The Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) is the
codified body of
statutory law
Statutory law or statute law is written law passed by a body of legislature. This is opposed to oral or customary law; or regulatory law promulgated by the executive or common law of the judiciary. Statutes may originate with national, stat ...
governing the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...
, as enacted by the
Oregon Legislative Assembly, and occasionally by citizen
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
. The statutes are subordinate to the
Oregon Constitution.
The
Office of the Legislative Counsel
The Office of the Legislative Counsel of the United States House of Representatives is a nonpartisan government organization which assists the House with the drafting and formatting of laws. The Office was first created as the Legislative Drafting ...
prepares and publishes the softcover multi-volume Oregon Revised Statutes every two years, after each biennial legislative session.
The Oregon Legislature created the Oregon Revised Statutes by recodifying the previous code, which was called the
Oregon Compiled Laws Annotated (1940). ''See'' 1953 Or. Laws c. 3. The first Oregon Revised Statutes was published in 1953. Replacement parts were published biennially from 1955 to 1987 in odd years. Pages for this set were printed on yellow paper housed in huge, gray
looseleaf binders The first softcover edition of the Oregon Revised Statutes was published in 1989. The 2009 edition requires 21 volumes.
The codes which preceded the ORS are
Deady's General Laws of Oregon (1845–1864),
Deady and Lane's General Laws of Oregon (1843–1872),
Hill's Annotated Laws of Oregon (1887),
Hill's Annotated Laws of Oregon (2d ed. 1892),
Bellinger and Cotton's Annotated Codes and Statutes of Oregon (1902),
Lord's Oregon Laws (1910),
Oregon Laws (Olson’s) (1920),
Oregon Code Annotated (1930), and
Oregon Compiled Laws Annotated (1940).
See also
*
List of Oregon ballot measures
The list of Oregon ballot measures lists all statewide ballot measures to the present.
In Oregon, the initiative and referendum process dates back to 1902, when the efforts of the Direct Legislation League prompted amending the Oregon Constit ...
*
Oregon Administrative Rules
''Oregon Administrative Rules Compilation'' (OAR) is the official compilation of rules and regulations, having the force of law in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the regulatory and administrative corollary to Oregon Revised Statutes, and is publi ...
References
*Clayton, M. and Midkiff, S. (2005). Oregon Practice Materials: A Selective Annotated Bibliography. State Practice Materials: Annotated Bibliographies, edited by Frank G. Houdek (AALL Publication Series No. 63, Buffalo, NY: W.S. Hein, 2005)
*Olson, Kent C. Practical Approaches to Legal Research. Haworth Press, 1988. pages 133-134.
External links
Oregon Revised Statutes(includes searchable database)
Oregon Legislative Counsel
Oregon law
United States state legal codes
1953 establishments in Oregon
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