Oregon Senate Judiciary reverses course on county courts

A bill that had the potential to change how county courts function in six rural counties was killed during the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Oregon State Capitol on Monday.

Senate Bill 1576 included an amendment that would have given county courts the option to give up its judicial function by relinquishing probate cases to circuit courts. In doing so, SB 1576-9 would have also given county courts in Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman, Harney, Malheur, and Grant counties the authority to eliminate the county judge position and to restructure the county government.

The bill appeared to be on track to make it out of the Senate Judicial Committee and towards a vote on the senate floor but was suddenly derailed by the five-member committee.

At the public hearing on February 12, several elected officials spoke in favor of the amendment, saying it would give local authority over probate jurisdiction to the counties. By doing so, the six counties would align with the other thirty counties in the state that refer probate cases to circuit courts and decide which form of government best suits their needs – be it a county court or a board of commissioners.

Joining Representative Owens in support of the amendment was Rep. Greg Smith's office, Gilliam County Judge Elizabeth Farrar Campbell, and Harney County Judge Bill Hart. The lone voice in opposition at the public hearing was Cris Patnode, who is running for Gilliam County Judge in the 2024 election.

At the work session meeting on February 15, the Senate Judiciary Committee quickly worked through the three amendments tied to SB 1576. All five members, including three Democrats and two Republicans, approved of the amendment. However, Senator Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) did ask if county courts should allow voters to decide on the issue and worried that county courts would not inform the public in advance.

"People who were speaking to this part of the bill mentioned that they wanted to make sure that it was voted on," Sen Thatcher said. She continued saying, "I know that the county courts could have the option to have it voted on but it would not be required and this is kind of a big leap, in that it is a big change."

Senator Thatcher said that she had heard from current and former county court judges and current candidates for county court judge that were concerned about transparency. Senator Thatcher also said that there should be a mechanism to inform the public but ideally, the issue should be left to voters.

Conversely, committee chair Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene) said that county courts are elected members of the community that are tasked with making decisions on behalf of their constituents.

"I don't personally believe that the state needs to get into that local control issue," Senator Prozanski said. And should constituents be divided, Sen. Prozanski said that they could organize and put it to a referendum vote by gathering signatures.

The February 15 session ended with a unanimous vote to move the amendment forward (the amendment number was changed from 1576-4 to 1576-9). But just four days later, the senators reversed course and said that more work needed to be done on the amendment. Starting the meeting on February 19, chairman Prozanski called for a vote to reconsider the amendments that had been adopted into SB 1576. Sen. Prozanski said that he now believed that the amendment should be removed from the bill.

Senator Prozanski said when assessing the impact to individuals in the six counties involved, that "voters of that particular county should have a look at it."

"I felt that based on the discussion we had last week, that there was a recourse for the voters of that county to be able to take this matter up," Sen. Prozanski said. "I am now stand corrected," he said.

Sen. Prozanski said that issues of such importance "should not be done in haste." He also said that constituents had been given inaccurate facts "based on a lot of misinformation that has occurred in Gilliam County and I think some of the other potential impacted counties."

Senator Prozanski did leave the door open for reconsidering the amendment next year during the long legislative session, which lasts 160 days compared to the 35 days of this year's short session for the Oregon Legislature.

In the meantime, the Gilliam County Court will likely have to review its stance on probate jurisdiction. The court's legal counsel has maintained that it has the legal authority to transfer probate cases to circuit court, while other attorneys have disputed this claim.

The Gilliam County Court voted to transfer jurisdiction of juvenile and probate cases to circuit court in December – a decision that was met with opposition from a large number of county constituents. The legality of the decision to transfer probate has been at the forefront of opposition to the county court.

With a number of important objectives such as housing, broadband internet, and industrial development in front of them, the current county court has just nine months in office to make an impact on its strategic goals. Judge Elizabeth Farrar Campbell is not running for reelection. County Commissioner Leah Watkins is running for county judge and Commissioner Pat Shannon is running for reelection. The court will need to decide if it wants to continue with this battle or capitulate to its detractors on the probate jurisdiction issue.