(1) Upon the written request of any person, or upon its own motion, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, under signature of the chairperson, may issue and publish written commission advisory opinions on the application of ORS § 192.660 or any provision of this chapter to any proposed transaction or action or any actual or hypothetical circumstance. A commission advisory opinion, and a decision by the commission to issue an advisory opinion on its own motion, must be approved by a majority of the members of the commission. Legal counsel to the commission shall review a proposed commission advisory opinion before the opinion is considered by the commission.

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(2) Not later than 60 days after the date the commission receives the written request for a commission advisory opinion, the commission shall issue either the opinion or a written denial of the request. The written denial shall explain the reasons for the denial. The commission may ask the person requesting the advisory opinion to supply additional information the commission considers necessary to render the opinion. The commission, by vote of a majority of the members of the commission, may extend the 60-day deadline by one period not to exceed 60 days.

(3) Except as provided in this subsection, unless the commission advisory opinion is revised or revoked, the commission may not impose a penalty under ORS § 244.350 or 244.360 on a person for any good faith action the person takes in reliance on an advisory opinion issued under this section. The commission may impose a penalty under ORS § 244.350 or 244.360 on the person who requested the advisory opinion if the commission determines that the person omitted or misstated material facts in making the request. [1974 c.72 § 15; 1975 c.543 § 9; 1977 c.588 § 8; 1987 c.566 § 19; 1991 c.272 § 2; 1993 c.743 § 13; 2007 c.865 § 12; 2007 c.877 § 25a; 2021 c.264 § 1]