Oregon Legislature considering changes for six county courts

The Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on Monday, February 12 to discuss potential changes for six rural county courts in Oregon.

Senate Bill 1576-4 would give county courts the option to relinquish probate jurisdiction and to transfer probate matters to a circuit court. The impact could be significant for frontier and rural counties that have retained the position of county judge who rule over probate cases – and for counties that are seeking to change government structures.

Currently, thirty counties in Oregon have been authorized to transfer probate authority to circuit courts in Oregon and to shape county government structures independent from the state. Six counties do not have this authority and are bound by state law to oversee probate matters with a county judge, or to seek legislative approval to transfer probate court.

The six counties that could be impacted by SB 1576 are Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman, and Wheeler.

While Senate Bill 1576 does not require counties to relinquish probate authority, it does give county courts that option. Should counties opt to transfer juvenile and probate court matters to circuit court, they could also restructure county government.

In recent years, Morrow County and Baker County have done just that – opting to eliminate the county judge position in favor of a board of commissioners. Other counties, such as Crook County, transferred juvenile and probate court to circuit court but retained the judge position with two commissioners.

Instead of hearing probate transfer requests individually from each county, Senate Bill 1576-4 would give counties the authority to exercise such changes without the need for legislative approval.

Should the proposed changes make it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it will need to then be ratified by the house and senate.

Gilliam County Judge Elizabeth Farrar Campbell began working with lawmakers in Salem on this issue in January. The Gilliam County Court relinquished juvenile and probate court jurisdiction to the Gilliam County Circuit Court in December and discussed the potential of restructuring the county court to a board of commissioners.

Public outcry and vocal opponents of the proposed changes immediately pushed back. County court sessions became heated, and some members of the public grew to believe that the county court would vote to eliminate the county judge position in favor of a three-member board of commissioners.

On January 11, the county court agreed to table the conversation about a board of commissioners and to instead focus on creating a County Administrator position to help the court carry out its day to day business and to help the court achieve key objectives.

County Commissioner Pat Shannon said that he was not swayed by the pushback from some members of the public, but said that more input and planning was needed before changes were made. On January 11, Shannon did reiterate that "we are looking for a legislative fix," to the probate jurisdiction issue.

Commissioner Leah Watkins said that she would be in favor of forming a chartering committee to explore changes to the county court's governing structure.

But the issue of transferring probate court remained unresolved, and several residents of Gilliam County pointed out that the county court could not rescind its jurisdiction of probate court without approval from the Oregon Legislature.

A group of citizens from Gilliam County created Frontier Justice, a political action committee (PAC), engaged with a law firm and urged the court to revise its ruling on probate jurisdiction.

But Judge Farrar Campbell said that their legal counsel believed it was authorized.

"Our interpretation continues to be that it is allowed, that we can transfer it," Farrar Campbell said. "But we wanted to make sure it was correct and took it to the state."

Judge Farrar Campbell said that lawmakers in Salem were skeptical that they would be able to address the issue this year during the short session, which lasts only 35 days as opposed to 160 days in the long session. Farrar Campbell says that she was surprised to hear that the Senate Judiciary Committee would include it in an omnibus bill, which they announced just last Thursday.

Joining the Gilliam County Court were members of the Harney County Court, who also wished to have the authority to transfer probate court should they wish to do so.

Representative Mark Owens (R-Crane) gave testimony to the Judiciary Committee, stating that three of the six counties that could be impacted were in his district (House District 67).

Rep. Owens said that "In 1969, there was a statute created that would not allow some county courts to give up probate." Owens said that this decision was made because circuit courts could not serve some of the most rural counties in the state in a timely manner.

But Rep. Owens said that it was time to give each county the authority to make changes independently from the state and to align with the other thirty counties in Oregon.

"Every county court should have the ability to work with their community and their county to decide what type of county government best serves them in 2024 and the future," Rep. Owens said. He continued, saying "the other thirty counties in Oregon have been given that option, we're just asking that these six counties be given that option."

Rep. Owens said that he recognizes that some counties have mixed feelings on proposed changes to county government, but ultimately that is for them to decide.

Representative Greg Smith's Legislative Aide Quentin Dawson then provided testimony, and also signaled that Rep. Smith was in favor of the amendment in SB 1756. Dawson did state that after county courts transfer probate, voters in each county should decide on the structure of the county's government.

In her testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Farrar Campbell said that the probate statutes are murky and restricts local control over governing structure.

"The dashboard amendment is meant to remedy this inequity and provide local decision making authority over probate jurisdiction and government structure" to the six counties identified in a way that would mirror the guidelines for transferring juvenile court.

Still, Farrar Cambell said that the dashboard amendment to 1576 would not require the six counties to change their government structure if they didn't wish to.

"This allows each county court to determine what works best for their constituents and communities," she said.

The final testimony was given by Cris Patnode who is running for Gilliam County Judge and currently serves as Gilliam County Justice of the Peace.

Patnode said that the Gilliam County Court has been moving to eliminate the county judge position since she filed for the election in November of 2023. Patnode said that relinquishing probate jurisdiction should only come from the voters in Gilliam County and not solely from the county court. Patnode also voiced her concerns that two county commissioners could effectively eliminate the county judge position if there is no judicial function in place.

"This adversely affects democracy because it creates an unsafe forum for decision making," Patnode said.

One key provision in the dashboard amendment was its emergency status, which would mean that the law, if passed, would take effect immediately. Representative Owens asked that the emergency classification be removed and that the circuit court be given 90 days notice of probate transfers.

Representative Smith's Office also agreed that no emergency clause was necessary, and Cris Patnode also requested that such language be removed from the bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee continues to discuss SB 1576 in a work session this Wednesday. Along with the amendment for county courts, the omnibus bill also addresses drug use and enforcement on public transportation, as well as liability issues for recreation trails.

As this is a short-session for the Oregon Legislature, the session must not exceed 35 days and the final filing day will be on March 12, 2024.