Girod v. Kroger, 351 Or. 563

Summary

The Supreme Court of Oregon reviewed a certified ballot title for an initiative that would prohibit nontribal use of gillnets to take fish in Oregon inland waters and restrict purchases of fish caught by those means. The court held that the caption, result statements, and summary overstated or understated the measure's effects and referred the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification.

Holdings

1. The caption did not substantially comply because it overstated the measure's effect by stating that it would eliminate nontribal commercial fishing and understated the measure's scope by referring only to the Columbia River rather than all Oregon inland waters.
2. The yes-vote and no-vote result statements did not substantially comply because they repeated the caption's overbroad description of the measure as eliminating nontribal commercial fishing and its underinclusive limitation of the measure to the Columbia River.
3. The summary did not substantially comply because it inaccurately stated that the measure would eliminate nontribal Oregon commercial fishing and prohibit Oregonians from purchasing all nontribally caught fish from the Columbia River or other Oregon inland waters.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the certified caption substantially complied with ORS 250.035(2)(a) by accurately identifying the subject matter and principal effects of Initiative Petition 26.
2. Whether the certified yes-vote and no-vote result statements substantially complied with ORS 250.035(2)(b) and (c).
3. Whether the certified summary substantially complied with ORS 250.035(2)(d).

Disposition

remanded