Opinion ID: 1255217
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Interpreting ORS 659.165(1)

Text: ORS 659.165 provides: (1) A political subdivision of the state may not enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, resolution or policy granting special rights, privileges or treatment to any citizen or group of citizens on account of sexual orientation, or enact or enforce any charter provision, ordinance, resolution or policy that singles out citizens or groups of citizens on account of sexual orientation. (2) Any person who believes that a political subdivision has enacted or is enforcing a charter provision, ordinance, resolution or policy in violation of this section may bring an action in circuit court to have the charter provision, ordinance, resolution or policy declared invalid, for injunctive relief and for such other relief as the court may consider appropriate. The court shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs to a plaintiff who prevails in an action under this subsection. Plaintiff asserts that, because ORS 659.165(1) prohibits a political subdivision from enacting and enforcing any charter provision concerning treatment of citizens based on sexual orientation, it necessarily prohibits elections on initiative petitions that single out people on the basis of sexual orientation. [2] That argument depends in the present case on the interpretation of the word enact, as it is used in ORS 659.165(1). Plaintiff argues that the word enact in ORS 659.165(1) prohibits local governments from voting on the measure. According to plaintiff, enactment of an initiative measure refers to a process that incorporates voting, rather than to a final action after voting. In interpreting a statute, this court's task is to discern the intent of the legislature. ORS 174.020; PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or. 606, 610, 859 P.2d 1143 (1993). The first level of analysis is to examine the text and context of the statute. Id. at 610-11, 859 P.2d 1143. If the legislature's intent is clear from those inquiries, further inquiry is unnecessary. Id. at 611, 859 P.2d 1143. Enact commonly means, as pertinent, to establish by legal and authoritative act: make into a law; esp : to perform the last act of legislation upon (a bill) that gives the validity of law[.] Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary, 745 (unabridged ed. 1993). Under that definition, an initiative measure is enacted after a vote, when an elections officer tabulates the votes and certifies that a majority of voters approved the proposed measure. An initiative measure is not made into a law until it has been approved by the voters; therefore, it is not enacted if (for example) it is voted on, but fails to win approval from the electorate. Moreover, the last act of legislation with respect to an initiative measure is the majority's approval of the measure at an election or, perhaps, certification of that election result. Thus, voting and enactment are not synonymous; voting precedes enactment and is necessary to it, but enactment does not occur every time a vote has occurred. The context of ORS 659.165(1) confirms that meaning. The context of ORS 659.165 includes the state constitutional provisions that address the use of initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people of Oregon, because ORS 659.165 addresses types of initiatives and referenda that may not be enacted or enforced. Article IV, section 1(2)(a), of the Oregon Constitution, provides: The people reserve to themselves the initiative power, which is to propose laws and amendments to the Constitution and enact or reject them at an election independently of the Legislative Assembly. (Emphasis added.) [3] Because voters may enact or reject a measure at an election, a measure is not enacted until it has been approved, not rejected, by the voters. Therefore, enact does not mean the process of voting, as distinct from the result of voting. Moreover, Article IV, section 1(4)(d), provides that an initiative or referendum measure becomes effective 30 days after the day on which it is enacted or approved by a majority of the votes cast thereon. In that section, the term enact is used as a synonym for approval by a majority of the votes cast. Again, voting precedes enactment and is necessary to it, but enactment does not occur every time a vote takes place. After our review of the text and context, we conclude that ORS 659.165(1) is not intended to prevent local elections on initiative petitions such as the one at issue in this case. [4]