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I finally got a reply from Senator Betsy Johnson. She asked the legislative counsel (lawyers who work for the legislator determining legal aspects of laws) about the C&R. Here is their response.
in summary: The license is now useless.
"You have asked our office about the application of the criminal background check requirement in section 2 of Senate Bill 941 (chapter 50, Oregon Laws 2015, soon to be codified as ORS 166.435) to Curios and Relics federal firearms licensees. I believe the specific license you are asking about is the collector license referenced in 18 U.S.C. §923(b).
In interpreting the meaning of statutes, courts discern the legislative intent by looking first to the text and context of the statute and any relevant legislative history. State v. Gaines, 346 Or. 160, 171-172 (2009). If, after a review of the text, context and legislative history, the court concludes that the meaning of the statute is ambiguous, "the court may resort to general maxims of statutory construction to aid in resolving the remaining uncertainty." Gaines at 172, quoting PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or. 606, 612 (1993).
Looking at the text of ORS 166.435, the criminal background check requirement applies to all persons except those licensed as dealers, importers or manufacturers under 18 U.S.C. §923, unless some other exception applies. This is because under ORS 166.435 (1)(b) and (c) (2015 edition), persons with those specified licenses are excluded from the definition of "transferee" and "transferor." Collector licenses are not included in the exemption.
The legislative history seems to support this conclusion. During the 2015 session there were amendments drafted to SB 941 that proposed adding the term "collector" to the list of licenses that would exempt a person from the background check requirement (see the A13 and A24 amendments to the A-Engrossed bill, available on OLIS). The resulting definitions of "transferee" and "transferor" would have read "a person who is not a gun dealer or licensed as a collector, manufacturer or importer under 18 U.S.C. 923…." However, these amendments were not adopted and as a result the word "collector" was never added to SB 941.
Finally, if a court needed further clarification when interpreting ORS 166.435, the court could consider the maxim of statutory constructionexpressio unius est exclusio alterius. Under this maxim, if certain licenses exempt from the criminal background check are expressly mentioned, this implies a legislative intent to exclude other licenses not mentioned.
Therefore, we believe a court would find that the background check requirement in section 2 of SB 941 (ORS 166.435) does apply to persons with Curios and Relics collector federal firearm licenses."
The senator said we could probably work toward an exemption added in the 2017 session.
in summary: The license is now useless.
"You have asked our office about the application of the criminal background check requirement in section 2 of Senate Bill 941 (chapter 50, Oregon Laws 2015, soon to be codified as ORS 166.435) to Curios and Relics federal firearms licensees. I believe the specific license you are asking about is the collector license referenced in 18 U.S.C. §923(b).
In interpreting the meaning of statutes, courts discern the legislative intent by looking first to the text and context of the statute and any relevant legislative history. State v. Gaines, 346 Or. 160, 171-172 (2009). If, after a review of the text, context and legislative history, the court concludes that the meaning of the statute is ambiguous, "the court may resort to general maxims of statutory construction to aid in resolving the remaining uncertainty." Gaines at 172, quoting PGE v. Bureau of Labor and Industries, 317 Or. 606, 612 (1993).
Looking at the text of ORS 166.435, the criminal background check requirement applies to all persons except those licensed as dealers, importers or manufacturers under 18 U.S.C. §923, unless some other exception applies. This is because under ORS 166.435 (1)(b) and (c) (2015 edition), persons with those specified licenses are excluded from the definition of "transferee" and "transferor." Collector licenses are not included in the exemption.
The legislative history seems to support this conclusion. During the 2015 session there were amendments drafted to SB 941 that proposed adding the term "collector" to the list of licenses that would exempt a person from the background check requirement (see the A13 and A24 amendments to the A-Engrossed bill, available on OLIS). The resulting definitions of "transferee" and "transferor" would have read "a person who is not a gun dealer or licensed as a collector, manufacturer or importer under 18 U.S.C. 923…." However, these amendments were not adopted and as a result the word "collector" was never added to SB 941.
Finally, if a court needed further clarification when interpreting ORS 166.435, the court could consider the maxim of statutory constructionexpressio unius est exclusio alterius. Under this maxim, if certain licenses exempt from the criminal background check are expressly mentioned, this implies a legislative intent to exclude other licenses not mentioned.
Therefore, we believe a court would find that the background check requirement in section 2 of SB 941 (ORS 166.435) does apply to persons with Curios and Relics collector federal firearm licenses."
The senator said we could probably work toward an exemption added in the 2017 session.