Proposed Amendment to the Oregon Constitution; Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. Findings and Purpose.
The people of the State of Oregon find and declare that the rights to hunt, fish, trap, farm, ranch, and engage in responsible wildlife management and agriculture are fundamental human rights rooted in Oregon's heritage, cultural traditions, food security, personal liberty, property rights, and rural way of life. These practices have sustained Oregonians for generations, support a healthy economy, promote scientifically based conservation, and are essential to the responsible stewardship of natural resources. This amendment protects these individual rights against substantial burdens or redefinitions that conflict with established human rights to adequate food, cultural participation, and livelihood.
SECTION 2.
Article I of the Oregon Constitution is amended by adding the following new section:
Section 44. Right to Hunt, Fish, Trap, Farm, Ranch, and Manage Resources.
(1) The people of Oregon have an individual, fundamental right to hunt, fish, trap, farm, ranch, raise livestock, cultivate crops, harvest natural resources, and engage in generally accepted practices of agriculture, animal husbandry, and scientifically based wildlife management. (2) This right includes, but is not limited to: (a) The lawful taking, possession, processing, transportation, sale, and use of fish, wildlife, livestock, poultry, crops, and other agricultural and natural resources; (b) The use of traditional, customary, and generally accepted tools, methods, and practices for these activities; (c) Participation in and support for scientifically managed conservation programs. (3) These rights shall be preserved forever as a public right and a preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish, wildlife, and natural resources. (4) The State and its political subdivisions may regulate these rights only through laws or rules that are: (a) Reasonable and narrowly tailored; (b) Necessary to promote sound wildlife conservation and management, public safety, or the prevention of substantial harm to public health or private property rights; and (c) Consistent with the promotion of sustainable, science-based practices. No law, regulation, or initiative petition may: (a) Prohibit or substantially burden the exercise of these rights; (b) Redefine generally accepted hunting, fishing, trapping, farming, ranching, or agricultural practices as animal abuse, neglect, or cruelty; (c) Impose undue or excessive fees, permitting requirements, or regulatory burdens not strictly necessary under subsection (4); or (d) Discriminate against or disproportionately target traditional rural, agricultural, or wildlife management practices. (5) This section shall be liberally construed in favor of protecting the individual rights of the people. Any ambiguity shall be resolved in favor of the people exercising these rights. (6) Nothing in this section: (a) Authorizes trespass on private property or infringement of private property rights; (b) Limits civil or criminal liability for reckless, negligent, or intentional misconduct unrelated to lawful protected activities; (c) Prevents the enforcement of laws prohibiting intentional animal torture outside of lawful, regulated activities; or (d) Affects the sovereignty of the State over its natural resources or the authority of duly established wildlife management agencies to set seasons, bag limits, or conservation measures consistent with this section.
SECTION 3. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of this amendment or its application is held invalid, the remainder of the amendment and its application to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected and shall remain in full force and effect