Disorderly State Laws.

February 15, 2007 2:14 PM

How does the state law differ between California and Oregon?

I'm moving to Oregon in a month and want to know what sort of surprises are in store for me. Anything is welcome, but I specifically want to know about:
(my understanding follows each issue)

1) Reproductive Health Care, in CA, condoms, birth control, etc, are free. In OR?

2) Tenant Law, 30 days notice, regardless of anything else in CA. OR requires a 'cleaning deposit' which isn't refunded.

3) Employment, in CA, it's basically at-will unless otherwise noted.

4) Public toilets, does OR require ass-gaskets (paper covers)?

5) I'm sure I'm not thinking of something important (more important than public toilets?) that is entirely relevant.

Thanks! Again, it doesn't have to be limited to the above.

posted by emptyinside to Law & Government (27 answers total)

Best answer: Well, the really big one would be the sales tax. Of which there is none in Oregon.
posted by mr_roboto at 2:20 PM on February 15, 2007

Response by poster: that was the big important one... ;)
posted by emptyinside at 2:23 PM on February 15, 2007

Oregon has legal assisted suicide
posted by dcjd at 2:29 PM on February 15, 2007

Self-serve gas stations are illegal in Oregon.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 2:29 PM on February 15, 2007

Best answer: A state's bar association is often a good place to look for Law 101 type stuff. Oregon's has a landlord tenant section and an employment law section (though I don't see employment at will listed in there). I don't see anything that may answer your other questions, and I don't know anything about Oregon law, but you may just want to peruse.
posted by ND¢ at 2:29 PM on February 15, 2007

Although Oregon has not legalized marijuana, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana is punishable only by a fine of $500 up to a maximum of $1000. This is not a criminal conviction.

Found that tidbit in the link from NDc's link. Some might find it useful.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 2:46 PM on February 15, 2007

Re: 2). In Oregon it's 30 days notice for tenants. And cleaning fees/deposits are NOT required. I've lived several places where I was not charged for cleaning. It is an option for landlords. And deposits = always, always, always refundable. If a landlord keeps any portion of anything called a "deposit" in your rental agreement, they have to tell you why in writing. Fee = not refundable.

5) We have vote-by-mail, which is kickass.
posted by peep at 2:53 PM on February 15, 2007

We have vote-by-mail, which is kickass

In CA, anyone can be an absentee voter on request, which works out about the same.
posted by trevyn at 3:02 PM on February 15, 2007

In Oregon, you can only buy hard liquor from a Liquor store - Beer and wine are available anywhere though.
posted by azlondon at 3:04 PM on February 15, 2007

A big difference in family law is that California is a community property state and Oregon is a common law state. So, if you are married you should be aware of this.
posted by miss meg at 3:27 PM on February 15, 2007

Oh and Oregon is an employment at-will state.
posted by miss meg at 3:30 PM on February 15, 2007

In Oregon, you can still smoke in bars and restaurants, unless the establishment decrees otherwise.

In CA, anyone can be an absentee voter on request, which works out about the same

The difference in OR, though, is that vote-by-mail is the default; everyone's mailed a ballot automatically.

Public toilets, does OR require ass-gaskets (paper covers)?

Not to my knowledge. "Public toilets", at least in Portland, are few and far between, though, if you mean "free standing street kiosks" or the like - most of them are in businesses. In a victory for bathroom-centric civil libertarians everywhere, the aforementioned ass-gaskets are generally available but, as far as I know, not required.
posted by pdb at 3:39 PM on February 15, 2007

Although Oregon has not legalized marijuana, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana is punishable only by a fine of $500 up to a maximum of $1000. This is not a criminal conviction.

California has a similar law. Possession of up to one ounce is a misdemeanor, with a penalty of a fine up to $100 (Penal Code 11357). While this is a criminal matter, it is typically expunged from your record after two years (Penal code 1000).

Many jurisdictions in California (most notably, San Francisco) have officially stopped enforcing simple marijuana possession laws.
posted by toxic at 3:41 PM on February 15, 2007

Note the liquor store referred to above is actually owned by the state, with the limited hours of operation that implies.

You can get free condoms from Planned Parenthood and the like.
posted by nomisxid at 4:17 PM on February 15, 2007

Just to clarify one of the PP's, if by "common law" state she means in Oregon, you can become common law married by living together a certain amount of time, that's not accurate. Oregon does not have common law marriages.

Umm did you mean are you required to use an ass gasket? How odd.

I believe Oregon does have at will employment.
posted by purenitrous at 4:39 PM on February 15, 2007

Do attendants still pump your gas for you in OR?

Also, no CEQA, if you're a land use planner or environmentalist. ;) And Prop 37 means you can pretty much challenge any (new?) regulation that you think has the effect of reducing the value of your property.
posted by salvia at 4:52 PM on February 15, 2007

Disability discrimination laws, including employment disability nondiscrimination laws, are stronger in California than in Oregon.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 5:44 PM on February 15, 2007

No sales tax in Oregon.

And yes, you get your gas pumped for you. Sound silly? Not really. They call it a safety issue, but it really is just Oregonians saying "and if we go self-pump, just when will you lower the gas prices for us my Big Oil... ;)?" For older people it is a God-send.
posted by toucano at 7:38 PM on February 15, 2007

purenitrous - I did not mean common law marraige, but that the family law rules were developed from the common law (they are codified now). The family law rules in Oregon differ from most of the western states in that sense, so I belive it important to understand the distinction - especially when it comes to property division at divorce.
posted by miss meg at 7:51 PM on February 15, 2007

Meg,

I think the word you are looking for is community property. California is a community property state. Oregon is not.
posted by Ironmouth at 8:38 PM on February 15, 2007

Ironmouth - I already noted that California is a community property state in my first comment. perunitrous was confused by my reference to Oregon as a common law state in that comment and my second comment served to clarfiy the confusion.

/derail
posted by miss meg at 8:44 PM on February 15, 2007

No law shall be passed restraining the free expression of opinion, or restricting the right to speak, write, or print freely on any subject whatever; but every person shall be responsible for the abuse of this right.
-- Article 1, Section 8, Oregon Constitution

It's often said that as a result of Oregon having some of the strongest free speech provisions in the country, we have a hell of a lot of strip clubs. So be prepared.
posted by cmonkey at 9:51 PM on February 15, 2007

I thought of another one.

Sudafed, etc. Not only are they behind the counter, they are prescription-only. You cannot purchase those medicines OTC, even with an ID. You must have a doctor's prescription.
posted by peep at 8:58 AM on February 16, 2007

One thing I noticed, over and above laws and statutes, is that, in Oregon, there is LOT more transparency in general and it is a lot easier to know who to talk to, including legislators and other office holders, and there is more of a sense of "ownership" in the government, even when decisions are made that do not agree with one's beliefs.

At some point, it seemed like, when I lived in California, government was a mystery, but here, less so.
posted by Danf at 10:14 AM on February 16, 2007

Salvia's comment that "Prop 37 means you can pretty much challenge any (new?) regulation that you think has the effect of reducing the value of your property" is off the mark. The law only applies to property you owned before the regulation was adopted.
posted by Wristle at 1:09 PM on February 16, 2007

here in oregon we have a vicious, 9% flat state income tax. if you have any control over when you recognize income, recognize it before you move here.
posted by bruce at 2:00 AM on February 17, 2007

Wristle - thanks for the clarification. That's what I meant by "new" (though I was unsure about it). Ie, you buy a place and later, a law is passed. You can either be compensated for the way that new regulation reduces your property value or have it not apply to you.
posted by salvia at 1:25 AM on February 21, 2007