§ ORS § 251.205Appointment of committee to draft explanatory statement of measure proposed by initiative or referendum

(1) As used in this section, “proponents” means:

(a) With respect
to any state measure initiated or referred by petition, the chief petitioners;
or

(b) With respect
to a measure referred by the Legislative Assembly, the President of the Senate,
who shall appoint a Senator, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
who shall appoint a Representative.

(2) For each
state measure to be submitted to the people at a special election held on the
date of a primary election or any general election, a committee of five
citizens shall be selected to prepare the explanatory statement under ORS
251.215.

(3) Not later
than the 120th day before the election, the proponents of the measure shall
appoint two members to the committee and notify the Secretary of State in
writing of the selections. If the proponents do not appoint two members, the
Secretary of State shall appoint two members of the committee from among
supporters, if any, of the measure not later than the 118th day before the
election.

(4) Not later
than the 118th day before the election, the Secretary of State shall appoint
two members of the committee from among the opponents, if any, of the measure.

(5) The four
appointed members of the committee shall select the fifth member and notify the
Secretary of State in writing of the selection. If the four members have not
selected the fifth member by the 111th day before the election, the fifth
member shall be appointed by the Secretary of State not later than the 109th
day before the election.

(6) A vacancy
shall be filled not later than two business days after the vacancy occurs by
the person who made the original appointment. Unless the Secretary of State
fills a vacancy, the person filling the vacancy shall notify the Secretary of
State in writing of the selection.

(7) With respect
to a measure referred by the Legislative Assembly, a Senator or Representative
appointed under subsection (1) of this section may disclose whether the Senator
or Representative supports or opposes the state measure. The Secretary of State
shall print the disclosure in the voters’ pamphlet following the explanatory
statement.

(8) The
Legislative Policy and Research Committee shall provide any administrative
staff assistance required by the explanatory statement committee to facilitate
the work of the explanatory statement committee under this section or ORS
251.215.

(9) For purposes
of this section, “measure” includes an initiative petition relating to a state
measure that has been filed with the Secretary of State for the purpose of
verifying signatures under ORS 250.105. The requirements of this section shall
not apply to the petition if the secretary determines that the petition
contains less than the required number of signatures of electors. [Formerly
254.210; 1987 c.707 §15; 1995 c.607 §§31,31a; 1999 c.844 §2; 2001 c.965 §9;
2011 c.646 §4; 2016 c.88 §12]