The House passed Senate Bill 795 to provide statutory fixes for Oregon's abandoned and derelict vessel (ADV) program at the Department of State Lands, streamlining definitions, notice requirements and storage timelines to improve program implementation.

Representative Scharf, carrying the bill, said hazardous abandoned boats and vessels have threatened Oregon's waterways and that cleanup costs since 2017 totaled almost $19 million, with some costs coming from the Oregon Common School Fund. He described previous legislation (House Bill 2914 and House Bill 5029) that established the ADV program and provided an initial allocation of $18.8 million from a settlement to create a dedicated ADV fund.

Scharf said the work group that developed the program engaged the public and recommended changes including updated statutory definitions, a shorter required storage time for seized vessels, elimination of duplicative notice steps and a refined definition of marine debris for ADV purposes. A floor exchange included a lighthearted question about pirate ships from Representative Mannix; Scharf said the lands board would need to determine specific cases.

Senate Bill 795 was presented as a technical, implementation-focused bill to allow the Department of State Lands to execute the program as intended by the legislature and the lands board. The clerk declared the bill passed on final reading.