Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems v. State of Oregon
D. Or.5/16/2024
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON OREGON ASSOCIATION OF Case No. 3:22-cv-1486-SI HOSPITALS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS, OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff, v. STATE OF OREGON, OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY, and DR. SEJAL HATHI, in her official capacity as Director of Oregon Health Authority, Defendants. Brad S. Daniels and Nathan R. Morales, STOEL RIVES LLP, 760 SW Ninth Avenue, Suite 3000, Portland, OR 97205. Of Attorneys for Plaintiff. Sara D. Van Loh and YoungWoo Joh, OREGON DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 100 SW Market Street, Portland, OR 97201. Of Attorneys for Defendants. Michael H. Simon, District Judge. The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) brings this lawsuit against the State of Oregon (State); the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), Oregonâs licensing agency for health care facilities; and Dr. Sejal Hathi, M.D., M.B.A., in her official capacity as Director of the OHA (collectively, Defendants). In its First Amended Complaint (FAC), OAHHS asserts two facial challenges to Oregon House Bill (HB) 2362 (2021) (codified at OR. REV. STAT. (ORS) § 415.500-.900), which created Oregonâs Health Care Market Oversight (HCMO) program. First, OAHHS asserts that HB 2362 is unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (First Claim). Second, OAHHS contends that HB 2362 impermissibly delegates legislative powers to the OHA, a state executive agency, in violation of the nondelegation principles found in article I, section 21; article III, section 1; and article IV, section 1(1) of the Oregon Constitution (Second Claim). OAHHS describes itself as a statewide nonprofit trade association representing Oregon hospitals and health systems. FAC ¶ 7. Its members include hospitals and health systems that are subject to the requirements of HB 2362 and have engaged or will engage in transactions that likely will trigger the requirements of HB 2362. Id. ¶ 8. OAHHS seeks declaratory and injunctive relief. Before the Court are the partiesâ cross-motions for summary judgment. In OAHHSâs motion, OAHHS seeks summary judgment on both claims. In Defendantsâ motion, Defendants begin by requesting summary judgment against OAHHSâs First Claim, for violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Defendants then argue that if they prevail against OAHHSâs First Claim, the Court should decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over OAHHSâs Second Claim, which invokes only the Oregon Constitution. In the alternative, Defendants move for summary judgment on the merits against OAHHSâs Second Claim. For the reasons explained below, the Court grants Defendantsâ motion for summary judgment against OAHHSâs First Claim, declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over OAHHSâs Second Claim, and denies OAHHSâs motion for summary judgment. STANDARDS A party is entitled to summary judgment if the âmovant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.â Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party has the burden of establishing the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant and draw all reasonable inferences in the non-movantâs favor. Clicks Billiards, Inc. v. Sixshooters, Inc., 251 F.3d 1252, 1257 (9th Cir. 2001). Although â[c]redibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge . . . ruling on a motion for summary judgment,â the âmere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffâs position [is] insufficient.â Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 255 (1986). âWhere the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue for trial.â Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986) (quotation marks omitted). When parties file cross-motions for summary judgment, the court âevaluate[s] each motion separately, giving the nonmoving party in each instance the benefit of all reasonable inferences.â ACLU of Nev. v. City of Las Vegas, 466 F.3d 784, 790-91 (9th Cir. 2006) (quotation marks and citation omitted); see also Pintos v. Pac. Creditors Assân, 605 F.3d 665, 674 (9th Cir. 2010) (âCross-motions for summary judgment are evaluated separately under [the] same standard.â). In evaluating the motions, âthe court must consider each partyâs evidence, regardless under which motion the evidence is offered.â Las Vegas Sands, LLC v. Nehme, 632 F.3d 526, 532 (9th Cir. 2011). âWhere the non-moving party bears the burden of proof at trial, the moving party need only prove that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving partyâs case.â In re Oracle Corp. Sec. Litig., 627 F.3d 376, 387 (9th Cir. 2010). Then, the non-moving party bears the burden of designating âspecific facts demonstrating the existence of genuine issues for trial.â Id. âThis burden is not a light one.â Id. The Supreme Court has directed that in such a situation, the non-moving party must do more than raise a âmetaphysical doubtâ as to the material facts at issue. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586. BACKGROUND1 According to Defendants, the Oregon Legislature passed HB 2362 in response to the consolidation of health care providers in recent years and concerns about increasing health care costs and decreasing services and quality of care. Defendants explain that the Oregon Legislatureâs purpose in enacting HB 2362 was to ensure that certain qualifying transactions involving health care entities âwould not continue to negatively impact access to health care, quality of patient care, costs for consumers and payers, or health equity.â The HCMO program requires certain parties that meet (or are expected to meet) minimum revenue thresholds to notify OHA and submit to a regulatory process for approval before engaging in certain kinds of business transactions (e.g., mergers and acquisitions, affiliations, and certain contractual arrangements) that involve health care entities or that otherwise significantly may affect the provision of certain health care services. HB 2362 sets forth the HCMO programâs requirements and procedures, and OHA has promulgated administrative rules under the statute and has issued sub-regulatory guidance documents as it has implemented the program. The HCMO program launched in March 2022.2 As of December 2023, OHA had undertaken 17 reviews of qualifying transactions, with nine of those transactions approved and five still in progress.3 1 This section is comprised of undisputed facts taken from the partiesâ motions for summary judgment, the attachments filed in support of those motions, and such other materials of which the Court can take judicial notice. 2 OHA, Health Care Market Oversight 2023 Annual Report, at 2 (Jan. 4, 2024), https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP/HCMOPageDocs/HCMO%202023%20Annual%20Report .pdf. 3 Id. at 5. Of the nine approved transactions, five were approved without conditions, and four were approved with conditions. Id. Also as of December 2023, OHA had undertaken 15 A. Operation of HB 2362 HB 2362 requires a covered âhealth care entityâ to provide OHA with notice before engaging in a covered âmaterial change transactionâ and prohibits that entity from engaging in a covered transaction until the transaction has been reviewed and approved by OHA. The review and approval of covered transactions is governed by criteria that are set forth within the statute and supplemented by administrative rules. Below, the Court reviews the statutory and regulatory provisions that govern which entities are covered by the HCMO program; the types of transactions for which a covered entity must provide OHA with formal notice; other aspects of OHAâs decision-making process, including the criteria for approval of a transaction; and the equitable relief and civil penalties available to OHA to respond to violations of HB 2362. The Court also briefly discusses OHAâs sub-regulatory guidance on the HCMO program and the availability of pre-notice inquiry about the application of the law to prospective transactions. 1. Covered Entities HB 2362 defines âhealth care entitiesââthe entities subject to the HCMO programâby listing six categories of covered entities.4 Several of these categories are clarified in cross- referenced provisions of the ORS, by Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR), or both. Under ORS § 415.500(4)(a), âhealth care entityâ includes: (A) An individual health professional licensed or certified in this state; preliminary reviews, two comprehensive reviews, and two follow-up reviews. Id. âPreliminary reviewâ and âcomprehensive reviewâ are explained below. Regarding âfollow-up review,â the law requires OHA periodically to conduct post-transaction reviews to determine the effects of an approved transaction that has been completed and whether the parties to the transaction have complied with the conditions placed on the transaction, if any. ORS § 415.501(19). 4 The statute also exempts from the definition of âhealth care entityâ certain long-term care facilities and residential facilities and homes. See ORS § 415.500(4)(b). (B) A hospital, as defined in ORS 442.015,[5] or hospital system, as defined by the authority by rule;[6] (C) A carrier, as defined in ORS 743B.005,[7] that offers a health benefit plan in this state; (D) A Medicare Advantage plan; (E) A coordinated care organization or a prepaid managed care health services organization, as both terms are defined [by statute]; and (F) Any other entity that has as a primary function the provision of health care items or services or that is a parent organization of, or is an entity closely related to, an entity that has as a primary function the provision of health care items or services. 2. Covered Transactions HB 2362 governs review and approval of specified transactions of covered heath care entities, including qualifying mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations. The law circumscribes the scope of covered transactionsâcalled âmaterial change transactionsââby defining both 5 ORS § 442.015(15) defines âhospitalâ as: either (1) âA facility with an organized medical staff and a permanent building that is capable of providing 24-hour inpatient care to two or more individuals who have an illness or injury and that provides at least the following health services: (A) Medical; (B) Nursing; (C) Laboratory; (D) Pharmacy; and (E) Dietary,â or (2) âA special inpatient care facility as that term is defined by the authority by rule.â 6 OAR 409-70-005(20) defines âhospital systemâ as: (a) A parent corporation of one or more hospitals and any entity affiliated with the parent through ownership, governance, control, or membership; or (b) A hospital and any entity affiliated with the hospital through ownership, governance, control, or membership. 7 ORS § 743B.005(5) defines âcarrierâ to mean âany person who provides health benefit plans in [Oregon],â including â[a]ny . . . person or corporation responsible for the payment of benefits or provision of services.â âtransactionâ and the âmaterial[ity]â standard. OHAâs regulations also define several key terms found within those definitions. a. âTransactionâ ORS § 415.500(10) defines âtransactionâ as: (a) A merger of a health care entity with another entity; (b) An acquisition of one or more health care entities by another entity; (c) New contracts, new clinical affiliations and new contracting affiliations that will eliminate or significantly reduce, as defined by the authority by rule, essential services; (d) A corporate affiliation involving at least one health care entity; or (e) Transactions to form a new partnership, joint venture, accountable care organization, parent organization or management services organization, as prescribed by the authority by rule.