(1) Any state agency authorized to issue warrants to collect taxes and debts owed to the State of Oregon, including but not limited to warrants issued pursuant to ORS § 179.655, 184.644, 267.385, 293.250, 314.430, 316.207, 320.080, 321.570, 323.390, 411.703, 651.065, 657.396, 657.642, 657.646, 705.175 and 825.504, or any county tax collector authorized to issue warrants to collect taxes and debts owed to the county pursuant to ORS § 311.625, may garnish property of a debtor in the possession, control or custody of a person other than the debtor by delivering to the person all of the following:

(a) A notice of garnishment;

(b) A warrant, or a true copy of a warrant;

(c) The items specified in ORS § 18.650 (1)(b) to (d); and

(d) Any garnishee’s search fee payable as provided in ORS § 18.790.

(2) A notice of garnishment may be issued by any person designated by the state agency or by the county tax collector. A warrant need not be recorded in the County Clerk Lien Record as a condition of issuing a notice of garnishment under the provisions of this section. The provisions of ORS § 18.800 do not apply to a notice of garnishment.

(3) If any of the items described in subsection (1) of this section are not delivered to the garnishee, a notice of garnishment shall not be effective to garnish any property of the debtor, and the garnishee shall not be required to respond to the garnishment and may proceed to deal with any property of the debtor as though the notice of garnishment had not been issued.

(4)(a) Notwithstanding ORS § 18.652, but subject to paragraph (c) of this subsection, a notice of garnishment and the other items required by subsection (1) of this section may be delivered in person to the garnishee by any employee of the state agency or of the county tax collector who is authorized by the agency or the county to deliver the notice of garnishment, may be mailed to the garnishee by first class or certified mail or may be sent to the garnishee by other means if the garnishee has agreed to a different delivery method.

(b) An employee who delivers documents under paragraph (a) of this subsection need not be covered by the errors and omissions insurance required in ORS § 18.652.

(c) A state agency or a county may not seek sanctions against a noncomplying garnishee under ORS § 18.775 unless the notice of garnishment and the other items required by subsection (1) of this section are personally delivered to the garnishee under paragraph (a) of this subsection or mailed to the garnishee by certified mail.

(5) Notwithstanding any provision of ORS § 18.600 to 18.850, a debt calculation form need not be prepared or delivered for any notice of garnishment.

(6) Notwithstanding ORS § 18.792, the duty of a garnishee to deliver any property of the debtor that may be contained in a safe deposit box that is in the garnishee’s possession, control or custody at the time of delivery of the notice of garnishment to the garnishee is conditioned upon the state agency or the county tax collector first paying to the garnishee, in addition to the search fee provided for in ORS § 18.790, all reasonable costs incurred by the garnishee in gaining entry to the safe deposit box. The costs shall be paid to the garnishee by the state agency or the county tax collector at least five days before the date the state agency or the county tax collector takes possession of the property in the safe deposit box. If the state agency or the county tax collector fails to pay such costs to the garnishee within 20 days after the delivery of the garnishee response, the garnishment shall not be effective to garnish any property of the debtor that may be contained in the safe deposit box and the garnishee may proceed to deal with the safe deposit box and its contents as though the notice of garnishment had not been issued. Nothing in this subsection limits the rights of a state agency or county tax collector to reach the contents of any safe deposit box in any manner otherwise provided by law.

(7) Except as provided in this section and ORS § 18.855 and 18.857, all provisions of ORS § 18.600 to 18.850 apply to notices of garnishment. The state agency or county tax collector shall modify the forms provided in ORS § 18.600 to 18.850 as necessary to allow use of those forms for notices of garnishment. The form of the notice of garnishment must clearly indicate that the document is a notice of garnishment and must reflect the date of all warrants on which the notice of garnishment is based.

(8) The Attorney General may adopt model forms for notices of garnishment and other documents issued by state agencies and county tax collectors under this section and ORS § 18.855 and 18.857. There is a presumption, as described in ORS § 40.120, that any state agency or county tax collector that uses a model form adopted by the Attorney General under this subsection has complied with the requirements of ORS § 18.600 to 18.850, and with the provisions of this section and ORS § 18.855 and 18.857, with respect to the form of notices of garnishment. [Formerly 18.900; 2007 c.27 § 3; 2013 c.472 § 1; 2015 c.294 § 2]

18.854 to 18.857 were enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but were not added to or made a part of ORS Chapter 18 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.