HB 4159 Oregon House · 2026 Regular Session

Relating to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

Summary
] [ Provides that the Governor shall appoint one member of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission who has local government experience. ] Provides that at least one member who is appointed to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission must have local government experience. Provides that attorney-client privilege is not waived when a communication is made to the commission for purposes of providing information regarding a complaint alleging a violation of government ethics laws or public meetings laws.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Feb 5, 2026 Signed Apr 7, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

A-Engrossed Enrolled · 2 edits · Mar 10, 2026
MINOR
The bill was finalized for signature (Enrolled) after passing the Senate. The most significant policy change is the addition of new subsections to the attorney-client privilege section, which now explicitly protects communications between clients and legal referral services, and between different law practitioners representing the same client. This expands the scope of protected communications to ensure that individuals can consult with legal aid services without fear that their conversations will be used against them in ethics investigations.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include legal referral services and communications between multiple attorneys representing the same party under the attorney-client privilege.
DEFINITION

Added explicit protection for communications involving legal referral services and between law practitioners representing the same client under the attorney-client privilege.

TECHNICAL

Changed the document header from 'A-Engrossed' to 'Enrolled' and updated the sponsor credit line to reflect the final Senate amendments.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2026 · House Feb 25, 2026

How they voted

280
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 30
Mar 6, 2026
D Democratic18
18 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican12
10 Yea 2
83% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
8
Committee
4
Apr 7, 2026
Signed into law
Governor signed.
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Upper · Passed
President signed.
upper
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
Speaker signed.
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
House concurred in Senate amendments and repassed bill.
lower
Mar 6, 2026
Upper · Passed
Third reading. Carried by Golden. Passed.
upper
Mar 2, 2026
Upper · Passed
Recommendation: Do pass with amendments. (Printed A-Eng.)
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules.
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Introduced
First reading. Referred to President's desk.
upper
Feb 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
Third reading. Carried by Sosa. Passed.
lower
Feb 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Recommendation: Do pass.
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Rules.
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Introduced
First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk.
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.