[8] (emphases added). As relevant to paragraph (c), the terms âessential servicesâ and âsignificantly reduceâ are defined by statute and rule. Under ORS § 415.500(2), âessential servicesâ means: (a) services that are on a prioritized list of health services developed by Oregonâs Health Evidence Review Commission and funded by the Legislative Assembly;9 and (b) â[s]ervices that are essential to achieve health equity.â As defined by rule, âservices that are essential to achieve health equityâ encompasses four categories of services: â(a) Any service directly related to the treatment of a chronic condition; 8 The law also categorically excludes and exempts certain transactions from the definition of âmaterial change transaction,â See ORS § 415.500(6)(b). 9 ORS § 414.690 directs the Health Evidence Review Commission, which decides which services to cover on the Oregon Health Plan, to develop and maintain âa list of health services ranked by priority . . . representing the comparative benefits of each service to the population served.â See Health Evidence Review Commission, Oregon.gov, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/hpa/dsi-herc. (b) Pregnancy-related services; (c) Prevention services including non-clinical services; or (d) Health care system navigation and care coordination services.â OAR 409-70-0005(28). Also as defined by rule, a âsignificant reduction of servicesâ occurs when a transaction will result in one-third or more of eight listed harms involving access to health care services and the provision or availability of those services. See OAR 409-070-0010(3).10 10 OAR 409-070-0010(3) provides: A significant reduction of services occurs when the transaction will result in a change of one-third or more of any of the following: (a) An increase in time or distance for community members to access essential services, particularly for historically or currently underserved populations or community members using public transportation; (b) A reduction in the number of providers, including the number of culturally competent providers, health care interpreters, or traditional healthcare workers, or a reduction in the number of clinical experiences or training opportunities for individuals enrolled in a professional clinical education program; (c) A reduction in the number of providers serving new patients, providers serving individuals who are uninsured, or providers serving individuals who are underinsured; (d) Any restrictions on providers regarding rendering, discussing, or referring for any essential services; (e) A decrease in the availability of essential services or the range of available essential services; (f) An increase in appointment wait times for essential services; (g) An increase in any barriers for community members seeking care, such as new prior authorization processes or required consultations before receiving essential services; or (h) A reduction in the availability of any specific type of care such as primary care, behavioral health care, oral health care, specialty care, pregnancy care, inpatient care, outpatient care, or emergent care as relates to the provision of essential services. b. âMaterialityâ Under ORS § 415.500(6), a âtransactionâ qualifies as a âmaterial change transactionâ based on specific financial thresholds involving a participating health care entityâs prior or projected revenue. ORS § 415.500(6)(a) provides in part: âMaterial change transactionâ means: (A) A transaction in which at least one party had average revenue of $25 million or more in the preceding three fiscal years and another party: (i) Had an average revenue of at least $10 million in the preceding three fiscal years; or (ii) In the case of a new entity, is projected to have at least $10 million in revenue in the first full year of operation at normal levels of utilization or operation as prescribed by the authority by rule. The law adds a criterion for a transaction involving âa health care entity in [Oregon] and an out- of-state entityâ to qualify as a âmaterial change transactionâ: the transaction will be covered by the statute only if it also âmay [1] result in increases in the price of heath care or [2] limit access to health care services in [Oregon].â ORS § 415.500(6)(a)(B). 3. Criteria for Approval The core provision of HB 2362, codified at ORS § 415.501, sets forth procedures and requirements for covered health care entities to provide notice to OHA of a material change transaction and for OHAâs review and approval of that transaction.11 A transaction may be approved either after a âpreliminary reviewâ (under ORS § 415.501(6)), or a âcomprehensive 11 When a material change transaction involves the sale, merger, or acquisition of a domestic health insurer, the notice must be submitted to the Department of Consumer and Business Services, which then conveys the notice to OHA for review. Although OHA undertakes a review of the transaction, the Department of Consumer and Business Services makes the final determination. See ORS § 415.501(3). reviewâ (under ORS § 415.501(9)). If OHA decides not to approve a transaction after its preliminary review, it must conduct a comprehensive review. See ORS § 415.501(7); OAR 409-070-0055(3), -0060(1). Various criteria govern: (1) approval of a under a preliminary review; and (2) approval of a transaction under a comprehensive review. ORS § 415.501(6), (8)(c), (9). The law itself supplies some of those criteria but also directs OHA to promulgate additional criteria consistent with the purposes of ORS § 415.501: âto promote the public interest and to advance the goals set forth in ORS 414.018 and the goals of the Oregon Integrated and Coordinated Health Care Delivery system described in ORS 414.570.â ORS § 415.501(1), (2). The âgoals set forthâ in the cross-referenced statutory provisions include, among other things, ensuring âuniversal access to an adequate level of high quality health care at an affordable costâ (under ORS § 414.018(1)); âimproving health, increasing the quality, reliability, availability[,] and continuity of care and reducing the cost of careâ (under ORS § 414.018(3)); and reducing medical cost inflation and eliminating health disparities (under ORS § 414.570(1), (3)(b)). See also OAR 409-070-0000(2), (3) (explaining the purpose of the implementing regulations and setting forth specific goals OHA seeks to achieve when reviewing proposed material change transactions). Based on these purposes and cross-referenced statutory directives, OHAâs implementing regulations set forth the criteria that govern whether approval of a transaction will follow a preliminary review of that transaction. Those regulations, which incorporate the review criteria that OHA is required to consider, provide that OHA must approve a material change transaction if OHA determines that the transaction meets one or more of the following criteria12: 12 If the material change transaction involves a domestic health insurer and OHA determines that the transaction meets one or more of the criteria, OHA must recommend to the (a) The material change transaction is in the interest of consumers and is urgently necessary to maintain the solvency of an entity involved in the transaction; (b) The material change transaction is unlikely to substantially reduce access to affordable health care in Oregon; (c) The material change transaction is likely to meet the criteria [that govern a comprehensive review of a notice of a material change transaction, as] set forth in OAR 409-070-0060; (d) The material change transaction is not likely to substantially alter the delivery of health care in Oregon; or (e) Comprehensive review of the material change transaction is not warranted given the size and effects of the transaction. OAR 409-070-0055(2). Of these five criteria, the first three restate the criteria set forth in the statute. See ORS § 415.501(6)(a), (b). OHAâs implementing regulations also set forth the criteria that govern whether approval of a transaction will follow a comprehensive review of that transaction. The regulations require OHA to approve a material change transaction if the transaction âsatisfies (a) below and also satisfies either (b) or (c)â13: (a) There is no substantial likelihood that the transaction would: (A) Have material anticompetitive effects in the region (such as significantly increased market concentration among providers when contracting with payers, carriers, or coordinated care organizations, or among carriers when establishing health benefit premiums that is likely to increase costs for consumers) not outweighed by benefits in Department of Consumer and Business Services that the transaction be approved. See OAR 409-070-0055(2); ORS § 415.501(3). 13 If the material change transaction involves a domestic health insurer and OHA determines that the transaction similarly satisfies these criteria, OHA must recommend to the Department of Consumer and Business Services that the transaction be approved. See OAR 409-070-0060(6); ORS § 415.501(3). increasing or maintaining services to underserved populations; (B) Be contrary to law; (C) Jeopardize the financial stability of a health care entity involved in the transaction; or (D) Otherwise be hazardous or prejudicial to consumers or the public. (b) The transaction will benefit the public good and communities by: (A) Reducing the growth in patient costs in accordance with the health care cost growth targets established under ORS 442.386[14] or maintain a rate of cost growth that exceeds the target that the entity demonstrates is in the best interest of the public; (B) Increasing access to services in medically underserved areas; or (C) Rectifying historical and contemporary factors contributing to a lack of health equity or access to services. (c) The transaction will improve health outcomes for residents of [Oregon]. OAR 409-070-0060(6). Of the above provisions, paragraphs (b) and (c) are from the statute (ORS § 415.501(9)(a)(A), (B)), and paragraph (a)(A) mirrors the statute but adds examples of âmaterial anticompetitive effects.â See ORS § 415.501(9)(b). Whether under a preliminary review or a comprehensive review, OHA must analyze information provided in a notice of a 14 ORS § 442.386 contains the operative provisions establishing and governing Oregonâs Health Care Cost Target Growth program, which âestablish[es] a health care cost growth targetâ that must â[p]romote a predictable and sustainable rate of growth.â ORS § 442.386(2), (3)(a). material change transaction under standards published on OHAâs website and that must be, among other things, âclear, fair, predictable, and consistent.â OAR 409-070-0045(9), (9)(a).15 4. Post-Review Procedures OHAâs regulations provide that after its comprehensive review, OHA must issue a proposed order, along with âproposed findings of fact and conclusion of law.â OAR 409-070-0060(4). OHA must then give the parties and the public âa reasonable opportunity to make written comments to the proposed findings and conclusions and the proposed order.â Id. OHA must consider those comments, which must be made available to the public, and then issue a final order that sets forth OHAâs final findings and conclusions. Id.; OAR 409-070-0060(5). A party to the proposed transaction may contest a final order by way of a contested case hearing. OAR 409-070-0060(5); see also OAR 409-070-0075 (governing procedures for contested case hearings). The resulting decision is then subject to judicial review by the Oregon Court of Appeals. OAR 409-070-0075(11). 