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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 3005
Sponsored by Representative NELSON (Presession filed.)
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 tells DHS when records about reported or founded child abuse may be
expunged. (Flesch Readability Score: 67.5).
Prescribes when records related to reported or founded child abuse may be expunged.
Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to expunction of records relating to child abuse; and prescribing an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) “Abuse” has the meaning given that term in ORS 419B.005.
(b) “Neglect” means failure to provide the care, supervision or services necessary to
maintain the physical and mental health of a child, including the failure to provide adequate
food, clothing, shelter or medical care if the failure is likely to endanger the health or wel-
fare of the child, or the failure to make a reasonable effort to protect the child from abuse.
(c) “Public body” means a public body as defined in ORS 174.109 and the Oregon Health
and Science University.
(2) At the request of a person who was the subject of a report of suspected child abuse,
the Department of Human Services shall expunge all records in the department’s possession
related to the abuse report and any resulting investigation, if:
(a) The suspected abuse involved only neglect;
(b) The report of abuse was closed at screening or was investigated and determined to
be unfounded or unable to be determined;
(c) At least seven years have elapsed since the department closed the abuse report or
concluded its investigation of the abuse report; and
(d) The subject person has not been the subject of any subsequent reports of suspected
child abuse.
(3) At the request of a person who was the subject of a founded report of child abuse, the
department after a hearing may expunge all records in the department’s possession related
to the abuse report and the resulting investigation if:
(a) The abuse did not involve sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of the child or a child
fatality or near fatality;
(b) The child who was abused has attained 18 years of age or, if the child is under 18
years of age, at least seven years have elapsed since the department concluded its investi-
gation of the abuse report;
(c) The subject person has not been the subject of any subsequent reports of suspected
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 2978
HB 3005
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child abuse;
(d) The child who was abused receives notice of the hearing; and
(e) The hearings officer determines that there is no just cause to deny the subject
person’s request to expunge the records.
(4) When the department expunges records as provided by this section, the department
shall:
(a) Remove any record of the reported or founded abuse from the department’s database;
and
(b) Issue a notice of expunction to each public body in this state that the department
reasonably suspects may have records of the reported or founded abuse, including the De-
partment of Early Learning and Care and law enforcement agencies.
(5)(a) Upon receipt of a notice of expunction, the records that are the subject of the
expunction may not be disclosed by any public body.
(b) A public body that receives a notice of expunction shall respond to any inquiry about
the reported or founded abuse by indicating that no record or reference concerning the abuse
exists.
(c) The Department of Early Learning and Care shall remove any reference to the re-
ported or founded abuse from the Central Background Registry.
(6) The Department of Human Services shall establish by rule a procedure for the
expunction of records relating to reports and investigation of suspected child abuse and
neglect, consistent with this section.
SECTION 2.
Section 1 of this 2025 Act applies to the expunction of records relating to
reported or founded abuse created before, on or after the effective date of this 2025 Act and
to persons who were the subject of reported or founded abuse occurring before, on or after
the effective date of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 3.
(1) Section 1 of this 2025 Act becomes operative on January 1, 2026.
(2) The Department of Human Services and the Department of Early Learning and Care
may take any action before the operative date specified in subsection (1) of this section that
is necessary to enable the departments to carry out section 1 of this 2025 Act and to exer-
cise, on and after the operative date specified in subsection (1) of this section, all of the du-
ties, functions and powers conferred on the departments by section 1 of this 2025 Act.
SECTION 4. This 2025 Act takes effect on the 91st day after the date on which the 2025
regular session of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly adjourns sine die.
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