Oregon Public Broadcasting

A ruling from a federal court in Jackson County has breathed new life into Ballot Measure 37, more than a year after Oregonians voted to scale that law back. Rob Manning reports.

U.S. District Judge Owen Panner has ruled in favor of property owners.  He decided that Measure 37 claims granted between 2005 and 2007 were legally binding contracts, backed by the federal Constitution.

Voters approved property compensation initiative Measure 37 in 2004, allowing landowners to avoid regulations, if those rules reduced their property value.

Last year, voters scaled back those claims through legislative referral, Measure 49.

But Federal Judge Panner did not throw out Measure 49, in his ruling, and it’s unclear how Jackson County can implement both measures.

The situation is further complicated by the generally accepted opinion that claims under both measures need state signoff - and the court case only involves Jackson County.

For the time being, officials there are continuing to follow only Measure 49.