ÚLTIMA HORA: La propuesta electoral 119 de Oregón es rechazada

The Oregon District Court issued a ruling today which “PERMANENTLY ENJOINS AND RESTRAINS” the OLCC and other State actors from enforcing Measure 119 against Bubble’s Hash and Ascend Dispensary, the plaintiffs that sued over BM 119’s constitutionality. You can view Judge Simon’s 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.

Aunque la sentencia se refiere específicamente a estos dos demandantes, el Tribunal prohíbe de hecho a la OLCC y a otras entidades aplicar la norma BM 119 de forma generalizada. El Tribunal ha determinado que la norma BM 119 incumple tanto la Ley Nacional de Relaciones Laborales como la Primera Enmienda de la Constitución. Llevábamos tiempo anticipando esta sentencia aquí en el blog, ya que no se trataba de un caso especialmente reñido.

I’m not going to recap the Court’s analysis—the 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 don’t have to be anti-union (I’m not) to think BM 119 was poorly conceived. I previously highlighted BM 119’s 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 (“UFCW 555”). The plaintiffs’ 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 Simons’ findings mirror those of Legislative Counsel in 2023 (see here and 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 “yes” 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 wasn’t viable. Today, the industry should thank Bubble Hash and Ascend Dispensary, and their stellar counsel at Fisher Phillips.

Estén atentos también a las novedades de la OLCC, que deberían aclarar que el requisito del LPA ha quedado derogado, y que las renovaciones de licencias y las solicitudes de cambio de titularidad se tramitarán como antes de este lamentable incidente.

For background on the BM 119 saga, check out the following: