HB 3383
Raises certain fees charged by county clerks.
Jurisdiction
Oregon
Session
2025 Regular Session
At the request of
(at the request of Oregon Association of County Clerks)
Committee
Rules
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Sign in to take actionPublic sentiment
Support
60%
Oppose
40%
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Bill overview
House Bill 3383 increases fees charged by county clerks in Oregon. Specifically, it raises fees for services like filing documents, issuing certificates, and solemnizing marriages. The bill also establishes a system for deducting a portion of uncollected fees to fund record-keeping systems and maintenance. Additionally, it introduces a penalty for instruments that don't meet recording requirements.
Key provisions
- Increases fees for filing and making entry of instruments.
- Raises fees for official certificates and marriage licenses.
- Establishes a penalty of $30 for instruments not meeting recording requirements.
- Creates a county clerk records fund to be funded by a portion of uncollected fees.
- Specifies which fees are exempt from the deduction process.
- Increases fees for recording municipal assessment liens and assignments.
- Adds fees for recording transactions described under ORS 205.236.
- Increases fees for recording claims listed on affidavits of annual compliance.
Who is affected
- Oregon County Clerks
- Oregon Residents seeking recordation services
- Individuals obtaining marriage licenses
- County Courts and Boards of County Commissioners
Notable changes
- Introduces a mechanism for deducting uncollected fees to fund record-keeping infrastructure.
- Adds specific fee increases for various recording transactions.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
House Committee On Rules
Arguments in favor
Reasons to support this legislation.
Testifiers generally support increasing document recording fees to fund County Clerks' Offices statewide, citing inflation and the need for increased funding as primary concerns. They argue that counties bear a significant burden in supporting these offices, which administer essential services such as marriage licenses and vital records. The proposed fee increases would help modernize the statutory limit on recording document fees, which has not been updated since 1987, to reflect current inflationary pressures and ensure the clerk's offices can continue to provide critical functions with adequate resources.
Source: Testimony Summaries
Arguments opposed
Reasons to oppose this legislation.
Opponents of the proposed policy argue that allocating tax dollars to cover the costs of producing physical copies of government documents may not be the most efficient use of resources. They suggest that switching to electronic document sharing could reduce costs and improve accessibility, as evidenced by the testimony that proposes reducing expenses through digital document transmission. Furthermore, opponents contend that requiring taxpayers to pay for each page copy of government documents is unfair, as they already contribute to the cost of services through their property taxes, and propose making electronic copies available at a low or no cost to ensure greater transparency and public access.