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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 3742
Sponsored by Representatives HELFRICH, CATE; Representatives BOICE, CHAICHI, JAVADI, SKARLATOS, Sen-
ators MCLANE, SMITH DB, THATCHER
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act lets members and staff with CHLs carry guns in the Capitol. (Flesch Readability
Score:76.5).
Provides that members of the Legislative Assembly and legislative branch employees who have
a valid concealed handgun license have an affirmative defense to a charge of possessing a firearm
within the Capitol, and may not be arrested or charged for the offense while in possession of the
license.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to the possession of firearms in the Capitol; amending ORS 166.262 and 166.370.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 166.370 is amended to read:
166.370. (1)(a) Any person who intentionally possesses a loaded or unloaded firearm or any other
instrument used as a dangerous weapon, while in or on a public building, shall upon conviction be
guilty of a Class C felony.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, in a prosecution under this section for the
possession of a firearm within the Capitol by a person not described in paragraph (c) of this
subsection, within the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport with over one million
passenger boardings per year or on school grounds subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377, if
the person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the possession, the person
was licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, upon conviction the
person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
(c) Members of the Legislative Assembly who are licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292
to carry a concealed handgun, and legislative branch employees who are licensed under ORS
166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, qualify for the affirmative defense de-
scribed in subsection (3)(g) of this section concerning the possession of a firearm within the
Capitol.
(2)(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, a person who inten-
tionallypossesses:
(A) A firearm in a court facility is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony. A person who
intentionally possesses a firearm in a court facility shall surrender the firearm to a law enforcement
officer.
(B) A weapon, other than a firearm, in a court facility may be required to surrender the weapon
to a law enforcement officer or to immediately remove it from the court facility. A person who fails
to comply with this subparagraph is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony.
(C) A firearm in a local court facility is guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony if, prior to
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 4472 HB3742
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the offense, the presiding judge of the local court facility entered an order prohibiting firearms in
the area in which the court conducts business and during the hours in which the court operates.
(b) The presiding judge of a judicial district or a municipal court may enter an order permitting
the possession of specified weapons in a court facility.
(c) Within a shared court facility, the presiding judge of a municipal court or justice of the
peace district may not enter an order concerning the possession of weapons in the court facility that
is in conflict with an order entered by the presiding judge of the circuit court.
(3) Subsection (1)(a) of this section does not apply to:
(a) A police officer or reserve officer, as those terms are defined in ORS 181A.355.
(b) A parole and probation officer, as defined in ORS 181A.355, while the parole and probation
officer is acting within the scope of employment.
(c) A federal officer, as defined in ORS 133.005, or a certified reserve officer or corrections of-
ficer, as those terms are defined in ORS 181A.355, while the federal officer, certified reserve officer
or corrections officer is acting within the scope of employment.
(d) A person summoned by an officer described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection to
assist in making an arrest or preserving the peace, while the summoned person is engaged in as-
sisting the officer.
(e) An honorably retired law enforcement officer.
(f) An active or reserve member of the military forces of this state or the United States, when
engaged in the performance of duty.
(g) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun, ex-
cept as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(h) A person who is authorized by the officer or agency that controls the public building to
possess a firearm or dangerous weapon in that public building.
(i) An employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of em-
ployment, who possesses a firearm in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.
(j) Possession of a firearm on school property if the firearm:
(A) Is possessed by a person who is not otherwise prohibited from possessing the firearm; and
(B) Is unloaded and locked in a motor vehicle.
(k) A person who possesses a firearm in the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport,
if the firearm is unloaded and in a locked hard-sided container for the purposes of transporting the
firearm as checked baggage in accordance with federal law.
(4)(a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b) of this section, the exceptions listed in subsection
(3)(d) to (k) of this section constitute affirmative defenses to a charge of violating subsection (1)(a)
of this section.
(b) A person may not use the affirmative defense described in subsection (3)(e) of this section
if the person has been convicted of an offense that would make the person ineligible to obtain a
concealed handgun license under ORS 166.291 and 166.292.
(5)(a) Any person who knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the safety of another, discharges
or attempts to discharge a firearm at a place that the person knows is a school shall upon con-
viction be guilty of a Class C felony.
(b) Paragraph (a) of this subsection does not apply to the discharge of a firearm:
(A) As part of a program approved by a school in the school by an individual who is partic-
ipating in the program;
(B) By a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity; or
[2] HB3742
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(C) By an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, acting within the scope of
employment, in the course of the lawful taking of wildlife.
(6) Any weapon carried in violation of this section is subject to the forfeiture provisions of ORS
166.279.
(7) Notwithstanding the fact that a person’s conduct in a single criminal episode constitutes a
violation of both subsections (1) and (5) of this section, the district attorney may charge the person
with only one of the offenses.
(8) As used in this section, “dangerous weapon” means a dangerous weapon as that term is de-
fined in ORS 161.015.
SECTION 2. ORS 166.262 is amended to read:
166.262. A peace officer may not arrest or charge a person for violating ORS 166.250 (1)(a) or
(b) or 166.370 (1)(a) if the person has in the person’s immediate possession:
(1) A valid license to carry a firearm as provided in ORS 166.291 and 166.292, unless the person
possesses a firearm:
(a) Within the Capitol[,] and is not a person described in ORS 166.370 (1)(c);
(b) Within the passenger terminal of a commercial service airport with over one million pas-
senger boardings per year; or
(c) On school grounds subject to a policy described in ORS 166.377;
(2) Proof that the person is a law enforcement officer; or
(3) Proof that the person is an honorably retired law enforcement officer, unless the person has
been convicted of an offense that would make the person ineligible to obtain a concealed handgun
license under ORS 166.291 and 166.292.
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