Chapter § 12.3

• Jurisdiction: Oregon

§ 12.3 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

Article III, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution divides the powers of state government into three separate branches. See § 12.1 (introduction). The Oregon Constitution provides for the powers and authorities of the branches of government in separate articles of the constitution. Article IV, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution vests the legislative power of the state in the legislative assembly and the people through initiative and referendum. See § 12.4-1 (core powers of the legislative branch). Article V, section 1, vests the executive power of the state in the Governor. See § 12.4-3 to § 12.4-3(b) (core powers of the executive branch). Article VI, sections 1 to 5, creates the state administrative department within the executive branch and is composed of the Secretary of State, the Treasurer of State, and all state agencies. Article VII (Amended), section 1, vests the judicial power of the state in the state supreme court and other courts as created by law. See § 12.4-2 (core powers of the judicial branch).

COMMENT: Within the articles creating the executive branch and the administrative department, the constitution refers directly only to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Treasurer of State. Other governmental entities and individuals who fall within the executive branch and are charged with official duties of that branch include the Department of Justice and the Attorney General. See ORS 180.010 (establishing the Office of the Attorney General); State ex rel. Frohnmayer v. Oregon State Bar, 307 Or 304, 310, 767 P2d 893 (1989) (Attorney General as an official of the executive branch).

§ 12.3-1 Purpose of Separation of Powers

Separation of powers is a mechanism for dividing the power of state government. See State ex rel. Dewberry v. Kitzhaber, 259 Or App 389, 409, 313 P3d 1135 (2013), rev den, 354 Or 838 (2014) (noting the "'underlying principle that separation of powers seeks to avoid the potential for concentration of separate powers' in one branch" (quoting Rooney v. Kulongoski, 322 Or 15, 28, 902 P2d 1143 (1995))). It serves as both a limitation on, and a guardian of, the institutional and individual official authority inherent in each branch. Separation of powers is deemed essential to "the preservation of liberty" to protect each branch of government in a full-functioning democracy from the coercive influence of the other branches. Monaghan, 211 Or at 364-66 (internal citation...