by section 1 of this 2003 Act, the county clerk shall refund to the candidate an amount equal to the difference between the fee paid and the fee specified in ORS 251.325 as amended by section 1 of this 2003 Act.

SECTION 4. This 2003 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2003 Act takes effect on its passage.

Approved by the Governor June 24, 2003

Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 24, 2003

Effective date June 24, 2003

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