Oregon Law
Law as of Jan 1, 2026
Chapter contents
174.010General rule for construction of statutes 174.020Legislative intent; general and particular provisions; consideration of legislative history 174.030Construction favoring natural right to prevail 174.040Severability 174.050[Repealed by 1983 c.740 §41] 174.060Effect of amendment of statute adopted by reference 174.070Effect of repeal of validating or curative Act 174.080Effect of repeal of repealing Act 174.090Effect of repeal of repealing constitutional provision 174.100Definitions 174.101“Manufactured structure,” “recreational vehicle” defined 174.102“Agricultural commodity,” “agricultural product” defined; harvesting or baling of straw as farming practice 174.103[1987 c.162 §§1,2; 1989 c.264 §1; 2001 c.90 §1; repealed by 2003 c.242 §7] 174.104“Public notice” defined 174.105[1967 c.409 §2; 2005 c.22 §122; repealed by 2009 c.41 §26] 174.106[2001 c.783 §1; repealed by 2009 c.11 §15] 174.107“Person with a disability” defined 174.108Effect of definitions 174.109“Public body” defined 174.110[Renumbered 174.127 in 2001] 174.111“State government” defined 174.112“Executive department” defined 174.113“Judicial department” defined 174.114“Legislative department” defined 174.115[1979 c.391 §1; renumbered 174.129 in 2001] 174.116“Local government” and “local service district” defined 174.117“Special government body” defined 174.118Application of definitions to ORS 174.108 to 174.118 174.120Computation of time; leap year 174.125Computation of time period for personal service 174.127Singular or plural number; masculine, feminine or neuter gender 174.129Statutes, rules and orders to use sex-neutral terms 174.130Majority can exercise authority given jointly 174.140Construction of “a surety” or similar words 174.150[1957 c.146 §1; repealed by 1969 c.292 §3] 174.160Mailing methods authorized in place of notice by registered or certified mail 174.170Notice by personal service equivalent to notice by mail 174.510Statute revision of 1953 enacted as law; Oregon Revised Statutes; citation 174.515Duplicate original of 1953 revision; evidentiary effect 174.520General statutes enacted prior to January 12, 1953, repealed; exceptions 174.530Construction of statutes enacted as part of 1953 revision 174.535Construction of reviser’s bills 174.540Parts of printed statute editions not part of the law 174.550Statute revision of 1953 substituted for statutes repealed by ORS 174.520 174.560[1953 c.3 §8; repealed by 1961 c.90 §7] 174.580Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure; citation form 174.590Statutory terminology not intended to preserve procedural distinctions between actions and suits

Chapter 174 — Construction of Statutes; General Definitions

ORS 174.020 Legislative intent; general and particular provisions; consideration of legislative history

(1)(a)

In the construction of a statute, a court shall pursue the intention of the legislature if possible.

(b)

To assist a court in its construction of a statute, a party may offer the legislative history of the statute.

(2)

When a general provision and a particular provision are inconsistent, the latter is paramount to the former so that a particular intent controls a general intent that is inconsistent with the particular intent.

(3)

A court may limit its consideration of legislative history to the information that the parties provide to the court. A court shall give the weight to the legislative history that the court considers to be appropriate.

Official sources · 2Tap to view provenance and version history

Online copy of the published ORS edition

Provenance

Version history

Earlier statutory text is available in an ingested published ORS edition.