15 OAR 409-070-0045(9) provides: [OHAâs] review of the information provided in a notice of material change will be analyzed using the Analytic Framework, published on the [HCMO] Program website, with standards that: (a) Are clear, fair, predictable, and consistent; (b) Use measures of quality and access that can be meaningfully compared to current and past performance across Oregon and, if available, in other states; and (c) Include equity analyses that stratify cost, quality, and access data by the characteristics specified in the definition of health equity to the greatest extent allowable by data availability. See also OHA, Health Care Market Oversight Analytic Framework (Oct. 2022), https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP/HCMOPageDocs/OHA-HCMO-Analytic-Framework- FINAL.pdf. 5. Equitable Relief and Penalties HB 2362 provides OHA with two types of remedies for covered entitiesâ violations of the law. First, â[w]henever it appears to the Director of [OHA] that any person has committed or is about to commit a violationâ of the lawâs core provisions or a related administrative rule, the Director may seek an appropriate injunction and âsuch other equitable relief as the nature of the case and the interest of the public may require.â ORS § 415.501(22). Second, HB 2362 authorizes the Director to impose civil penalties for such violations, up to $10,000 for each offense. ORS § 415.900(1). B. Guidance Documents OHA maintains a publicly available website that provides information and access to documents detailing the parameters and procedures of HB 2362.16 One such document, titled âEntities Subject to Review,â describes âthe types of entities that may be subject to review when materiality and transaction criteria are met.â17 That document sets forth examples of entities that may be subject to review, and explains why that is soâe.g., because the entityâs primary function is the provision of health care; the entity is closely related to another entity that provides health care; or because the entity has control over another entity that provides health care.18 In addition, OHA has issued a document titled âDefining Essential Services & Significant Reductionâ that outlines a two-part test and provides examples to guide health care entities in 16 OHA, Health Care Market Oversight Rules and Guidance, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/hpa/hp/pages/hcmo-rules.aspx. 17 OHA, Entities Subject to Review (Oct. 2022), https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP/HCMOPageDocs/HCMO-Entities-Subject-to-Review.pdf. 18 See ORS § 415.500(4)(a)(F) (residual provision in definition of âhealth care entityâ); OAR 409-070-0005(16)(f)-(g) (further defining and narrowing residual provision by rule). determining whether a prospective transaction will âsignificantly reduceâ âessential servicesâ and thus may qualify as a covered âtransactionâ under ORS § 415.500(10)(c).19 Other guidance documents made available on OHAâs webpage include, among others: âHealth Care Market Oversight Analytic Frameworkâ; âSafe Harbor and Transactions Not Subject to Reviewâ; âAre Changes in Ownership of Assets Changes in Control?â; and âCriteria for Comprehensive Review of Material Change Transactions.â C. Pre-Notice Review Under OHAâs implementing regulations, a party to a proposed transaction may, before submitting a formal notice of the transaction, submit a written application to OHA ârequesting a determination whether such transaction is a covered transaction pursuant to [OHAâs] rules.â OAR 409-070-0042(1). No fee is required for such an application. OAR 409-070-0042(4). OHA must notify the applicant in writing of OHAâs determination within 30 days of receiving the application. OAR 409-070-0042(1). The regulations also encourage all parties to a material change transaction for which a formal notice will be filed to contact OHA to arrange for a âpre- filing conference.â OAR 409-70-0045(2).20 19 OHA, Defining Essential Services & Significant Reduction (Jan. 31, 2022), https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP/HCMOPageDocs/HCMO-Essential-Services-and- Significant-Reduction-Guidance-FINAL.pdf. 20 The rules also provide that, if OHA decides to conduct a comprehensive review, the agency must offer a âcomprehensive review conference.â OAR 409-070-0045(2). The rules further provide that â[t]he pre-filing conference or comprehensive review conference shall preview the transaction . . . including timing, the use of outside experts, the potential involvement of a community review board . . . , and other relevant issues.â Id. DISCUSSION A. Plaintiffâs First Claim: Vagueness As its first claim, OAHHS brings a facial challenge to HB 2362, asserting that the law is void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. OAHHS contends that HB 2362 violates the federal void-for-vagueness doctrine because the law fails to provide fair notice and because it encourages arbitrary enforcement. Defendantsâ position is that OAHHS has not shown that HB 2362 is unconstitutionally vague under the applicable standard. According to Defendants, for a plaintiff to prevail on a facial challenge to a law on void- for-vagueness grounds, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the law is unconstitutional in every conceivable application, and OAHHS has not done so here. Defendants add that even under a stricter vagueness standardâi.e., one less permissive of vagueness, and thereby easing a challengerâs burdenâOAHHS would still fail to meet that lesser burden. OAHHS replies that the âevery conceivable applicationâ standard that Defendants invoke no longer applies and argues for a stricter standard (a lesser burden for OAHHS). OAHHS further argues that even under the more burdensome standard that would require a challenger to show that a law is unconstitutional in âevery conceivable application,â HB 2362 is impermissibly vague. For the reasons stated below, the Court agrees with Defendants that, regardless of the specific standard that governs facial challenges generally, OAHHS has not met its burden for a facial vagueness challenge to HB 2362. 1. Facial Challenges Generally a. Background Principles âA âfacialâ challenge . . . means a claim that the law is âinvalid in totoâand therefore incapable of any valid application.ââ Vill. of Hoffman Ests. v. Flipside, Hoffman Ests., Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 494 n.5 (1982) (quoting Steffel v. Thompson, 415 U.S. 452, 474 (1974)); see also Bucklew v. Precythe, 587 U.S. 119, 138 (2019) (explaining that âthe facial/as-applied distinction affects the extent to which the invalidity of a statute need be demonstratedâ (quotation marks omitted)); Richard H. Fallon, Fact and Fiction About Facial Challenges, 99 CAL. L. REV. 915, 925 (2011) [hereinafter Fact and Fiction] (explaining that the Supreme Court generally describes âany challenge that does not seek to establish that a statute is totally invalidâ as an âas-appliedâ challenge). The term âfacial attackâ includes an attack on particular provisions or sections of a statute, even if a successful attack âcould leave other aspects of [a] multipart enactment[] intact.â Fact and Fiction, supra, at 925; see also id. at 925 n.36 (collecting cases). Facial invalidation of legislation âis manifestly strong medicineâ that should be employed âsparingly and only as a last resort.â Natâl Endowment for the Arts v. Finley, 524 U.S. 569, 580 (1998) (quotation marks omitted); see also Sabri v. United States, 541 U.S. 600, 608 (2004) (â[F]acial challenges are best when infrequent.â). Among other reasons, facial challenges are disfavored because they âoften rest on speculationâ and therefore âraise the risk of âpremature interpretation of statutes on the basis of factually barebones records.ââ Wash. State Grange v. Wash. State Republican Party, 552 U.S. 442, 450 (2008) (quoting Sabri). In addition, facial challenges ârun contrary to the fundamental principle of judicial restraint that courts should neither anticipate a question of constitutional law in advance of the necessity of deciding it nor formulate a rule of constitutional law broader than is required by the precise facts to which it is to be applied.â Id. (quotation marks omitted). Facial challenges also âthreaten to short circuit the democratic process by preventing laws embodying the will of the people from being implemented in a manner consistent with the Constitution.â Id. at 451.21 Accordingly, a party 21 These concerns apply in this case, where OAHHS seeks facial invalidation not of isolated provisions of HB 2362, but of the statute in its entirety. OAHHS has not proposed a less severe alternative remedy. raising a facial constitutional challenge confronts âa heavy burden.â Natâl Endowment, 524 U.S. at 580 (quotation marks omitted). b. Standard of Review Just how heavy a burden a party raising a facial challenge confronts is disputed by the parties. Defendants invoke a standard that the Supreme Court articulated in United States v. Salerno, under which a challenger seeking facial invalidation of a law on vagueness grounds âmust establish that no set of circumstances exists under which [the law] would be valid.â 481 U.S. 739, 745 (1987). OAHHS responds that a broad âno set of circumstancesâ standard has been effectively repudiated by the Supreme Court and that the Ninth Circuit has recognized that repudiation.22 Defendants reply that the cases on which OAHHS relies are distinguishable because they addressed statutes in which significant liberty interests were at stake.23 Neither the Supreme Court nor the Ninth Circuit has expressly limited the statements in those cases regarding the applicable standard to any specific context. The Court concludes, however, that it need not reach the issue of precisely what standard applies to a facial challenge under the circumstances presented here. Regardless of the specific standard that applies when evaluating a facial challenge in this context, OAHHSâs challenge to HB 2362 would still fail. As discussed below, even under the less-demanding standard that would apply when evaluating an as-applied challenge, OAHHS has not shown that the law is unconstitutionally vague. 22 ECF 31 at 18 (citing Johnson v. United States, 576 U.S. 591 (2015); Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. 148 (2018); Guerrero v. Whitaker, 908 F.3d 541 (9th Cir. 2018)). 23 Johnson involved a clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, which imposed an increased prison term upon a defendant with three prior convictions for a âviolent felony.â 576 U.S. at 593. Dimaya involved a similar clause in the Immigration and Nationality Act, under which any alien convicted of an âaggravated felonyâ could be deported. 584 U.S. at 153. Guerrero also involved an immigration removal statute. 908 F.3d at 542. 2. Vagueness a. Background Principles âIt is a basic principle of due process that an enactment is void for vagueness if its prohibitions are not clearly defined.â Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 108 (1972); see also U.S. Const. amend. XIV (providing that no state âshall . . . deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of lawâ). The void-for-vagueness doctrine âaddresses at least two connected but discrete due process concerns: first, that regulated parties should know what is required of them so they may act accordingly; second, precision and guidance are necessary so that those enforcing the law do not act in an arbitrary or discriminatory way.