12/26/01

SALEM -- If your 4- or 5-year-old weighs less than 60 pounds, she'll have to ride in a booster seat on the drive to Grandma's.

If your middle schooler loves to zip around on a motorized scooter, stash it. Now he has to wait until he's 16.

And stock up on cigars; the state tax is dropping from 65 percent of the wholesale price to no more than 50 cents a stogie. But don't light up a cigarette at work. That's forbidden.

More than 500 new Oregon laws take effect Jan. 1, transforming everything from foreign language instruction to charity raffles. Among the more sweeping are measures that would distribute federal timber money to schools throughout the state, restructure educational service districts and extend the 10-cent cigarette tax to 2004.

Work on much of the Legislature's high-profile accomplishments, such as spending more money for education and deciding what road projects qualify for $400 million in transportation funding, has begun. But most of the smaller changes to Oregonians' daily lives won't start until next month.

That in itself is fairly new: Before the 1999 Legislature changed the law, most measures took effect 90 days after adjournment. Now, unless otherwise specified, they take effect Jan. 1 of the year after the regular legislative session.

Also starting in January: Drivers who fail to yield the right of way through roundabouts, those traffic circles, may be socked with a $150 fine. Hunters who set traps for beavers, minks, foxes and other furry animals must check them at least once every 48 hours. Elementary school students without books at home will receive some through a new donation program. And high school students no longer will be required to take two years of a foreign language, although they still must demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English.

The child seat law is one of the biggest changes. Parents of children who weigh 40 to 60 pounds, or are 4 and 5 years old, won't be able to get by with fastening auto lap belts around their kids' waists during car trips. They'll have to use booster seats. Disobeying the law could net drivers a $75 fine for each child not properly secured.

According to the Gladstone-based Child Safety Seat Resource Center, 52 children younger than 8 have died in car crashes since 1996, and none of them was riding in specially elevated safety seats. The center has given 460 booster seats to county health departments and other groups since June.

"I think our attitude is that child safety seats are kind of a pain, and the sooner we get rid of them, the better," said Ruth Harshfield, the center's executive director. "The reality is, they provide lifesaving safety for our children."

Stiffer penalties on initiative fraud Those who gather initiative signatures, already facing a crackdown on fraud and a court ruling allowing businesses to ban petitioners from their property, will face stiffer penalties if they break the law. Paying people to sign a petition, selling or buying signature sheets, and trying to get the signature of someone the petitioner knows isn't qualified to sign all are felonies, punishable by a maximum of a $100,000 fine or five years in prison, or both.

Tax activist Don McIntire said he supports the new law but not lawmakers' overall attempts to restrict the rights of petitioners to gather signatures.

"We shouldn't make people fearful of engaging in the initiative process," he said. "The government is making it as difficult as possible for petitioners to be out there."

Smokers also face restrictions. Lighting up is banned in workplaces and restaurants, except in areas that don't allow minors. State smoking prevention officials estimate about 500,000 more Oregonians will now work in a smoke-free environment. Exceptions include employees in bars, tobacco shops, bowling alleys and bingo halls.

"A large percentage of people who smoke want to quit," said Ann Blaker, program manager for tobacco prevention in the state's health services department. "Between a New Year's resolution and the law going into effect, people will use this as a good opportunity."

Keeping kids off scooters Just in time for the rollout of the Segway, a battery-powered, two-wheeled scooter that looks like a push-mower, is a new law regulating the use of motorized scooters. If you're younger than 16, you can't ride one; if you're older, you'll have to stick to a bike lane, wear a helmet and avoid speeding.

Sen. Gary George, R-Newberg, who sponsored the bill that set up the new rules, said the scooters will help get cars off the road as people use them on short-distance coffee runs or shopping trips.

"If someone wanted to run to Starbucks, you could see a cute little convoy of these," he said. "We wanted to open up the possibility."

Some new laws are designed to steer local governments away from enacting regulations. To ensure cities don't follow the lead of New York, which in June became the first state to forbid the use of cell phones while driving, the Legislature banned local governments from trying something similar. Lawmakers passed another law preventing cities from banning smoking in bars.

And Oregonians who testify against local government decisions now have an extra measure of protection. Frivolous lawsuits filed against them for statements they make in public may be dismissed more easily because they now can file a "special motion to strike" the suit in court and get a quick ruling. If the defendant proves the suit was based on a statement made in a public hearing, the plaintiff could be ordered to pay the defendant's attorney fees.

"You shouldn't fear that you're not with the status quo," said Jeff Lamb of Oregon Communities for a Voice in Annexations. "This is going to keep the debate a lot more honest."

Lamb spent three legislative sessions fighting for the rights of Oregonians to be free of harassment when they protest land-use decisions. He thinks the new law doesn't go far enough. Lamb wants defendants to be able to recover punitive damages and enjoy the same immunity legislators have from being sued for the statements they make while in session.

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