75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
SA to SB 244
LC 565/SB 244-3
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO
SENATE BILL 244
By COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
February 11
On page 1 of the printed bill, line 2, delete 'amending ORS
9.025 and 9.162;' and insert 'amending ORS 3.428, 9.025, 9.160,
9.162, 9.527 and 9.990; repealing ORS 9.500, 9.505, 9.510, 9.515
and 9.520;'.
On page 2, after line 32, insert:
' { + SECTION 4. + } ORS 9.160 is amended to read:
' 9.160. (1) Except as provided in this section, a person may
not practice law { + in this state, + }or represent that
{ + the + } person { - as - } { + is + } qualified to
practice law { + in this state, + } unless { - that - } { +
the + } person is an active member of the Oregon State Bar.
' (2) Subsection (1) of this section does not affect the right
to prosecute or defend a cause in person as provided in ORS
9.320.
' (3) An individual licensed under ORS 696.022 acting in the
scope of the individual's license to arrange a real estate
transaction, including the sale, purchase, exchange, option or
lease coupled with an option to purchase, lease for a term of one
year or longer or rental of real property, is not engaged in the
practice of law { + in this state + } in violation of subsection
(1) of this section.
' (4) A title insurer authorized to do business in this state,
a title insurance agent licensed under the laws of this state or
an escrow agent licensed under the laws of this state is not
engaged in the practice of law { + in this state + } in
violation of subsection (1) of this section if, for the purposes
of a transaction in which the insurer or agent provides title
insurance or escrow services, the insurer or agent:
' (a) Prepares any satisfaction, reconveyance, release,
discharge, termination or cancellation of a lien, encumbrance or
obligation;
' (b) Acts pursuant to the instructions of the principals to
the transaction as scrivener to fill in blanks in any document
selected by the principals;
' (c) Presents to the principals to the transaction for their
selection any blank form prescribed by statute, rule, ordinance
or other law; or
' (d) Presents to the principals to the transaction for their
selection a blank form prepared or approved by a lawyer licensed
to practice law in this state for one or more of the following:
' (A) A mortgage.
' (B) A trust deed.
' (C) A promissory note.
' (D) An assignment of a mortgagee's interest under a mortgage.
' (E) An assignment of a beneficial interest under a trust
deed.
' (F) An assignment of a seller's or buyer's interest under a
land sale contract.
' (G) A power of attorney.
' (H) A subordination agreement.
' (I) A memorandum of an instrument that is to be recorded in
place of the instrument that is the subject of the memorandum.
' (5) In performing the services permitted in subsection (4) of
this section, a title insurer, a title insurance agent or an
escrow agent may not draft, select or give advice regarding any
real estate document if those activities require the exercise of
informed or trained discretion.
' (6) The exemption provided by subsection (4) of this section
does not apply to any acts relating to a document or form that
are performed by an escrow agent under subsection (4)(b), (c) or
(d) of this section unless the escrow agent provides to the
principals to the transaction a notice in at least 12-point type
as follows:
' _______________________________________________________________
YOU WILL BE REVIEWING, APPROVING AND SIGNING IMPORTANT
DOCUMENTS AT CLOSING. LEGAL CONSEQUENCES FOLLOW FROM THE
SELECTION AND USE OF THESE DOCUMENTS. THESE CONSEQUENCES AFFECT
YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. YOU MAY CONSULT AN ATTORNEY ABOUT
THESE DOCUMENTS. YOU SHOULD CONSULT AN ATTORNEY IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ABOUT THE TRANSACTION OR ABOUT THE
DOCUMENTS. IF YOU WISH TO REVIEW TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS THAT YOU
HAVE NOT YET SEEN, PLEASE CONTACT THE ESCROW AGENT.
' _______________________________________________________________
' (7) The exemption provided by subsection (4) of this section
does not apply to any acts relating to a document or form that
are performed by an escrow agent under subsection (4)(b), (c) or
(d) of this section for a real estate sale and purchase
transaction in which all or part of the purchase price consists
of deferred payments by the buyer to the seller unless the escrow
agent provides to the principals to the transaction:
' (a) A copy of any proposed instrument of conveyance between
the buyer and seller to be used in the transaction;
' (b) A copy of any proposed deferred payment security
instrument between the buyer and seller to be used in the
transaction; and
' (c) A copy of any proposed promissory note or other evidence
of indebtedness between the buyer and seller to be used in the
transaction.