â Fed. Commcân Commân v. Fox Television Stations, Inc., 567 U.S. 239, 253 (2012); see also Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108 (noting that vague laws violate the âbasic principle of due process,â including âfair warningâ and âexplicit standards for those who apply [the laws]â). As to fair notice, a court will, in many contexts, consider whether a statute âfails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited.â24 See Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703, 732 (2000) (evaluating whether a criminal statute prohibiting any person from knowingly approaching within eight feet of another person near a health care facility without that personâs consent was void for vagueness); see also, e.g., City of Chicago v. Morales, 527 U.S. 41, 56-57 (1999) (holding that an anti-loitering ordinance that made it unlawful âto remain in any one place with no apparent purposeâ was unconstitutionally vague and explaining that â[i]t is difficult to imagine how any citizen of the city of Chicago standing in a public place with a group of people would know if he or she had an âapparent purposeââ). As to 24 As explained below, the âperson of ordinary intelligenceâ standard may be adjusted, depending on the nature of the enactment at issue. the second concern, the Supreme Court has stated that âif arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is to be prevented, laws must provide explicit standards for those who apply them,â and that â[a] vague law impermissibly delegates basic policy matters to policemen, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis.â Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108-09. The Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit have recognized that â[m]any statutes will have some inherent vaguenessâ and that a certain quantum of vagueness is permissibleâand even necessary. See Rose v. Locke, 423 U.S. 48, 49-50 (1975); McSherry v. Block, 880 F.2d 1049, 1054 (9th Cir. 1989) (quoting Rose); see also Grayned, 408 U.S. at 110 (âCondemned to the use of words, we can never expect mathematical certainty from our language.â); Miller v. Strahl, 239 U.S. 426, 434 (1915) (âRules of conduct must necessarily be expressed in general terms and depend for their application upon circumstances, and circumstances vary.â); United States v. Powell, 423 U.S. 87, 94 (1975) (explaining that a statute is not void for vagueness even when a legislature âmight, without difficulty, have chosen clearer and more precise language equally capable of achieving the end which it soughtâ (cleaned up)). Consistent with that recognition, âstatutes are not automatically invalidated as vague simply because difficulty is found in determining whether certain marginal offenses fall within their language.â Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733, 757 (1974) (quoting United States v. Natâl Dairy Prods. Corp., 372 U.S. 29, 32 (1963) (collecting cases)). Even criminal statutes, which are subject to a heightened (or more demanding) vagueness standard,25 are not void for vagueness even if âtrained lawyers . . . find it necessary to consult legal dictionaries, treatises, and judicial 25 See, e.g., Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 498-99 (noting that the Supreme Court has âexpressed greater tolerance of enactments with civil rather than criminal penalties because the consequences of imprecision are qualitatively less severeâ); United States v. Kilbride, 584 F.3d 1240, 1257 (9th Cir. 2009) (âFor statutes . . . involving criminal sanctions[,] the requirement for clarity is enhanced.â (quotation marks omitted)). opinions before they may say with any certainty what [those] statutes may compel or forbid.â Rose, 423 U.S. at 50; see also Nash v. United States, 229 U.S. 373, 377 (1913) (Holmes, J.) (â[T]he law is full of instances where a manâs fate depends on his estimating rightly, that is, as the jury subsequently estimates it, some matter of degree. If his judgment is wrong, not only may he incur a fine or a short imprisonment . . . ; he may incur the penalty of death.â). Similarly, even for laws that restrict expressive activity, which are also subject to a heightened vagueness standard,26 âperfect clarity and precise guidance have never been required.â Holder v. Humanitarian L. Project, 561 U.S. 1, 19 (2010) (quoting United States v. Williams, 553 U.S. 285, 304 (2008)). Accordingly, a challenger seeking to invalidate a statute for vagueness carries a heavy burden.27 A statute is unconstitutionally vague if it âspecifie[s]â âno standard of conduct at all.â United States v. Lucero, 989 F.3d 1088, 1101 (9th Cir. 2021) (quoting Coates v. Cincinnati, 402 U.S. 611, 614 (1971)). Thus, to prevail on a challenge on vagueness grounds, âthe complainant must prove that the enactment is vague, ânot in the sense that it requires a person to conform his conduct to an imprecise but comprehensible normative standard, but rather in the sense that no standard of conduct is specified at all.ââ Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 495 n.7 (quoting Parker, 417 U.S. at 756 (quoting Coates)); accord United States v. Bronstein, 849 F.3d 1101, 1107 (D.C. 26 Laws that threaten or impinge on First Amendment freedoms are, like statutes that impose criminal penalties, subject to a heightened vagueness inquiry. See, e.g., Brown v. Ent. Merchs. Assân, 564 U.S. 786, 793 (2011) (so stating); see also Matthew G. Stipe, The Sherman Act and Avoiding Void-for-Vagueness, 45 FLA. STATE UNIV. L. REV. 709, 738-39 (2019) (noting that laws implicating âFirst Amendment concerns are a particularly frequent trigger for . . . enhanced scrutinyâ). 27 One scholar concluded that as of 1981, the Supreme Court had found only three civil statutes void for vagueness. Jeffrey I. Tilden, Big Mama Rag: An Inquiry into Vagueness, 67 VA. L. REV. 1543, 1553 n.60 (1981). Cir. 2017) (applying the burden set forth in Hoffman); see also, e.g., Winters v. New York, 333 U.S. 507, 519 (1948) (striking down a clause that had âno technical or common law meaningâ and for which the meaning could not be gleaned from context and finding that the law left open âthe widest conceivable inquiry, the scope of which no one can foresee and the result of which no one can foreshadow or adequately guard againstâ (quoting United States v. L. Cohen Grocery Co., 255 U.S. 81, 89 (1921))). b. Standard of Review âThe degree of vagueness that the Constitution toleratesâas well as the relative importance of fair notice and fair enforcementâdepends in part on the nature of the enactment.â Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 498; accord Kashem v. Barr, 941 F.3d 358, 370 (9th Cir. 2019) (construing Hoffman). Writing for a plurality of the Supreme Court in 2018, Justice Kagan ratified this view. Sessions v. Dimaya, 584 U.S. 148, 156 (2018) (plurality opinion) (quoting Hoffman). In Hoffman, the Supreme Court articulated four factors (the Hoffman factors) relevant to whether a statute is unconstitutionally vague. A court must consider whether the statute: (1) involves only economic regulation; (2) contains only civil penalties;28 (3) includes a scienter requirement; and (4) threatens constitutionally protected rights. See Hanlester Network v. Shalala, 51 F.3d 1390, 1398 (9th Cir. 1995) (construing Hoffman). Discussing these factors, the Supreme Court in Hoffman explained: [E]conomic regulation is subject to a less strict vagueness test because its subject matter is often more narrow, and because businesses, which face economic demands to plan behavior carefully, can be expected to consult relevant legislation in 28 âA provision that nominally imposes only civil penalties but nonetheless carries a âprohibitory and stigmatizing effectââ may also âwarrant a ârelatively strict test.ââ Kashem, 941 F.3d at 370 (quoting Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 499). In Hoffman, the municipality defending the ordinance at issue conceded that the ordinance was âquasi-criminalâ and that âits prohibitory and stigmatizing effect may [have] warrant[ed] a relatively strict test.â 455 U.S. at 499. advance of action. Indeed, the regulated enterprise may have the ability to clarify the meaning of the regulation by its own inquiry, or by resort to an administrative process. The Court has also expressed greater tolerance of enactments with civil rather than criminal penalties because the consequences of imprecision are qualitatively less severe. And the Court has recognized that a scienter requirement may mitigate a lawâs vagueness, especially with respect to the adequacy of notice to the complainant that his conduct is proscribed. Finally, perhaps the most important factor affecting the clarity that the Constitution demands of a law is whether it threatens to inhibit the exercise of constitutionally protected rights. If, for example, the law interferes with the right of free speech or of association, a more stringent vagueness test should apply. 455 U.S. at 498-99 (footnote citations omitted). Although HB 2362 does not contain a scienter requirement, the three other Hoffman factors militate in favor of a more lenient vagueness standard here. HB 2362 regulates only economic activity, imposes only civil penalties,29 and does not inhibit or threaten to inhibit the 29 OAHHS points out that some courts have ârecognized that imposition of civil penalties can raise the same concerns as statutes classified as criminalâ and asks this Court to apply a stricter standard of review based on HB 2362âs civil penalty provision, which imposes fines of up to $10,000 for each offense. See ECF 39 at 15-16; ORS § 415.900. In support, OAHHS cites two cases from other circuits, neither of which meaningfully support applying a stricter standard of review in this case. In Advance Pharmaceutical, Inc. v. United States, 391 F.3d 377 (2d Cir. 2004), the court did not address the issue of whether the provision at issue was, in fact, quasi-criminal (nor did the defendant contend that it was). See id. at 396. In addition, both cases on which OAHHS relies involved substantial penalties available under the federal Controlled Substances Act. See id. at 390 (addressing provision of the Controlled Substances Act for which the violators who challenged the provision on vagueness grounds had been fined $2 million); United States v. Clinical Leasing Serv., Inc., 925 F.2d 120, 122 (5th Cir. 1991) (finding, in a vagueness challenge asserted by defendants who had been fined $615,000 for violations of the Controlled Substances Act, that the âprohibitory effectâ of penalties under 21 U.S.C. § 822(e) were âquasi-criminalâ and therefore warranting a ârelatively strictâ vagueness test). OAHHS has pointed to no case from the Supreme Court or the Ninth Circuit indicating that a civil penalty, simply because of its âpenalâ nature, warrants a strict test, or any other such case suggesting that the civil penalties available under HB 2362 should otherwise be regarded as âquasi-criminal.â Even if the Court were to apply a ârelatively strict test,â see Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 499, the Court would nonetheless conclude that HB 2362 is not impermissibly vague under that standardâ especially considering the high bar for a facial challenge. exercise of constitutionally protected rights. The Supreme Court found that the ordinance at issue in Hoffman, which made unlawful the unlicensed sale of any âaccessory or thing which is designed or marketed for use with illegal . . . drugs,â was not impermissibly vague even though only the first and fourth Hoffman factors favored a more lenient standard of review30âas they do here. See 455 U.S. at 499-500. Three aspects of the first Hoffman factor (whether the statute involves only economic regulation) warrant emphasis. First, although courts must often consider whether a statute âfails to provide a person of ordinary intelligence fair notice of what is prohibited,â see Hill, 530 U.S. at 732, the Supreme Court applies a different standard to laws that regulate economic activity: whether a âbusiness person of ordinary intelligence would understandâ the conduct prohibited. Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 501 (emphasis added); accord Great Am. Houseboat Co. v. United Relatedly, OAHHS relies on the Supreme Courtâs decision in Fox to argue for a stricter standard of review. OAHHS notes that the Supreme Court in Fox upheld an as-applied vagueness challenge in part because of the âreputational injuryâ to Fox Television that resulted from a Federal Communication Commission (FCC) order sanctioning the network for broadcasting indecent content. See ECF 39 at 16 (quoting Fox, 567 U.S. at 255). OAHHS, however, has not presented evidenceâlet alone explained in its briefingâhow OAHHS might suffer a âreputational injuryâ resulting from enforcement of HB 2362 comparable to that suffered by Fox Television. See Fox, 567 U.S. at 256 (describing the FCCâs orders sanctioning Fox Television for, among other things, failing to protect children from being exposed to âexplicit, graphic, vulgar, and shockingâ content and noting that â[FCC] sanctions on broadcasters for indecent material are widely publicizedâ and âcould have an adverse impact on Foxâs reputation that audiences and advertisers alike are entitled to take into accountâ (quotation marks omitted)); also cf. Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 499 n.16 (acknowledging the âprohibitory and stigmatizing effectsâ of the challenged ordinance, which governed the sale of drug paraphernalia). Accordingly, the Court rejects OAHHSâs argument that the availability of civil penalties under HB 2362 warrants application of a stricter vagueness standard. 30 The ordinance at issue in Hoffman regulated only economic activity; the village conceded that the ordinance was âquasi-criminalâ (and the Court found the ordinance sufficiently clear as applied, even under a test âappropriate to either a quasi-criminal or a criminal lawâ); the ordinance did not include a scienter requirement; and the ordinance did not threaten the exercise of constitutionally protected rights. See 455 U.S. at 492, 499-500. States, 780 F.2d 741, 747 (9th Cir. 1986) (rejecting vagueness challenge to regulation banning âcommercial useâ of houseboats on Shasta Lake, concluding that although the regulations were ânot without ambiguity,â a âbusiness person of ordinary intelligence would understandâ the scope of activities that would be considered âcommercial useâ31); Assân of Natâl Advertisers, Inc. v. Lungren, 809 F. Supp. 747, 761 (N.D. Cal. 1992) (applying the âbusinessperson of ordinary intelligenceâ standard to challengers to a law criminalizing certain commercial speech), affâd, 44 F.3d 726 (9th Cir. 1994); cf. Brockert v. Skornicka, 711 F.2d 1376, 1381 (7th Cir. 1983) (âLike a businessman, plaintiff would be expected to consult the law governing his employment and seek clarification if necessary.â); see also United States v. Facteau, 89 F.4th 1, 33 n.20 (1st Cir. 2023) (explaining that â[c]ourts are less likely to conclude that statutes and regulations addressed to sophisticated businessmen and corporations are unconstitutionally vagueâ in part âbecause of an assumption that, given the complexity of economic regulation, such parties necessarily consult counsel in planning their activitiesâ (quotation marks omitted)). Relatedly, courtsâincluding the Supreme Courtâconsistently evaluate the vagueness of a law in light of the sophistication of the persons or entities subject to that law. See, e.g., Papachristou v. City of Jacksonville, 405 U.S. 156, 162-63 (1972) (striking down a vagrancy law under the âperson of ordinary intelligenceâ standard, noting that â[t]he poor among us, . . . the average householder[,] are not in business and not alerted to the regulatory schemes of vagrancy lawsâ);32 Gonzales v. Carhart, 550 U.S. 124, 149 (2007) (applying a âdoctors of ordinary 31 Although Great American Houseboat Co. addressed a vagueness challenge to a federal administrative regulation, not a statute, the Ninth Circuit relied on several cases addressing vagueness challenges to state and federal statutesâincluding Stoianoff v. Montana, 695 F.2d 1214 (9th Cir. 1983), in which the court evaluated a vagueness challenge to a state law under the framework set forth in Hoffman. 32 OAHHS relies on Fox, in which the Supreme Court invoked the âperson of ordinary intelligenceâ standard even though the regulated entities who challenged the statute were major intelligenceâ standard to a law prohibiting certain medical procedures (quotation marks omitted)); Omaechevarria v. Idaho, 246 U.S. 343, 345 n.4, 348 (1918) (rejecting vagueness challenge to state statute prohibiting any person having charge of sheep from allowing them to graze âupon any range usually occupied by any cattle grower,â explaining that persons âfamiliar with range conditions and desirous of observing the law will have little difficulty in determining what is prohibited by itâ); Henry v. Radius Glob. Sols., LLC, 357 F. Supp. 3d 446, 460 (E.D. Pa. 2019) (âDebt collectors are sophisticated parties involved in a business requiring them to understand the law in the jurisdiction where they conduct such business.â); see also Daniel B. Rice, Reforming Variable Vagueness, 23 U. PA. J. CONST. L. 960, 1015-16 (2021) (collecting cases applying â[t]he principle of customized ordinary intelligenceâ and noting that â[i]nnumerable decisions endorse the technique of class-based fair noticeâ). This consideration militates in favor of a lenient standard of review here. HB 2362 governs complex business activities and applies only to transactions in which at least one participating entity has had, or is projected to have, substantial revenue. See ORS § 415.500(6)(a). HB 2362 is not a law directed at â[t]he poor among us . . . [or] the average householder[,] [who] are not in business and not alerted to the regulatory schemes.â See Papachristou, 405 U.S. 162-63. Second, Hoffman teaches that a vagueness challenge to a law that regulates only economic activity cannot succeed if âadministrative regulations . . . sufficiently narrow potentially vague or arbitrary interpretations of the [law].â 455 U.S. at 504. That principle broadcast networks. See 567 U.S. at 254. The sophistication of the regulated entities in that case, however, was irrelevant. First, the statute at issue in Fox was not a civil statute governing complex economic activity: it was a criminal statute banning the broadcast of âany obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication.â Id. at 243 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1464). Second, the Supreme Court found a lack of fair notice because the FCC had made an abrupt change in its enforcement policy without providing fair notice to Fox or ABC. See id. at 254. applies not only to an agencyâs promulgated regulations, but also to additional âguidelinesâ and âenforcement policy,â which might clarify the law. See id. at 502.33 The Supreme Court has considered a range of agency-promulgated rules and guidance when addressing vagueness challenges to statutes. See, e.g., Fox, 567 U.S. at 254 (addressing the purported vagueness of a law banning the broadcast of âany obscene, indecent, or profane languageâ and considering whether âthe [Federal Communication] Commission policy in place at the time of . . . broadcastsâ that resulted in the challenged enforcement actions gave notice about whether certain words or pictures could be actionably indecent (emphasis added)); Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 40 n.47 (1976) (in addressing a statutory provision restricting political expenditures ârelative to a clearly identified candidate,â noting that âa comprehensive series of advisory opinions or a ruleâ clarifying the scope of the challenged statute âmight alleviate the provisionâs vagueness problemsâ34 (emphasis added)); see also Cal. Pac. Bank v. FDIC, 885 F.3d 560, 571 (9th Cir. 2018) (â[A]n agency-issued instruction manual, even if lacking the force of law itself, can clarify what conduct is expected of a person subject to a particular regulation and thus mitigate against vagueness.â (emphasis added)). The lesson from these cases is that any challenge to HB 2362 on vagueness grounds must be evaluated using not only OHAâs implementing regulations but also any pertinent sub-regulatory guidance. 33 Because the Supreme Court in Hoffman found that under the ordinance and then- existing guidelines covered âat least some of the items sold by Flipside,â the Court did not reach whether âfurther guidelines, administrative rules, or enforcement policy [would] clarify the more ambiguous scope of the [ordinance] in other respects.â 455 U.S. at 500, 502. 34 In Buckley, the Supreme Court concluded that the availability of advisory opinions would not cure the statuteâs vagueness problems, but that was because the statute authorized only narrow classes of individuals and groups to request an advisory opinion. See 424 U.S. at 40, n.47. Buckley was superseded by statute on other grounds. See generally McConnell v. Fed. Election Commân, 540 U.S. 93 (2003). Third and perhaps most important, the Supreme Court in Hoffman concluded that a less strict vagueness test should apply to economic regulation in part because âthe regulated enterprise may have the ability to clarify the meaning of the regulation by its own inquiry, or by resort to an administrative process.â 455 U.S. at 498. Although the Supreme Court in Hoffman did not hold that a regulated partyâs ability to obtain pre-enforcement guidance about a vague statutory provision would, standing alone, defeat a vagueness challenge, the Supreme Court has consistently found the availability of such a process to weigh heavily against a finding of unconstitutional vagueness. See, e.g., Arnett v. Kennedy, 416 U.S. 134, 160 (1974) (rejecting vagueness challenge to a statutory provision authorizing removal of certain employees from the federal service for âsuch cause as will promote the efficiency of the service,â noting that by regulation, the agency in which the plaintiff worked, had âprovided by regulation that its Office of General Counsel [was] available to counsel employees who seek advice on the interpretation of the [statute] and its regulationsâ); U.S. Civ. Serv. Commân v. Natâl Assân of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO, 413 U.S. 548, 580 (1973) (rejecting a vagueness challenge to the Hatch Act and its implementing regulations, finding âimportant . . . that the [Civil Service] Commission has established a procedure by which an employee in doubt about the validity of a proposed course of conduct may seek and obtain advice from the Commission and thereby remove any doubt there may be as to the meaning of the lawâ); Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc. v. Hostetter, 384 U.S. 35, 48-49 (1966) (rejecting a claim of vagueness centered on the meaning of âprincipal or substantialâ in the statutory definition of ârelated person,â explaining that âwhere the determination of ârelated personsâ is unclear, the appellants will have access to the [New York State Liquor] Authority for a ruling to clarify the issueâ), abrogated on other grounds by Healy v. Beer Inst., Inc., 491 U.S. 324 (1989); see also Roark & Hardee LP v. City of Austin, 522 F.3d 533, 552 (5th Cir. 2008) (rejecting vagueness challenge to an ordinance, finding that âthe owners and operators regulated by the ordinance may clarify the meaning of its provisions by their own inquiryâ (citing Hoffman)); Facteau, 89 F.4th at 33 n.20 (explaining that â[c]ourts are less likely to conclude that statutes and regulations addressed to sophisticated businessmen and corporations are unconstitutionally vagueâ in part because âsome administrative process will often be available to secure advisory interpretations of the statute or regulation at issueâ (cleaned up)). The availability of such a process to parties subject to HB 2362âwho may obtain without fee or other charge a determination whether a prospective transaction will be coveredâis yet another factor that favors applying a more lenient vagueness standard. Based on the Hoffman factors and their application, the Court concludes that a lenient standard of review applies here. Three of the four Hoffman factors favor leniency. First, the considerations that dictate a more lenient standard of review for laws that regulate only economic activity apply in force here: the statute applies to a limited class of businesses with specialized knowledge; OHA has issued detailed regulations and guidance clarifying the scope of the statute; and a regulated party may obtain even further clarification of the meaning or applicability of the statute through an administrative process. Second, the law imposes only civil penalties. Third, under what is âperhaps the most important factor,â the law does not âthreaten[] to inhibit the exercise of constitutionally protected rights.