SALEM — A proposal meant to discourage squalid living conditions at illegal cannabis operations in Oregon is raising fears of broader legal impacts for rural landowners.

Landowners would be jointly liable for violating the state’s requirements for farmworker camps along with their operators under recently introduced legislation.

“The impetus is we know workers have been very poorly treated on some cannabis/hemp operations, particularly illegal ones,” said Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Medford, a chief sponsor of the bill.

House Bill 3194 would not impose this joint liability on landowners with “no actual knowledge or reason to know” of violations, if they’ve delegated authority over the camps to licensed operators.

However, those exceptions may not have much practical benefit for landowners, as “it would be nearly impossible to prove that you did have not have knowledge,” said Jenny Dresler, lobbyist for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

Since HB 3194 isn’t limited to formal lease agreements, a landowner could also be held liable for an illegal labor camp established by squatters, she said.

“I think that’s a very real possibility,” Dresler said.

An elderly landowner who’s confined to an assisted living facility, for example, “can’t realistically be expected to know what’s happening” at a property that’s been leased and then sublet to another operator, she said.

“We have a lot of out-of-state landowners in Oregon or who live in another part of Oregon,” Dresler said.

The Farm Bureau is also concerned the bill may open up landowners to liability for lessees who operate farmworker housing that falls short of recently-upgraded standards, she said. Those rules require mechanical cooling, for instance, which wasn’t installed in many older homes.

“It’s a recipe for mass liability,” Dresler said. “If the intent is to shut down illegal cannabis operations, this is the wrong mechanism to do it.”

Employees who file lawsuits over alleged violations of farmworker camp requirements could recover $2,000 per violation under the bill, up from $500 under current law.

The Farm Bureau expects more work to be done on HB 3194’s scope during the upcoming legislative session and credits Rep. Marsh for being open to dialogue about the bill, Dresler said.

Rep. Marsh said the proposal is still “very much in the development stage” and will be fine-tuned to target unlawful cannabis operations.

“The intention is not to cause pain and suffering for other types of farmers,” she said.