Oregon Civil Action for Injury to or Death of Animals Initiative (2020)
| Oregon Civil Action for Injury to or Death of Animals Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic Treatment of animals | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Oregon Civil Action for Injury to or Death of Animals Initiative was not on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2020.
Measure design
The measure would have provided a process for civil action to recover damages if an animal is intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently killed or injured. Under the measure, the guardian or owner of such an animal would have been able to bring a civil action to recover damages including (1) the monetary value of the animal, (2) veterinary expenses incurred by the animal, (3) emotional distress and loss of companionship suffered by the animal's guardian, (4) all court costs and attorney's fees incurred during the prosecution, and (5) other reasonable damages resulting from the animal's injury or death. Under the measure, the guardian would have been entitled to punitive or exemplary damages of not less than $1,000 for every intentional act the animal was subject to. Remedies under this measure would have been in addition to, not in place of, other remedies provided for by law.[1][2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the measure can be read here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.
Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners. The 1,000 preliminary signatures count toward the final total required.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2020 ballot:
- Signatures: 112,020 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 2, 2020.
In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.
Details about this initiative
- Nicole Schaefer filed this initiative on November 14, 2018.[2]
- The initiative was not cleared for circulation.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Oregon Salem (capital) |
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