â See Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 499.35 35 For the reasons explained below, even under a ârelatively strict testâ that would apply to a âquasi-criminalâ statute with a âprohibitory and stigmatizing effect,â see Hoffman 455 U.S. at 499, the Court would nonetheless conclude that HB 2362 is not unconstitutionally vague. See supra note 29. c. Application OAHHS argues that HB 2362 violates the void-for-vagueness doctrine because it fails to provide fair notice and encourages arbitrary enforcement. With the Hoffman factors in mind, the Court now turns to these arguments made by OAHHS. i. Fair Notice As to fair notice, OAHHS argues that HB 2362 fails to provide fair notice because it does not sufficiently define which entities will be subject to the statuteâs requirements; does not sufficiently define the scope of the conduct it regulates; and does not sufficiently circumscribe the criteria that OHA applies when conducting preliminary and comprehensive reviews. The Court considers each of these arguments in turn. (A) âHealth Care Entityâ As to the entities subject to HB 2362âs requirements, OAHHS makes three arguments. First, OAHHS asserts that the definition of âhealth care entityâ is impermissibly vague because it is âentirely open-ended.â Second, OAHHS objects to the definition of âhospital systemâ because that term is not defined in the statute (which directs OHA to define âhospital systemâ by rule). Third, OAHHS argues that terms in the residual provision of the definition of âhealth care entityâ fail to provide a sufficiently ascertainable standard. OAHHS does not, however, argue that the definition of âhealth care entityâ is vague as applied to any of its membersâi.e., that any of its members are unsure whether HB 2362 would apply to them if they engaged in a qualifying transaction. As a general rule, a party lacks standing to challenge a law on the asserted ground that the law âwould be unconstitutionally applied to different parties and different circumstances from those at hand.â Sabri, 541 U.S. at 609; see also, e.g., United States v. Van Hawkins, 899 F.2d 852, 854 (9th Cir. 1990) (âBrown and Hawkins cannot establish a constitutional violation by asserting that the law is unclear with respect to those who distribute other, more exotic forms of cocaine; instead, they must demonstrate the statutes are vague in their case.â). OAHHS has not identified any applicable exception to that general rule, nor is the Court aware of any such exception. Cf. Sabri, 541 U.S. at 609-10 (listing the ârelatively few settingsâ in which the Supreme Court has ârecognized the validity of facial attacks alleging overbreadthâ and noting that â[o]utside these limited settings, and absent a good reason, we do not extend an invitation to bring overbreadth claimsâ36). Accordingly, the Court finds that OAHHS lacks standing to bring a facial challenge to the definition of âhealth care entity.â (B) âMaterial Change Transactionâ OAHHS also argues that HB 2362 is fatally vague as to the specific transactions subject to its provisionsâi.e., âmaterial change transactions.â Among other things, OAHHS points to the statutory definition of âtransaction,â which includes â[n]ew contracts, new clinical affiliations[,] and new contracting affiliations that will eliminate or significantly reduce, as defined by [OHA] by rule, essential services.â ORS § 415.500(10) (emphases added). OAHHS contends that the definition of âmaterial change transactionâ is impermissibly vague because the statute itself does not define âeliminate or significantly reduce.â OAHHS also points to the term âessential services,â which is defined by statute to include âservices that are essential to achieve health equity.â ORS § 415.500(2)(b) (emphasis added). According to OAHHS, the term âhealth 36 â[O]verbreadth challenges call for relaxing familiar requirements of standing, to allow a determination that the law would be unconstitutionally applied to different parties and different circumstances from those at hand.â Sabri, 541 U.S. at 609; see also ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW: PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES 100-01 (7th ed. 2023) (explaining that the overbreadth doctrine is an exception to the prohibition against third-party standing and discussing its application). equityâ is impermissibly vague because it has âno common or ascertainable meaningâ but instead must be defined by the Oregon Health Policy Board37 and OHA. See ORS 415.500(5). These terms, however, are all clarified by OHA by rule. See OAR 409-070-0010(3) (defining âsignificant reduction in servicesâ); OAR 409-070-0005(28) (defining âservices that are essential to achieve health equityâ to include four categories of health care services); OAR 409-070-0005(18) (defining âhealth equityâ);38 see also OHA, Defining Essential Services and Significant Reduction (Jan. 31, 2022)39 (guidance document outlining a two-part test for health care entities to determine whether a proposed transaction will reduce an essential service and whether that reduction is âsignificantâ). The gravamen of OAHHSâs arguments is that HB 2362 impermissibly delegates to OHA the authority to define those terms. See, e.g., ECF 31 at 24 (asserting that OHA âhas complete and standardless discretionâ to define what qualifies as a âtransactionâ); id. at 25 (asserting that âwhether a contract will qualify as a âmaterial change transactionâ depends entirely on undefined impacts that [OHA], in its complete and sole discretion, will identifyâ). For the reasons 37 The Oregon Health Policy Board is a nine-member citizen board the oversees OHA. See OHA, Oregon Health Policy Board: About the Oregon Health Policy Board, OREGON.GOV, https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ohpb/pages/index.aspx. 38 Insofar as OAHHS challenges the definition of âmaterial change transactionâ for lack of fair notice, OHSâs definition of âhealth equityâ has no direct relevance. The statutory definition of âtransactionâ includes, among other things, certain contracts and affiliations âthat will eliminate or significantly reduce . . . essential services.â ORS § 415.500. The statute defines âessential servicesâ to include, among other things, âservices that are essential to achieve health equity.â ORS § 415.500(2). Although OHSâs regulations include a separate definition of âhealth equity,â see OAR 409-070-0005(18), the regulations also directly define âservices that are essential to achieve health equityâ to include four discrete categories of services, see OAR 409- 070-0005(28). 39 https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HPA/HP/HCMOPageDocs/HCMO-Essential-Services- and-Significant-Reduction-Guidance-FINAL.pdf. explained below, the Court finds OAHHSâs delegation arguments inapposite in this facial vagueness challenge. The Court acknowledges that a statute that delegates authority to an enforcing agency to clarify the statuteâs scope may raise delegation issues, and the principles underlying the doctrines of vagueness and nondelegation overlap. See Dimaya, 584 U.S. at 156 (plurality opinion) (recognizing that the void-for-vagueness doctrine âis a corollary of the separation of powersâ requiring that Congress, rather than the executive or judicial branch, define what conduct is sanctionable and what is notâ); id. at 182 (Gorsuch, J., concurring in part) (â[V]ague laws risk allowing judges to assume legislative power. Vague laws also threaten to transfer legislative power to police and prosecutors, leaving to them the job of shaping a vague statuteâs contours through their enforcement decisions.â). Thus, as the Supreme Court has explained, a criminal statute that âimpermissibly delegates basic policy matters to policemen, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basisâ is void for vagueness. Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108-09. The Supreme Court has clarified, however, that at least for a law that regulates economic activity, an enforcing agencyâs implementing regulations and sub-regulatory guidance, and the availability of a pre-enforcement inquiry process, may mitigate or even cure otherwise impermissible statutory vagueness. See, e.g., Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 504 (holding that a challenge to a law regulating economic activity cannot succeed if âadministrative regulations . . . sufficiently narrow potentially vague or arbitrary interpretations of the [law]â); id. at 502 (applying the same principle to additional âguidanceâ and âenforcement policyâ); id. at 498 (explaining that a regulated entityâs âability to clarify the meaningâ of a law âby resort to an administrative processâ weighs against a finding of vagueness). Thus, when some combination of extra-statutory regulations or guidance or the availability of a pre-enforcement inquiry process sufficiently mitigates concerns of fair notice and arbitrary enforcement related to an otherwise vague statute, a plaintiff may challenge the statute as violating principles of nondelegation, but not due process. In this case, for the reasons explained below, the Court concludes that OAHHS has failed to establish that the definition of âmaterial change transaction,â when considered in light of OHAâs rules and guidance and the availability of a pre-enforcement inquiry process, is impermissibly vague. OAHHS may therefore assert its delegation arguments only under its Second Claimâarguing that the law violates the nondelegation requirements of the Oregon Constitution.40 OAHHS argues that the statuteâs definition of âmaterial change transaction,â even as clarified by the OHA, is unconstitutionally vague because, in some cases, a transaction may be subject to review because of âthe possibility that something may occur in the future, meaning there is no way for a party to a transaction to determine, ex ante, whether they may be subject to penalties for failing to seek approval.