Advocacy · 2009
The Linscott Law
HB 2303. Teeth for the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
Federal law already protected deployed troops from creditors. It had no teeth. A lender could ignore it and a soldier overseas could do little about it.
The Oregon State Bar’s Military Assistance Panel drafted the fix: a service member wronged under that law could sue in Oregon and recover damages and attorney fees. The bill stalled in committee.
Jesse Barton asked me to take it on as an OWVA bill. I did — brought the committee chairs aboard, and the bank and creditor lobbyists agreed not to oppose it.
The governor signed it May 8, 2009. The Bar called it the first law of its kind in the nation. It stands today as ORS 30.138.
Sources: Oregon State Bar Bulletin, July 2009 · HB 2303, enrolled
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