---
type: "Bill"
title: "Relating to discretion of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries to pursue matters on behalf of certain complainants; and declaring an emergency."
description: "Extends sunset for provisions making discretionary Commissioner of Bureau of Labor and Industries' authority to prepare formal charges and pursue certain matters in court."
jurisdiction: "us/states/or"
legislature: "Oregon Legislative Assembly"
session: "2017 Regular Session"
identifier: "SB 298"
citation: "Oregon SB 298 (2017 Regular Session)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 4
action_count: 28
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2017-01-09T18:52:09+00:00"
last_action: "2017-06-22T19:44:17+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/cf99a7cd-8933-494a-8722-bb9ee3fd8a51"
source_url: "https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Measures/Overview/SB298"
source_hash: "c9992b5956f3916c0139b26ca8d5d864794f89ef195367d3b325032211264faa"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-or"]
---

# Oregon SB 298 (2017 Regular Session) — Relating to discretion of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries to pursue matters on behalf of certain complainants; and declaring an emergency.

Extends sunset for provisions making discretionary Commissioner of Bureau of Labor and Industries' authority to prepare formal charges and pursue certain matters in court.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB298/Introduced)
2. **Senate Amendments to Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB298/Senate Amendments to Introduced)
3. **A-Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB298/A-Engrossed)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://olis.leg.state.or.us/liz/2017R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB298/Enrolled)

## Votes

- Third reading. Carried by Kennemer. Passed. — **54–4** (pass) · legislature
- Heard and Reported Out — **5–0** (pass) · legislature
- Heard and Reported Out with Amendments — **5–0** (pass) · legislature
- Third reading. Carried by Dembrow. Passed. — **29–0** (pass) · legislature
- Heard and Reported Out — **9–0** (pass) · legislature

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-01-09T18:52:09+00:00** Introduction and first reading. Referred to President's desk. `introduction, reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2017-01-17T16:06:43+00:00** Referred to Workforce, then Judiciary. `referral-committee`
- **2017-02-20T23:01:00+00:00** Public Hearing held.
- **2017-03-08T23:01:00+00:00** Work Session held.
- **2017-03-10T16:27:37+00:00** Recommendation: Do pass and be referred to Judiciary by prior reference.
- **2017-03-29T15:01:00+00:00** Public Hearing and Work Session held.
- **2017-04-13T15:02:00+00:00** Work Session held.
- **2017-04-24T21:34:31+00:00** Recommendation: Do pass with amendments. (Printed A-Eng.) `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-04-25T18:32:38+00:00** Second reading. `reading-2`
- **2017-04-26T19:20:10+00:00** Third reading. Carried by Dembrow. Passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-04-26T19:21:10+00:00** Olsen granted unanimous consent to change vote from nay to aye.
- **2017-04-27T16:15:40+00:00** First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk. `introduction, reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2017-04-28T22:28:46+00:00** Referred to Business and Labor. `referral-committee`
- **2017-05-08T20:01:00+00:00** Public Hearing held.
- **2017-05-17T20:02:00+00:00** Work Session held.
- **2017-05-22T21:41:24+00:00** Recommendation: Do pass. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2017-05-23T16:21:59+00:00** Second reading. `reading-2`
- **2017-05-24T21:56:50+00:00** Rules suspended. Carried over to May 25, 2017 Calendar.
- **2017-05-25T22:00:25+00:00** Rules suspended. Carried over to May 26, 2017 Calendar.
- **2017-05-26T15:36:22+00:00** Rules suspended. Carried over to May 30, 2017 Calendar.
- **2017-05-30T18:44:50+00:00** Rules suspended. Carried over to May 31, 2017 Calendar.
- **2017-05-31T18:56:58+00:00** Rules suspended. Carried over to June 1, 2017 Calendar.
- **2017-06-01T22:31:18+00:00** Third reading. Carried by Kennemer. Passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2017-06-06T20:10:13+00:00** President signed. `passage`
- **2017-06-07T22:09:22+00:00** Speaker signed. `passage`
- **2017-06-14T22:30:00+00:00** Governor signed. `executive-signature`
- **2017-06-22T19:41:09+00:00** Chapter 325, 2017 Laws.
- **2017-06-22T19:44:17+00:00** Effective date, June 14, 2017.

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/cf99a7cd-8933-494a-8722-bb9ee3fd8a51`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Oregon legislature records).