â ECF 31 at 25; see also ORS § 415.500(6)(a)(A)(ii) (âmaterial change transactionsâ include specified transactions in which a participating ânew entity[] is projected to have at least $10 million in revenue in the first full year of operation at normal levels of utilization or operation as prescribed by [OHA] by ruleâ (emphasis added)); id. § 415.500(6)(a)(B) (âmaterial change transactionâ includes, â[i]f a transaction involves a health care entity in this state and an out-of-state entity, a transaction that otherwise qualifies as a material change transaction . . . that may result in increases in the price of health care or limit access to health care services in [Oregon]â (emphasis added)). 40 See generally, Benjamin Silver, Nondelegation in the States, 75 VAND. L. REV. 1211 (2022) (contrasting state nondelegation doctrines, which apply against state laws, with the federal nondelegation doctrine, which applies against federal laws). In light of Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit decisions evaluating statutory provisions challenged for vagueness on similar grounds, and especially considering the availability of pre- notice inquiry, the Court finds unpersuasive OAHHSâs argument that the definition of âmaterial change transactionâ is unconstitutionally vague because it requires a prediction of future events. OAHHS has cited no case standing for the proposition that a statute fails to provide fair notice because it requires such a prediction or does so without precise guidance. Rather, relevant authorities indicate otherwise. See, e.g., Kashem, 941 F.3d at 364 (âHere, the No Fly List criteria are not impermissibly vague merely because they require a prediction of future criminal conduct, or because they do not delineate what factors are relevant to that determination[.] The criteria are âreasonably clear[.]ââ (citations omitted) (quoting Hoffman)); Dimaya, 584 U.S. at 159 (âMany perfectly constitutional statutes use imprecise terms like âserious potential riskâ . . . or âsubstantial riskâ . . . .â). In addition, even if any of OAHHSâs member entities might be unsure whether a prospective transaction might fall within the lawâs ambit, that entity may avail itself of OHAâs pre-notice inquiry process. See OAR 409-070-0042(1) (providing that â[a]ny party to a proposed transaction may . . . request[] a determination whether such transaction is a covered transaction,â and requiring OHA to notify the inquiring party in writing of the agencyâs determination with 30 calendar days). As discussed above, the Supreme Court has consistently found the availability of such a process to weigh heavily against a finding of unconstitutional vagueness. In fact, the Court is unaware of any federal or state court decision holding that an analogous provision was void for vagueness when the agency responsible for enforcing the statute made available a reasonable process for pre-enforcement inquiry about the provisionâs scope. Cf. Sanimax USA, LLC v. City of South Saint Paul, 95 F.4th 551, 570-71 (8th Cir. 2024) (concluding that âextra- statutory communicationsâ in the form of a warning letter and instructions on what was needed to comply with a zoning ordinance were enough to provide âfair warningâ); United States v. Clinical Leasing Serv., Inc., 925 F.2d 120, 122-23 (5th Cir. 1991) (âThe courts are ill disposed to entertain the vagueness challenges of a party who had ample warning that his actions violated statutory requirements.â (citing Hoffman)), cited with approval in Craft v. Natâl Park Serv., 34 F.3d 918, 923 (9th Cir. 1994). Moreover, even if the Court were to agree with OAHHS that the specific statutory provisions in the definition of âmaterial change transactionâ that require a prediction of future conduct were impermissibly vague, that would not justify granting the only relief OAHHS seeks: facial invalidation of HB 2362 in its entirety.41 OAHHS also argues that OHAâs regulations clarifying the scope of covered âmaterial change transactionsâ are impermissibly vague and therefore fail to cure the (purported) vagueness in one of the five types of âtransactionsâ enumerated in the statute: certain contracts and affiliations âthat will eliminate or significantly reduce . . . essential services.â See ORS § 415.500(10)(c). As explained, the statue defines âessential servicesâ to include, among other things, âservices that are essential to achieve health equity,â ORS § 415.500(2); in turn, OHSâs regulations define âservices that are essential to achieve health equityâ to include four types of services: (a) Any service directly related to the treatment of a chronic condition; (b) Pregnancy-related services; 41 Under the statutory definition of âmaterial change transaction,â the materiality determination does not always require a prediction of future events. See ORS § 415.500(6)(a) (defining âmaterial change transactionâ to include, among other things, â[a] transaction in which at least one party had average revenue of $25 million or more in the preceding three fiscal years and another party . . . [h]ad an average revenue of at least $10 million in the preceding three fiscal yearsâ). (c) Prevention services including non-clinical services; or (d) Health care system navigation and care coordination services. OAR 409-070-0005(28). According to OAHHS, âthe breadth of that definition, which includes a vast swath of health-care related services, demonstrates the complete absence of any statutory guidance,â and regulated entities must guess whether the services they provide fall within that definition. As the Ninth Circuit has explained, however, âbreadth is not the same thing as vagueness.â Pac. Choice Seafood Co. v. Ross, 976 F.3d 932, 945 (9th Cir. 2020); see also Pa. Depât of Corr. v. Yeskey, 524 U.S. 206, 212 (1998) (â[T]he fact that a statute can be applied in situations not expressly anticipated by Congress does not demonstrate ambiguity. It demonstrates breadth.â (quotation marks omitted)). Nor has OAHHS identified any case in which a court found a statute or regulation with analogous provisions void for vagueness in a similar context. In light of OHAâs regulations clarifying the scope of âmaterial change transaction,â especially when combined with the availability of pre-notice inquiry, OAHHS has failed to demonstrate that HB 2362 is facially invalid for vagueness based on the statutory definition of âservices that are essential to achieve health equity.â See Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 504 (noting that âadministrative regulationsâ may âsufficiently narrow potentially vague or arbitrary interpretationsâ of a law); id. at 498 (explaining that a âregulated enterprise may have the ability to clarify the meaning of the regulation . . . by resort to an administrative processâ). Further, even if the Court agreed with OAHHS that the statutory definition of âessential servicesâ is impermissibly vague and that its vagueness is not cured by OHSâs regulations, that would not support granting the relief OAHHS seeks: facial invalidation of HB 2362 in its entirety.42 For all 42 As relevant here, OAHHS challenges on vagueness grounds the term âessential services,â which is found in only one of the five enumerated types of âtransactionsâ listed in the statute: certain contracts and affiliations âthat will eliminate or significantly reduce . . . essential services.â ORS § 415.500(10)(c). âEssential services,â in turn, is defined by statute to include the above reasons, the Court rejects OAHHSâs facial vagueness challenge to HB 2362 arising from the definition of âmaterial change transaction.â (C) Review Criteria OAHHS also argues that HB 2362 fails to provide fair notice because the law itself does not include sufficiently circumscribed criteria for OHA to apply when conducting preliminary and comprehensive reviews. Again, OAHHSâs argument is mainly one of delegation: OAHHS challenges HB 2362 on the ground that the law delegates too much authority to OHS to develop additional criteria that govern approval of covered transactions. See, e.g., ECF 31 at 27 (challenging the criteria applicable to a comprehensive review on the ground that âparties might be able to satisfy every requirement that the legislature imposed, but the transaction would still not be approved because it did not satisfy [OHAâs] additional requirementsâ (emphasis in original)). According to OAHHS, HB 2362 is impermissibly vague because the law âprovides no standard or guidance for what [OHAâs promulgated additional criteria] must require.â Id. In so arguing, OAHHS disregards the guidance to OHA set forth in the statute. See ORS § 415.501(2) (directing OHA to develop rule criteria consistent with subsection (1), which sets forth the purposes of ORS § 415.501); cf. Leib v. Hillsborough Cnty. Pub. Transp. Commân, 558 F.3d 1301, 1309-10 (11th Cir. 2009) (concluding that a statutory purpose of âensur[ing] the orderly and efficient operation of public vehicles upon the public highwaysâ was sufficient to guide a transportation commissionâs enforcement of a provision requiring that a waiver be granted âwhen the person subject to [a] rule demonstrates that the purpose of the underlying statute will be or has been achieved by other meansâ (quotation marks omitted)). More important two categories of services, only one of which (âservices that are essential to achieve health equityâ) OAHHS challenges on vagueness grounds. for purposes of fair notice, OAHHS has pointed to no case in which a court concluded that a law failed to provide fair notice because it delegated to an enforcing agency authority to develop, in addition to criteria enumerated by statute, additional criteria to regulate covered entities. The Court sees no basis for applying such a rule in this case.43 Notably, the criteria that OAHHS challenges govern only whether a transaction will be approved or denied after a formal notice has been filed. As relevant here, a covered entity is not subject to an enforcement action under HB 2362 unless the entity has (1) failed to submit notice of a covered transaction in which the entity engages; (2) engaged in a transaction for which the entity has submitted notice but which has not been approved; or (3) engaged in a transaction that the entity knowsâafter the completion of a comprehensive reviewâis prohibited. In other words, an entity is not subject to an enforcement action simply because OHA, applying the 43 Given the ubiquity of similar legislative grants of authority to enforcing entities, such a rule could have sweeping implications. See, e.g., Fife v. Harmon, 171 F.3d 1173, 1174-75 (9th Cir. 1999) (discussing the âextensive regulationsâ issued by the Secretary of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act, including âadditional criteriaâ promulgated by rule that govern exemptions to federal overtime requirements); Khamooshpour v. Holder, 781 F. Supp. 2d 888, 894 (D. Ariz. 2011) (discussing Immigration and Nationality Act regulations that supplement non-exclusive criteria enumerated in the statute with âadditional criteriaâ governing âwhen a naturalization applicant shall be found to lack good moral characterâ); ORS §§ 307.517(2), 518(2) (in statute governing property tax exemptions, granting certain governing bodies broad authority to âadopt additional criteria for exemption,â provided that the criteria do not conflict with enumerated criteria); D.C. CODE § 8-231.10 (requiring certification for entities conducting lead-based paint activities and for which violators may be subject to civil fines and penalties, and granting mayor broad authority to establish, in addition to certification criteria enumerated by statute, âadditional criteria and procedures for certification by ruleâ); KAN. STAT. ANN. § 65- 16,130 (provision of state pharmacy actâwhich provides for civil fines of up to $5,000 for violations of the act or the rules promulgated by the state board of pharmacyâgranting the board authority to impose requirements on certain pharmacies in the form of criteria that include but are not limited to those enumerated by statute); see also ORS § 819.120(9) (directing the Oregon Transportation Commission to establish, in addition to criteria enumerated by statute, âadditional criteria for determining when vehicles on state highways, interstate highways[,] and state property are subject to being taken into immediate custodyâ); cf. Maldonado v. Lopez, 2011 WL 1630824, at *2 (C.D. Cal. 2011) (discussing state penal codeâs implementing regulations, which âset forth additional criteria for determining whether a prisoner is suitable for paroleâ). criteria that OAHHS challenges, decides not to approve a proposed transaction. The lawâs requirement that OHA develop additional approval criteria consistent with the purposes of HB 2362 therefore does not create a risk of âtrap[ping] the innocent by not providing fair warning.