Oregon Beach Bill Records
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Governor Tom McCall (left) and State Treasurer Bob Straub were leading figures in the effort to protect public access to Oregon beaches.
Learn more about the history of Oregon's beaches >
1967 HB 1601 Introduction
"One hundred years ago, an Oregon governor, Oswald West, engineered the first major protection of public access to the state's beaches, by cleverly convincing the 1913 legislature to declare all Oregon tidelands to be a state highway. However, a 1966 challenge exposed a flaw in the 1913 bill which technically protected only the wet sands as public. The Highway Department aimed to fix the loophole during the 1967 legislative session with House Bill 1601. The Oregon Beach Bill (1967 House Bill 1601) is a piece of landmark legislation passed by the 1967 session of the Oregon Legislature. It established public ownership of land along the Oregon Coast from the water up to sixteen vertical feet above the low tide mark."
Quote from Protecting Oregon Beaches Web Exhibit >
Discussions relating to this bill took place in the House Highway and Senate Judiciary committees.
1969 HB 1045 Introduction
Additional revisions to the Oregon Beach Bill were enacted in 1969 with House Bill 1045 at the request of the Interim Committee on Highways. Discussions relating to this bill took place in the House Highway, House Judiciary and Senate Judiciary committees.
Records