Statutes & Rules Overview

Statutes (Medical Practice Act)

The Board’s operating statutes are provided in Chapter 677 of the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). ORS Chapter 677 is also known as the Oregon Medical Practice Act.

Oregon Revised Statutes, chapter 677 — Regulation of Medicine, Podiatry and Acupuncture

Administrative Rules

The Board must prepare and adopt Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR), under OAR Chapter 847 to carry out its prescribed duties and responsibilities,

An OAR is generally an applicable administrative directive, standard, regulation, or statement which implements, interprets, or prescribes law. Once established, OAR language has the force of law and all persons or entities to which the rule applies must adhere to the rule.

Because rules affect the public, they must be adopted in compliance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA – ORS Chapter 183). The APA is a comprehensive code that imposes requirements for several types of board procedures: rulemaking, holding contested case hearings, and legislative review of state agency rules.

The Board may adopt, amend, or repeal a rule either on its own initiative or in response to outside requests.

Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs), chapter 847

Newly Proposed and Adopted OARs

Administrative Rule Making Process

Items to Note:

After first review by the Board, the rule is filed with the Secretary of State and interested parties are notified of the proposed rulemaking.
Public comments are accepted for 21 days after the notice is published in the Secretary of State Bulletin.
If the Board or Committee makes significant changes to the rule at any point in the process, it will be sent back to the Committee as a first review to start the process again.
Temporary rules follow the same process as regular rules, but are adopted after the Board’s first review and approval of the rule.
Sign up as an interested party by going to Subscriber Lists and selecting the link for Administrative Rules