â See Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108; cf. Papachristou, 405 U.S. at 166 (criticizing vagrancy statutes that permit arrest and prosecution without ânotice of conduct to be avoidedâ (quoting Winters, 333 U.S. at 540 (Frankfurter, J., dissenting)). For all the above reasons, the Court finds unpersuasive OAHHSâs argument that HB 2362 fails to provide fair notice on the asserted ground that the law requires OHA to develop extra-statutory criteria to govern approval of covered transactions.44 ii. Arbitrary Enforcement A statute also can be void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause if it poses a âsignificant riskâ of arbitrary enforcement. Skilling v. United States, 561 U.S. 358, 412 (2010) (emphasis added) (rejecting vagueness challenge to criminal statute in absence of a âsignificant riskâ of arbitrary enforcement); see also Stoianoff v. Montana, 695 F.2d 1214, 1222 (9th Cir. 1983) (rejecting vagueness challenge in absence of a âclear indicationâ that the challenged law would be enforced arbitrarily). Even criminal laws delegate a permissible degree of discretion to those responsible for enforcement. See United States v. Armstrong, 517 U.S. 456, 464 (1996) (discussing the âbroad discretionâ retained by the Attorney General and U.S. Attorneys to enforce federal laws); Hill, 530 U.S. at 733 (âAs always, enforcement requires the exercise of some degree of police judgment[.]â (quoting Grayned)); Ward v. Rock Against 44 OAHHS also argues, in part, that some of the additional criteria promulgated by rule are impermissibly vague. Even if the Court were to agree with OAHHS that some of the additional criteria developed by OHA are unconstitutionally vague, that would not warrant facial invalidation of HB 2362. Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 794 (1989) (upholding law that restricted expressive activity even though it provided âundoubtedly flexible standardsâ and granted âconsiderable discretionâ to the officials responsible for implementing those standards). Thus a mere âpossibility that [a law] will be enforced arbitrarily[] âis of no due process significance unless the possibility ripens into a prosecution.â Stoianoff, 695 F.2d at 1222 (emphasis added) (quoting Hoffman, 455 U.S. at 503 n.21). As to the danger of arbitrary enforcement, OAHHS mainly focuses on a purported âabsence of legislatively enacted review criteria.â Here, again, OAHHSâs argument is effectively one of delegation: OAHHS argues that HB 2362 invites arbitrary enforcement because it delegates too much authority to OHA to develop the criteria that ultimately guide OHAâs implementation of the law. OAHHS does not point to any authority to support the proposition that a risk of arbitrary enforcement that violates due process may be found only because a statute delegates to an agency the authority to develop rules to guide implementation.45 In any event, even if the Court were to entertain that theory in this facial vagueness challenge, for the reasons explained below, OAHHS has not met its burden to show a âsignificant riskâ of arbitrary enforcement with respect to the provisions governing review criteriaâor any other provision of HB 2362. See Skilling, 561 U.S. at 412. No provision of HB 2362 âdelegates basic policy matters to policemen, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis,â as the Supreme Court cautioned against in Grayned. 408 U.S. at 108-09; see also Kolender v. Lawson, 461 U.S. 352, 360 (1983) (striking 45 Nor does the Court agree with OAHHS that HB 2362 fails to provide OHA with sufficient guidance to ensure that the agency-promulgated rule criteria are not themselves arbitrary. See ORS § 415.501(2) (directing OHA to develop rule criteria consistent with subsection (1), which sets forth the purposes of ORS § 415.501). down law that ânecessarily entrust[ed] lawmaking to the moment-to-moment judgment of the policeman on his beatâ (quotation marks omitted)). Nor is HB 2362 a law that raises the specter of âdiscriminatory enforcement . . . against those who may hold politically unpopular beliefs or lead unusual lifestyles.â See Stoianoff, 695 F.2d at 1222 (evaluating vagueness of law prohibiting the manufacture or delivery of drug paraphernalia); see also Papachristou, 405 U.S. at 171 (striking down anti-vagrancy ordinance with âimprecise termsâ that âgenerally implicated . . . poor people, nonconformists, dissenters, [and] idlersâ). Nor, for that matter, has OAHHS presented any evidence that HB 2362 has been employed in an arbitrary manner in any instance following its enactment. Even if there is a âpossibility that [HB 2362] may be enforced arbitrarily,â there is no âclear indicationâ that the law will be enforced arbitrarily. See Stoianoff, 695 F.2d at 1222. In addition, any possibility of arbitrary enforcement is mitigated by the processes available to regulated parties and under which OHA implements the law. Regulated entities can avail themselves of pre-notice review. See OAR 409-070-0042. Parties to a material change transaction for which a formal notice must be filed may participate in a pre-filing conference. OAR 409-070-0045(2). If OHA decides to conduct a comprehensive review, the agency must offer a âcomprehensive review conference.â Id. By rule, OHA must analyze information provided in a notice of a material change transaction under standards published on OHAâs website and that must be âclear, fair, predictable, and consistent.â OAR 409-070-0045(9), (9)(a). At the conclusion of a comprehensive review, OHA must issue a proposed order and proposed factual findings and conclusions of law, and the parties and the public are given a chance to make written comments to the proposed findings and conclusions and the proposed order. OAR 409-070-0060(4). Before issuing a final order, OHA must consider these comments, which must be made available to the public. See OAR 409-070-0060(4), (5). In sum, HB 2362 is not a law that âimpermissibly delegates basic policy matters to policemen, judges, and juries for resolution on an ad hoc and subjective basis, with the attendant dangers of arbitrary and discriminatory application.â See Grayned, 408 U.S. at 108-09. Even under a strict standard of review, OAHHS has failed to show a âsignificant riskâ of arbitrary enforcement that would justify facial invalidation of HB 2362. See Skilling, 561 U.S. at 412. d. Conclusion Regardless of the specific standard that applies when evaluating facial challenges generally, OAHHS has failed to show that HB 2362 is unconstitutionally vague on its face on the asserted grounds that the law fails to provide fair notice or poses a significant risk of arbitrary enforcement. Accordingly, the Court grants summary judgment for Defendants on OAHHSâs First Claim, alleging a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. B. Plaintiffâs Second Claim Because the Court grants partial summary judgment for Defendants on OAHHSâ First Claim, which is brought under federal law, the only matter that remains is OAHHSâs Second Claim. In that claim, OAHHS alleges that HB 2362 violates the nondelegation principles found in the Oregon Constitution, which are different from the nondelegation principles contained in the U.S. Constitution. See generally Corvallis Lodge No. 1411 v. Or. Liquor Contr. Commân, 67 Or. App. 15 (1984). Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c), a district court âmay decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a claim . . . if . . . the district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction.â A district courtâs exercise of discretion in these circumstances âis informed by whether declining jurisdiction comports with the underlying objective of most sensibly accommodating the values of economy, convenience, fairness, and comity.â OâConnor v. Nevada, 27 F.3d 357, 363 (9th Cir. 1994) (cleaned up). In deciding whether to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a state-law claim, a court must weigh âconsiderations of judicial economy, convenience[,] and fairness to litigants; if these are not present a federal court should hesitate to exercise jurisdiction over state claims.â United Mine Workers of Am. v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 726 (1966). âIn the usual case in which federal-law claims are eliminated before trial, the balance of factors will point toward declining to exercise jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims.â Gini v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Depât, 40 F.3d 1041, 1046 (9th Cir. 1994) (cleaned up; emphasis omitted). The Supreme Court also has cautioned that â[n]eedless decisions of state law should be avoided both as a matter of comity and to promote justice between the parties, by procuring for them a surer-footed reading of applicable lawâ and indicated in dicta that âif the federal claims are dismissed before trial, even though not insubstantial in a jurisdictional sense, the state claims should be dismissed as well.â Gibbs, 383 U.S. at 726. The Court recognizes that requiring OAHHS to refile this case in state court will impose some additional cost and delay on OAHHS. Even so, no factor weighs heavily in favor of retaining supplemental jurisdiction over OAHHSâs purely state-law claim. Further, because OAHHS asks this federal court to invalidate a state law solely on state constitutional grounds, considerations of comity strongly favor the conclusion that a federal court should decline jurisdiction. Accordingly, the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over OAHHSâs state-law claim and dismisses that claim without prejudice. See Carnegie-Mellon Univ. v. Cohill, 484 U.S. 343, 350 (1988) (explaining that when the balance of factors âindicates that a case properly belongs in state court, . . . the federal court should decline the exercise of jurisdiction by dismissing the case without prejudiceâ); accord Gini, 40 F.3d at 1046. CONCLUSION The Court GRANTS Defendantsâ motion for summary judgment (ECF 28). The Court grants summary judgment for Defendants against Plaintiffâs First Claim, which alleges a violation of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffâs Second Claim, which alleges a state-law violation of Oregonâs nondelegation doctrine under the Oregon Constitution. The Court DENIES Plaintiffâs cross-motion for summary judgment (ECF 31). IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED this 16th day of May, 2024. /s/ Michael H. Simon Michael H. Simon United States District Judge
Case Information
- Court
- D. Or.
- Decision Date
- May 16, 2024
- Status
- Precedential