Section 646A.589 - [Operative 1/1/2026] Investigative demand by Attorney General; representation by counsel; confidentiality of proceedings and materials; action to impose civil penalty or obtain injunction; amount of civil penalty; notice of violation; time limit on action; Attorney General's exclusive authority(1)(a) The Attorney General may serve an investigative demand upon any person that possesses, controls or has custody of any information, document or other material that the Attorney General determines is relevant to an investigation of a violation of ORS 646A.570 to 646A.589 or that could lead to a discovery of relevant information. An investigative demand may require the person to:(A) Appear and testify under oath at the time and place specified in the investigative demand;(B) Answer written interrogatories; or(C) Produce relevant documents or physical evidence for examination at the time and place specified in the investigative demand.(b) The Attorney General shall serve an investigative demand under this section in the manner provided in ORS 646.622. The Attorney General may enforce the investigative demand as provided in ORS 646.626.(2)(a) An attorney may accompany, represent and advise in confidence a person that appears in response to a demand under subsection (1)(a)(A) of this section. The person may refuse to answer any question on constitutional grounds or on the basis of any other legal right or privilege, including protection against self-incrimination, but must answer any other question that is not subject to the right or privilege. If the person refuses to answer a question on grounds that the answer would be self-incriminating, the Attorney General may compel the person to testify as provided in ORS 136.617.(b) The Attorney General shall exclude from the place in which the Attorney General conducts an examination under this subsection all persons other than the person the Attorney General is examining, the person's attorney, the officer before which the person gives the testimony and any stenographer recording the testimony.(3)(a) The Attorney General shall hold in confidence and may not disclose to any person any documents, including data protection assessments, answers to interrogatories and transcripts of oral testimony, except that the Attorney General may disclose the documents to: (A) The person that provided the documents or the oral testimony;(B) The attorney or representative of the person that provided the documents or oral testimony;(C) Persons employed by the Attorney General; or(D) An official of the United States or of any state who is authorized to enforce federal or state consumer protection laws if the Attorney General first obtains a written agreement from the official in which the official agrees to abide by the confidentiality requirements of this subsection.(b) The Attorney General may use any of the materials described in paragraph (a) of this subsection in any investigation the Attorney General conducts under this section or in any action or proceeding the Attorney General brings or initiates in a court or before an administrative agency in connection with the investigation.(4)(a) The Attorney General may bring an action to seek a civil penalty of not more than $7,500 for each violation of ORS 646A.570 to 646A.589 or to enjoin a violation or obtain other equitable relief. The Attorney General shall bring the action in the circuit court for Multnomah County or the circuit court of a county where any part of the violation occurred.(b) A court may award reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees and costs of investigation to the Attorney General if the Attorney General prevails in an action under this subsection. The court may award reasonable attorney fees to a defendant that prevails in an action under this subsection if the court finds that the Attorney General had no objectively reasonable basis for asserting the claim or for appealing an adverse decision of the trial court.(c) The Attorney General shall deposit the proceeds of any recovery under this subsection into the Department of Justice Protection and Education Revolving Account, as provided in ORS 180.095.(5) The Attorney General shall bring an action under subsection (4) of this section within five years after the date of the last act of a controller that constituted the violation for which the Attorney General seeks relief.(6) The remedies available to the Attorney General under subsection (4) of this section are in addition to and not in lieu of any other relief available to the Attorney General or another person under other applicable provisions of law. A claim available under another provision of law may be joined to the Attorney General's claim under subsection (4) of this section.(7) The Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce the provisions of ORS 646A.570 to 646A.589. ORS 646A.570 to 646A.589, or any other laws of this state, do not create a private right of action to enforce a violation of ORS 646A.570 to 646A.589.Added by 2023 Ch. 369, § 9 Amended by 2024 Ch. 64,§ 1, eff. 3/27/2024.Amended by 2024 Ch. 64,§ 2, eff. 3/27/2024. Section 13, chapter 369, Oregon Laws 2023, provides:
Sec. 13. Sections 1 to 9 of this 2023 Act [646A.570 to 646A.589] do not apply before July 1, 2025, to the activities of an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. [2023 c. 369, § 13]