173.160 Powers
and duties of Legislative Counsel in preparing editions for publication. In preparing editions of the
statutes for publication and distribution, the Legislative Counsel shall not
alter the sense, meaning, effect or substance of any Act, but, within such
limitations, may:
(1) Renumber
sections and parts of sections of the Acts;
(2) Rearrange
sections;
(3) Change
reference numbers to agree with renumbered chapters, sections or other parts;
(4) Delete
references to repealed sections;
(5) Substitute
the proper subsection, section or chapter or other division numbers;
(6) Change
capitalization and spelling for the purpose of uniformity; and
(7) Correct
manifest clerical, grammatical or typographical errors. [1953 c.492 §6; 1999
c.117 §3; 2005 c.22 §120]
173.170 [1953 c.492 §7; 1961 c.167 §28;
1981 c.517 §22; renumbered 171.285]
173.180 [1953 c.492 §8; 1981 c.517 §23;
renumbered 171.295]
173.190 [1953 c.492 §9; 1961 c.167 §29;
repealed by 1969 c.256 §3 (173.191 enacted in lieu of 173.190)]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
12
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1965–2025 · leading case:
State v. Acremant, 108 P.3d 1139 (Or. 2005).
State v. Acremant, 108 P.3d 1139 (Or. 2005).
· cites it 4× “Pursuant to its authority under ORS 173.160, Legislative Counsel renumbered former ORS 19.”
Hathaway v. B & J Prop. Investments, Inc., 531 P.3d 152 (Or. Ct. App. 2023).
· cites it 3× “See ORS 173.160 (explaining that Legislative Counsel “prepar[es] editions of the statutes for publication and distribution”).”
Zidell Marine Corp. v. West Painting, Inc., 894 P.2d 481 (Or. Ct. App. 1995).
· cites it 6× “" From that, the dissent appears to conclude that the 1991 amendment approved not only the increase in time, but also the error of Legislative Counsel. We do not agree.”
Mitchell v. Bd. of Educ., 669 P.2d 356 (Or. Ct. App. 1983).
· cites it 2× “120 was modified, without any legislative action, pursuant to Legislative Counsel’s authority under ORS 173.160 to clarify the statutes. The last amendment to ORS 342.”
State v. Rothman, 687 P.2d 798 (Or. Ct. App. 1984).
· cites it 4× “995? “ORS 173.160, imparting to Legislative Counsel the authority to renumber portions of statutes, provides as follows: ‘In preparing editions of the statutes for publication and distribution, the Legislative Counsel shall not alter the sense, meaning, effect or substance of…”
State v. Burris, 518 P.3d 891 (Or. 2022).
“See former ORS 173.160 (1959) (providing Legislative Counsel with authority to “change reference numbers to agree with renumbered chapters, sections or other parts [and] substitute the proper subsection, section or chapter or other division number”).”
Tillamook Cnty. v. State Ex Rel. State Bd. of Forestry, 730 P.2d 1214 (Or. 1986).
“In 1981, the Legislative Counsel Committee deleted these temporary sections, apparently under the discretion granted the Committee under ORS 173.160 (editorial power). However, in the absence of an act to amend or repeal, chapter 792 remains the law.”
Richardson-Merrell, Inc. v. Main, 402 P.2d 746 (Or. 1965).
“” It now appears in ORS under the title “Taking Depositions Upon Commission or Before Commissionerbut it was not put there by the legislature, but by the Oregon Legislative Counsel pursuant to statutory authority: ORS 173.160. ORS 45.220 (2) was repealed by the 1955 Act (§ 13)…”
Hathaway v. B & J Prop. Investments, Inc., 374 Or. 212 (Or. 2025).
· cites it 2× “” ORS 173.160. Thus, the organization and numbering of Oregon statutes does not inherently bear on their “sense, meaning, effect or substance.”
Hathaway v. B & J Prop. Investments, Inc., 374 Or. 212 (Or. 2025).
· cites it 2× “” ORS 173.160. Thus, the organization and numbering of Oregon statutes does not inherently bear on their “sense, meaning, effect or substance.”
Fields v. Workmen's Comp. Bd., 552 P.2d 834 (Or. Ct. App. 1976).
“150, who is authorized to "rearrange sections,” ORS 173.160. Therefore, the possible juxtaposition or lack thereof of statutes as published in Oregon Revised Statutes should not be relied upon as an indication of legislative intent.”
ABC Inc. v. Dept. of Rev. (Or. T.C. 2024).
“See ORS 173.160 (allowing Legislative Counsel to renumber, rearrange, change, delete, substitute, and correct items when preparing the ORS, without changing the meaning of any Act); ORS 173.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.