Representative John Lively, sponsor of House Bill 3724, told the Senate Committee on Labor and Business on April 17 that the measure directs the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission to expand rules prohibiting advertising of marijuana items to minors. "This is talking about them writing rules around regulating and prohibiting advertising marijuana items to minors," Lively said.

Lively said the bill was prompted by a 2015 law, House Bill 2546, and a subsequent Oregon Court of Appeals decision in Bates v. OHA that found statutory language prohibiting packaging "attractive or appealing to minors" to be unconstitutionally vague. "HB 3724 is an attempt to avoid the same constitutional issue," Lively said. "It will remove subjective language such as 'attractive and appealing' and allow OLCC to adopt rules around labeling that would likely cause minors to unlawfully possess or consume cannabis products."

Mike Getlin, a board member of the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon and chief public affairs officer for Nectar Markets, told the committee that industry stakeholders are supporting the bill and view it as clarifying OLCC authority in light of the case law. "HB 3724 is about one thing and only one thing, and that is keeping our products out of the hands of kids," Getlin said, adding that Oregon has strong minor-access protections and the bill represents a "proactive common-sense solution."

Committee members asked a few clarifying questions but did not take a vote during the April 17 hearing. A proponent who had signed up in opposition, Robert Greenway, did not appear. The committee closed the public hearing for HB 3724 at the end of testimony and did not record any amendment or motion that day.

Why it matters: Sponsors said the bill is intended to replace subjective statutory terms with objective criteria so OLCC rules are less vulnerable to constitutional challenge while preserving public-health protections for minors. No formal action was taken in this session; the committee closed the hearing and scheduled follow-up work sessions as part of its agenda progression.

Next steps: The committee closed the public hearing on HB 3724 and scheduled a work session on related bills for the following week.