The Oregon District Court issued a ruling today which āPERMANENTLY ENJOINS AND RESTRAINSā the OLCC and other State actors from enforcing Measure 119 against Bubbleās Hash and Ascend Dispensary, the plaintiffs that sued over BM 119ās constitutionality. You can view Judge Simonās Opinion and Order here, and the Judgment here. BM 119 required most Oregon cannabis businesses to enter into labor peace agreements with approved unions, in order to renew or obtain licensure.
Although the ruling is tailored toward these two plaintiffs, the Court functionally enjoins OLCC and others from enforcing BM 119 across the board. The Court found that BM 119 failed under both the National Labor Relations Act and the First Amendment to the Constitution. Weāve long anticipated this ruling here on the blog, because it wasnāt a particularly close call.
Iām not going to recap the Courtās analysisāthe Opinion and Order speaks for itself. I do want to emphasize what an irresponsible waste of time and money this whole thing was, and the undue stress it caused for many of our client licensees. As I previously explained:
You donāt have to be anti-union (Iām not) to think BM 119 was poorly conceived. I previouslyĀ highlightedĀ BM 119ās Constitutional and labor law exposure, and explained how this initiative arose after a stymied legislative effort by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555 (āUFCW 555ā). The plaintiffsā complaint traces this history thoroughly, including how UFCW 555 brought a failed recall effort against Representative Paul Hovey for having the stones to inquire whether its proposal was unconstitutional and could be preempted.
As expected, Judge Simonsā findings mirror those of Legislative Counsel in 2023 (seeĀ hereĀ andĀ here). UFCW 555 should have accepted the reality that their goal wasn’t legally viable, rather than put the question to Oregon voters. Many voters likely checked āyesā on BM 119 without any appreciation of its fatal legal flaws, or its prior legislative rejection.
Unfortunately, the cannabis industry was caught flat-footed, and taxpayers ended up funding a defense of BM 119 which simply wasnāt viable. Today, the industry should thank Bubble Hash and Ascend Dispensary, and their stellar counsel at Fisher Phillips.
Please also stay tuned for updates from OLCC, which should explain that the LPA requirement is a goner, with license renewals and change in ownership applications proceeding as they did before this regrettable exercise.
For background on the BM 119 saga, check out the following:
- Oregonās Ballot Measure 119: Timeās Almost Up
- Oregon Cannabis Roundup: Fall 2024
- New Rule, December 5: Oregon Cannabis Retailers, Processors, and Labor Peace Agreements
- Oregon Cannabis: Get Your OLCC Renewal or New Application in Before December 5th
- Oregon Cannabis: State of the State (2024)
- Oregon Cannabis: Are Forced Labor Peace Agreements Unconstitutional? Weāre About to Find Out.
- Oregon Labor Peace Agreements: Litigation Status, Your Options