Oregon Labor Peace Agreements: Litigation Status, Your Options

21 hours ago mqfnmymy

I’ve spilled a fair bit of ink on Ballot Measure 119 going back to last summer. Because no good deed goes unpunished, I continue to receive a stream of inquiries regarding associated compliance, e.g., “Where do I get a labor peace agreement?” “What’s this prompt on my CAMP screen?” “What if I don’t comply?”

All fair questions! Let’s do another post today in FAQ format.

What is happening in the BM 119 litigation?

Last month, I explained that someone (finally) filed a lawsuit to challenge the legitimacy of BM 119’s suspect LPA requirement. In that piece, dated February 14th, I observed:

The complaint seeks both declaratory relief (“you did it wrong”) and injunctive relief (“you have to cut it out”). As to the latter, the complaint mentions that plaintiffs subsequently filed a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order, which means that the State of Oregon would have to cut it out soon—that is, stop enforcing the LPA requirement.

The TRO Motion showed up on the Court’s docket on February 17th. Long story short, it was scuttled, and we are set for a Preliminary Injunction Hearing instead. Mark your calendars for April 29th. We will see scheduled briefing from both sides between now and then, but April 29th is the big show.

When will we get a ruling that actually affects the LPA requirement?

It’s possible that Judge Nelson will rule from the bench on April 29th, and it’s also possible that she takes the matter under advisement following the hearing. In the latter scenario, I wouldn’t expect a long delay for her decision given the nature of the request.

If Judge Nelson grants the Preliminary Injunction at any point, the LPA requirement for OLCC licensees goes on ice during the pendency of the litigation, because OLCC would not be allowed to enforce it (which I’m sure they’d be just fine with).

Do I have to submit an LPA or signed attestation with my OLCC license renewal?

Nope. And you don’t have to take my word for that. OLCC has published three compliance bulletins on the topic, two of which address this question in slightly different ways.

First, here are the bulletins:

And here are the relevant FAQ sections, which come from Bulletin 2 and 3, respectively:

What If I don’t submit an LPA or signed attestation with my license renewal?

Not submitting an LPA or attestation with your renewal application is grounds for OLCC to refuse to renew your license or certification. If you submit all other requirements for your renewal application but you don’t have an LPA or signed attestation, OLCC will investigate and may issue you a legal notice proposing to refuse to renew your license or certification. If you submitted a timely renewal application, you are still allowed to operate until a final decision is issued.

I don’t have a Labor Peace Agreement yet and my renewal is due. Is there anything I can do so my license doesn’t expire, and I can continue to operate?

Yes, even if you don’t have a Labor Peace Agreement, you can submit your license renewal. If you submit a timely renewal application and payment of your renewal fees, you are still allowed to operate until a final decision is issued on your renewal.  If you don’t have a LPA at the time you submit your timely renewal application, submit a letter in place of your LPA explaining why you have not been able to obtain one.

I’ve talked through these points with higher-ups at OLCC. The “investigation” referenced in the first answer above is more of a concept or ambition than something that’s actually happening at this point. If or when OLCC gets rolling on these, the idea is:

  1. the Compliance Division would conduct an investigation, and write a report; and then
  2. the Licensing Division would look at that report, and write another report; at which point
  3. the Administrative Hearings Division would read the reports and probably issue a Notice of Proposed License Cancellation; whenceforth
  4. the holdout licensee could decide whether to sign a damn LPA, and hopefully settle the case.

Does the analysis above apply to change in ownership applications, as well as renewals?

Not exactly. OLCC is still trying to figure out how to handle change in ownership applications where the applicant does not submit the LPA. They are conferring with their lawyers at the State Department of Justice on this and we will have an update soon. For now, though, they continue processing the applications, at least up to the point of license approval. At that point, everyone would have to think harder about it.

So what are OLCC marijuana licensees doing?

A lot of our clients are just submitting their license renewals and new license applications with blank pieces of paper, in place of an LPA. Those renewals are going through. Others have signed LPAs with labor unions, for better or worse. What happens with those LPAs in the event that BM 119 is ruled unconstitutional is a whole ‘nother can of worms.

Stay tuned for any updates here and on the OLCC website. I’m sure I’ll write again when we see a major development.

For previous posts discussing the BM 119 saga, check out the following:

Source: Canna Law Blog

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