75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
Enrolled
Senate Bill 244
Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the
President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing
rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part
of the President (at the request of Senate Interim Committee on
Judiciary for Oregon State Bar)
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to Oregon State Bar; creating new provisions; and
amending ORS 3.428, 9.025, 9.160 and 9.162.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 9.025 is amended to read:
9.025. (1) The Oregon State Bar shall be governed by a board of
governors consisting of { - 16 - } { + 18 + } members.
{ - Twelve - } { + Fourteen + } of the members shall be active
members of the Oregon State Bar, who on appointment, on
nomination, on election and during the full term for which the
member was appointed or elected, maintain the principal office of
law practice in the region of this state in which the active
members of the Oregon State Bar eligible to vote in the election
at which the member was elected maintain their principal offices.
Four of the members shall be appointed by the board of governors
from among the public. They shall be residents of this state and
shall not be active or inactive members of the Oregon State Bar.
No person charged with official duties under the executive and
legislative departments of state government, including but not
limited to elected officers of state government, may serve on the
board of governors. Any other person in the executive or
legislative department of state government who is otherwise
qualified may serve on the board of governors.
(2) For the purpose of eligibility for nomination and to vote
in the election of a member of the board of governors who is an
elective member, and for appointment to the board of governors,
the State of Oregon shall be divided into regions determined by
the board. The board shall establish board regions that are based
on the number of attorneys who have their principal offices in
the region. To the extent that it is reasonably possible, the
regions shall be configured by the board so that the
representation of board members to attorney population in each
region is equal to the representation provided in other regions.
At least once every 10 years the board shall review the number of
attorneys in the regions and shall alter or add regions as the
board determines is appropriate in seeking to attain the goal of
equal representation.
(3) Members of the board of governors may be elected only by
the active members of the Oregon State Bar who maintain their
Enrolled Senate Bill 244 (SB 244-B) Page 1
principal offices in the regions established by the board. The
{ + regular + } term of a member of the board is four years.
{ + The board may establish special terms for positions that are
shorter than four years for the purpose of staggering the terms
of members of the board. The board must identify positions with
special terms before accepting nominating petitions for the
positions. + }
(4) No judge of a municipal, state or federal court or any
other full-time judicial officer, shall be eligible for
appointment or election to the board of governors.
(5) The term of any member of the board of governors shall
terminate on the date of the death or resignation of the member,
or if the member { + of the board + } is required to be a member
of the Oregon State Bar, the term terminates on the date:
(a) Of the termination of active membership in the Oregon State
Bar { - by the member - } for any reason;
(b) When the member discontinues to maintain the principal
office of { + law + } practice in the region in which it was
maintained at the time of the appointment or election of the
member; or
(c) When the member assumes office as a judge of a municipal,
state or federal court, or fills a full-time judicial office.
(6) No member of the board of governors shall be eligible,
during the term of office, for service pro tempore as a judge of
any municipal, state or federal court.
SECTION 2. { + The amendments to ORS 9.025 by section 1 of
this 2009 Act become operative January 1, 2011, except that the
provisions for two new members of the board of governors of the
Oregon State Bar become operative on the effective date of this
2009 Act for the purposes of nominating and electing the two new
members to assume the duties of a member of the board of
governors on January 1, 2011. + }
SECTION 3. ORS 9.162 is amended to read:
9.162. As used in ORS 9.160 to 9.166 and 9.280, unless the
context or subject matter requires otherwise:
(1) 'Person' means a human being { - and where
appropriate - } , { + a public body as defined by ORS 174.109,
+ }a public or private corporation, an unincorporated
association, a partnership, a
{ - government or a governmental instrumentality - } { +
limited liability company or any other business entity created
under law + }.
(2) 'Restitution' means full, partial or nominal payment of
pecuniary damages to a victim.
(3) 'Victim' means any person who the court determines has
suffered pecuniary damages as a result of any other person's
violation of ORS 9.160.
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
Enrolled Senate Bill 244 (SB 244-B) Page 2
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
Enrolled Senate Bill 244 (SB 244-B) Page 3
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
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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.
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Passed by Senate February 16, 2009
Repassed by Senate May 19, 2009
...........................................................
Secretary of Senate
...........................................................
President of Senate
Passed by House May 14, 2009
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Enrolled Senate Bill 244 (SB 244-B) Page 5
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 2009
Approved:
......M.,............., 2009
...........................................................
Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 2009
...........................................................
Secretary of State
Enrolled Senate Bill 244 (SB 244-B) Page 6