Guidance from DOJ’s General Counsel Division on temporary rules adopted in response to COVID-19


Seal of State Archivist

Secretary of State 

Oregon State Archives
Publications Unit 
800 Summer St. 
Salem OR 97310
sos.oregon.gov/archives


Contact: adminrules.archives@oregon.gov | 503-373-0701, option 2

Below is guidance from DOJ’s General Counsel Division on temporary rules adopted in response to COVID-19:

Your agency may have adopted temporary rules following the Governor’s declaration of a state of emergency in response to COVID-19. With the Governor’s extension of that declaration for another 60 days through September 4, 2020, and now that more than three months have passed since the Governor’s initial emergency declaration, your agency may wish to consider the following factors regarding those temporary rules.

A temporary rule is effective for a maximum of 180 days. ORS 183.335(6)(a). A temporary rule may not be renewed, extended, or re-adopted to give it effect for more than 180 calendar days. Id. Upon expiration of a temporary rule, the original rule is again effective unless the agency takes permanent rulemaking action. If your agency has concerns about the 180-day limitation being sufficient to last for the duration of the emergency, we recommend that you begin the permanent rulemaking process to avoid the rule reverting to its original language before the emergency has ended. An agency may adopt an identical permanent rule upon appropriate notice in accordance with ORS 183.335(1)–(4) and in accordance with any other requirements that may be found in an agency’s organic statutes or other applicable law.

Also, please keep in mind that the authority for your agency’s temporary rule may have changed or been eliminated since the start of the emergency. Consequently, when engaging in the permanent rulemaking process to avoid expiration of a temporary rule your agency adopted in response to the emergency, we recommend that you verify that your agency’s authority to adopt and implement the rule still exists and has not been updated or revised. Your agency may no longer need the temporary rule and it may be appropriate to suspend it or allow the rule to expire. Or, if the rule is still needed, your agency may need to revise or update the text of the rule or the source of the authority for the rule as a part of the permanent rulemaking process.

If you have questions about your agency’s rulemaking authority or the procedural requirements attendant to temporary or permanent rulemaking, please contact your agency’s designated contact counsel at the Oregon Department of Justice. Also, additional information on temporary rulemaking can be found in the 2019 Oregon Attorney General’s Administrative Law Manual, beginning on page 47. Additional information on permanent rulemaking can be found in the Administrative Law Manual, beginning on page 14.

Contact for questions: Noah Ellenberg, Oregon Department of Justice, 503-947-4524.