HB 2819: Relating to fire protection enforcement procedures. - Oregon

B-Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · Jul 18, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled version with minor formatting and procedural updates. The substantive policy content regarding fire protection enforcement procedures and the amendment to ORS 477.985 remains unchanged from the previous B-Engrossed version. The primary difference is the addition of official signatures and dates indicating the bill has been approved by both legislative chambers and the Governor.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; only procedural formatting and signature blocks were added to finalize the enrolled version.

TECHNICAL

Header changed from 'B-Engrossed' to 'Enrolled' to indicate final legislative approval

Added official signatures, dates, and certification blocks for House and Senate approval and Governor's signature

Removed editorial summary section explaining the bill's digest and readability score

Updated legislative history references to reflect final passage dates and signatures

A-Engrossed → B-Engrossed · 3 edits · Jun 16, 2025

MINOR

The bill was amended to change how fire protection citations are issued. The most significant change is replacing 'reasonable grounds' with 'probable cause' as the standard for issuing citations when an officer did not personally witness the violation. The bill also adds a new definition for 'credible witness' to clarify what makes a witness statement reliable.

Scope change

The scope of enforcement authority remains the same, but the legal standard for issuing citations when violations are not directly observed has been raised from 'reasonable grounds' to 'probable cause'.

ENFORCEMENT

The standard for issuing citations when an officer did not witness the violation was changed from 'reasonable grounds' to 'probable cause', making it harder to issue citations based on second-hand information.

DEFINITION

A new definition for 'credible witness' was added to specify what makes a witness statement reliable, including the content of the observation, circumstances, and consistency with other evidence.

TECHNICAL

The bill's title and amendment history were updated to reflect that it is now the B-Engrossed version with Senate amendments included.

Introduced → A-Engrossed · 3 edits · Jun 16, 2025

MINOR

HB 2819 was amended to clarify who qualifies as an enforcement officer authorized to issue fire protection citations. The changes narrow the definition from including all State Forestry Department employees to specifically naming the State Forester and persons authorized by the State Forester, while also updating the summary description to reflect this change.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing references to department employees and State Forester employees as independent enforcement officers, focusing authority on the State Forester and those they authorize.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the definition of 'enforcement officer' from including State Forestry Department employees, the State Forester, and employees of the State Forester to only include the State Forester and persons authorized by the State Forester.

DEFINITION

Removed subsections (b), (c), and (d) from the original definition that listed department employees and authorized persons as separate categories, consolidating authority under the State Forester.

ENFORCEMENT

Updated the summary digest to clarify that citations may be issued by the State Forester or authorized persons rather than any department employee.

Relating to fire protection enforcement procedures.

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