' (8) The notice and copies of documents that must be provided
under subsections (6) and (7) of this section must be delivered
in the manner most likely to ensure receipt by the principals to
the transaction at least three days before completion of the
transaction. If copies of documents have been provided under
subsection (7) of this section and are subsequently amended,
copies of the amended documents must be provided before
completion of the transaction.
' (9) Failure of any person to comply with the requirements of
subsections (3) to (8) of this section does not affect the
validity of any transaction and may not be used as a basis to
challenge any transaction.
' { + SECTION 5. + } ORS 3.428 is amended to read:
' 3.428. (1) A family law facilitation program may be
established by the judges of the family court department of a
circuit court. If there is no family court department for the
court, a family law facilitation program may be established for a
circuit court by the presiding judge for the judicial district. A
family law facilitation program shall be designed to assist
litigants in domestic relations or other family court proceedings
described in ORS 3.408. The program shall be developed in
consultation with the local family law advisory committee
established for the judicial district under ORS 3.434. The
program shall operate under the supervision of the family court
department or, if there is no family court department, under the
supervision of the presiding judge for the judicial district.
Services under the program shall be provided by court personnel
in facilities under the supervision and control of the family
court department or, if there is no family court department,
under the supervision and control of the presiding judge for the
judicial district. The program may provide:
' (a) Educational materials.
' (b) Court forms.
' (c) Assistance in completing forms.
' (d) Information about court procedures.
' (e) Referrals to agencies and resources that provide legal
and other services to parents or children.
' (2) All materials, forms, instructions and referral lists
provided through the program must be approved by the family court
department or, if there is no family court department, by the
presiding judge for the judicial district.
' (3) Except for those fees authorized for forms under ORS
21.361, services provided through the program shall be provided
without charge.
' (4) An employee or other person providing services to
litigants through a family law facilitation program as provided
in this section is not engaged in the practice of law { + in
this state + } for the purposes of ORS 9.160.
' (5) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, an
employee or other person who assisted litigants through a family
law facilitation program may not, for a period of one year after
leaving the program, charge or collect any fee from a litigant
for services relating to a matter that was the subject of
assistance under the program.
' (6) The prohibition of subsection (5) of this section does
not apply to persons admitted to the practice of law in this
state.
' { + SECTION 6. + } { + ORS 9.500, 9.505, 9.510, 9.515 and
9.520 are repealed. + }
' { + SECTION 7. + } ORS 9.527 is amended to read:
' 9.527. The Supreme Court may disbar, suspend or reprimand a
member of the bar whenever, upon proper proceedings for that
purpose, it appears to the court that:
' (1) The member has committed an act or carried on a course of
conduct of such nature that, if the member were applying for
admission to the bar, the application should be denied;
' (2) The member has been convicted in any jurisdiction of an
offense which is a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or a
felony under the laws of this state, or is punishable by death or
imprisonment under the laws of the United States, in any of which
cases the record of the conviction shall be conclusive evidence;
' (3) The member has willfully disobeyed an order of a court
requiring the member to do or forbear an act connected with the
legal profession;
' (4) The member is guilty of willful deceit or misconduct in
the legal profession;
' (5) The member is guilty of willful violation of any of the
provisions of ORS 9.460 { - or 9.510 - } ;
' (6) The member is guilty of gross or repeated negligence or
incompetence in the practice of law; or
' (7) The member has violated any of the provisions of the
rules of professional conduct adopted pursuant to ORS 9.490.
' { + SECTION 8. + } ORS 9.990 is amended to read:
' 9.990. { - (1) - } Any person who violates ORS 9.160 shall
be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned in the county jail for
a period not to exceed six months, or both.
' { - (2) Any person who violates any of the provisions of ORS
9.500 or 9.520 commits a Class A violation. - }
' { - (3) Any person violating any of the provisions of ORS
9.505 shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000 or
imprisoned in the county jail for a period not to exceed one
year, or both. - } '.
In line 33, delete '4' and insert '9'.
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