The government of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, as prescribed by the

Oregon Constitution The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

, is composed of three government branches: the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

, the

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, and the judicial. These branches operate in a manner similar to that of the

federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

. Oregon also has a system of commissions, wherein private citizens are appointed by the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

; these commissions have the authority to hire and fire the heads of the agencies they govern, and must confirm changes to the permanent rules governing those agencies.

Constitution

In 1857, leaders of the Oregon Territory gathered at the Oregon Constitutional Convention and drafted a constitution for Oregon.Oregon Blue Book: Constitution of Oregon.
Oregon Secretary of State, accessed October 19, 2007. On November 9, 1857, Oregon voters approved its first constitution that then became effective upon statehood on February 14, 1859. The constitution was unchanged for the remainder of the 19th century, but has been amended numerous times since 1902. The changes include the introduction of a direct legislation system, which enabled numerous popular decisions via

initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...

, both to the constitution and to the Oregon Revised Statutes. The current document contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.Constitution of Oregon: 2005 Edition.
Oregon Legislature, accessed October 19, 2007. Oregon's bill of rights contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the

United States Bill of Rights The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. Proposed following the often bitter 1787–88 debate over the ratification of the Constitution and written to address the objections ra ...

and the main text of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. The remainder of the Oregon Constitution outlines the divisions of power within the state government, times of elections, designating the

state capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

, the state boundaries. The original implementation provisions included a vote excluding African-Americans from the state.

Executive branch

File:Kate Brown in 2017.jpg,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Kate Brown (D) File:OregonSOS Shemia Fagan.png, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (D) File:Tobias Read 2017.jpg,

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

Tobias Read (D) File:Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum addresses attendees at the conference (15478927731) (cropped).jpg,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Ellen Rosenblum Ellen F. Rosenblum (born January 6, 1951) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the Oregon Attorney General since 2012. She is the first female state attorney general in Oregon's history, and previously was a judge on the Oregon ...

(D) * Governor of Oregon *

Oregon Secretary of State The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, c ...

** Archives Division **

Oregon Sustainability Board The Oregon Sustainability Board is an advisory panel which examines current practices of individuals, business and government within the U.S. state of Oregon issuing reports, recommendations and proposals, and develops resources to promote policies ...

(The Secretary of State is the board chair) *

Oregon State Treasurer The Oregon State Treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four-year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder heads ...

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ...

Oregon Department of Justice The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by the Oregon Attorney General (currently Ellen Rosenblum), is the main legal branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The DOJ is part of Oregon's executive branch, and most of its ...

* Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries *

Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, was a constitutional officeOR Const. art. VIII. within the executive branch of the Oregon state government from 1872 to 2012, when it was elim ...

* Oregon Department of State Lands (governed by the State Land Board, which is composed of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer

Legislative branch

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the ...

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of th ...

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Judicial branch

Oregon's state level judicial branch of government consists of the Oregon Judicial Department (OJD) which operates four state run court systems. Two of those courts are primarily trial level courts, while the other two are primarily courts of appeal. The chief executive of the OJD is the Chief Justice of the

Oregon Supreme Court The Oregon Supreme Court (OSC) is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States.An Introduction to the Courts of Oregon.
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on August 25, 2007. At the local level are some justice courts, municipal courts, and county courts.Other Courts.
Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on February 18, 2009. The Oregon Supreme Court is located in the

Oregon Supreme Court Building The Oregon Supreme Court Building is the home to the Oregon Supreme Court, Oregon Court of Appeals, and the Oregon Judicial Department. Located in the state capitol complex in Salem, it is Oregon's oldest state government building. The three story ...

in Salem. It consists of seven judges that are elected to six-year terms in statewide popular elections, with vacancies filled by appointment by the Governor of Oregon. As the highest court in the state, it is the final authority on state law and its decisions can only be overturned by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. The court is headed by the Chief Justice, who is elected to a six-year term by fellow justices. Oregon's Court of Appeals is an intermediate court of appeals hearing appeals from decisions of both civil and criminal cases decided at the trial court level. This court has ten judges that in most cases sit in three judge panels to determine the outcome of appeals. The judges are also elected statewide to six-year terms, with vacancies filed by appointment of the governor. The Oregon Supreme Court's Chief Justice appoints one of the ten judges to serve as Chief Judge, who acts as the head of the Court of Appeals. Appeals from decisions of this court go to the Oregon Supreme Court. The OJD operates the Oregon Circuit Courts, which are 27 trial level court districts across the state that receive both civil and criminal court cases. As of January 2007, the courts had 173 judges spread over the 27 districts that cover the state's 36 circuit courts. The majority of appeals from the Circuit Courts go to the Oregon Court of Appeals. Some limited cases go directly to the Oregon Supreme Court if appealed from at the trial court level. Cases involving issues of taxation are handled primarily through the

Oregon Tax Court The Oregon Tax Court is a state court in the U.S. state of Oregon, which has jurisdiction in questions of law that regard state tax laws. Examples of matters that would come before this court include income taxes, corporate excise taxes, prop ...

. This court has two divisions, with the Magistrate Division being an informal process appearing more like

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

. The Regular Division is a formal court headed by a single Tax Court judge elected to six-year terms on a statewide basis. Appeals from the Magistrate Division go to the Regular Division, and appeals from decisions of this court go directly to the Oregon Supreme Court.

State agencies

* Oregon Office of Degree Authorization * Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife *

Oregon State Library The State Library of Oregon in Salem, is the library for the U.S. state of Oregon. The mission of the State Library of Oregon is to provide leadership and resources to continue growing vibrant library services for Oregonians with print disabil ...

* Oregon Liquor Control Commission * Oregon Lottery * Oregon Parks and Recreation ** State Fair and Exposition Center * Oregon State Police *

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depart ...

* Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission *

Oregon Office of University Coordination The Oregon Office of University Coordination is the agency designated by the Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC), established in 2013 under ORS § 352.002, to provide academic and fiscal coordination for seven public universitie ...

Former state agencies

* Oregon State Board of Higher Education (1929–2015) * Oregon University System (1932–2015) *

Oregon Chief Education Office The Oregon Chief Education Office was a government agency created by statute (Senate Bill 215-B of the 78th Oregon Legislative Assembly) in 2014 by the state of Oregon. Its stated mission was "to build and coordinate a seamless system of educat ...

(2014–2019)

References

External links

* {{Oregon legislation