• Provides examination and licensing of carpenters, roofers, repairmen, plumbers, electricians and other building trades people who contract for work in exchange for compensation.

• Accepts and attempts to resolve consumer complaints against licensed contractors

• Investigates and takes enforcement action against unlicensed and other unscrupulous contractors; may refer reports to law enforcement agencies for criminal prosecution.

• Administers and develops policies for funding of education in Oregon

• Sets curriculum goals and standards and assists in recommending textbooks to be used statewide

• Develops and administers programs for statewide performance assessment of public school students

• Publishes reports showing characteristics of schools and school districts, as well as the performance of students in them

• Supervises adult education programs in secondary schools.

• Operates federal programs for protection of air and water quality within Oregon

• Sets standards for monitoring and disposal of hazard wastes

• Maintains list of known leaks from underground storage tanks and list of such tanks that are known to have been decommissioned to DEQ standards 

• Operates a vehicle emission check program within certain counties and regions of the state

• Enforces compliance with DEQ rules and standards.

• Administrative arm of state Land Conservation and Development Commission (see below)

• Manages Oregon's system of statewide land use planning

• Tests and licenses Oregon vehicle drivers

• Provides vehicle titles and licensing

• Regulates automobile dealers

• Provides state identification cards to people without driver licenses but who want or need a form of officially recognized identification.

• Provides loan funds for first-time home buyers (Oregon Bond Program)

• Provides loan guarantees and financing for a variety of housing programs designed to benefit low- to moderate-income Oregonians

• Manages low-income housing projects

• Administers federal "Section 8" low-income housing program

• Assists owners of manufactured homes in parks with resolving conflicts with park owners/managers.

Seven-member commission, appointed by governor. Chief duties are:

• Oversee DLCD and adopt statewide land use policies and goals

• Review city and county comprehensive plans for compliance with state goals

• Hear complaints or appeals with regard to actions of DLCD

• Three-person panel of lawyers appointed by the governor to hear appeals of land use decisions by state and local governments

• Interprets state and local zoning and land use laws.

• Licenses landscaping businesses and landscape contractors

• Receives and investigates consumer complaints

• Answers consumer and contractor questions and enforces compliance with the licensing law

A division of the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services

• Develops and administers statewide construction standards

• Provides construction permitting and inspection for certain types of construction and for all construction in certain geographic areas of the state

• Maintains list of houses and other buildings deemed by police/sheriffs to be unfit for use

• Certifies and licenses inspectors, as well as trades people in certain construction fields

• Investigates license and code violations, and takes enforcement action, when warranted.

• Regulates timber cutting and logging practices

• Assists in providing fire protection and suppression on forest lands

• Detects and controls insects and diseases on state and private forest lands

• Provides education and resource planning assistance to small woodland owners

Organized under the Department of Consumer and Business Services, chiefly responsible to:

• License insurance producers to do business in Oregon and monitor their solvency

• Regulate insurance products and rates

• License insurance companies, agents and consultants

• Accept and investigate consumer complaints

• Penalize insurance licensees who violate the law.

Formerly called the Oregon Health Division, PHD is a division of the Oregon Department of Human Services. Among the Public Health Division's responsibilities are:

• Set and enforce statewide standards for public health

• Set standards for drinking water quality in Oregon and maintain compliance program for water wells for domestic consumption

• Monitor and accredit private testing laboratories.

• Sets educational standards for real estate brokers and property managers doing business in Oregon

• Licenses real estate professionals and companies, including escrow companies

• Takes enforcement action against unlicensed entities

• Accepts and investigates consumer complaints relating to misconduct of licensees, and takes enforcement action when warranted

• Administers programs to regulate timeshares and private campgrounds, the subdivision of land and the development of condominiums.

Not actually a government agency, the Oregon State Bar is the only organization in Oregon that licenses and regulates lawyers. As in many states, lawyers are the only professional group in Oregon that is not licensed and regulated by the government. (Editorializing: I mean, since these people write the laws... why would they allow themselves to be regulated by the government?) The state bar:

• Sets educational standards for Oregon attorneys

• Conducts examination and licensing of attorneys

• Prosecutes complaints against people suspected of practicing law without a license

• Provides a grievance process for consumers who have been mistreated by OSB members

• Provides a referral service that matches prospective clients with lawyers according to a specific rotation, with initial consultations provided at a low fee set by the OSB.

Like the federal government, Oregon has three main branches of government. While not technically an agency, which would be a part of the executive branch of government, Oregon's legislature provides the ultimate rulemaking authority for the state. The legislature is composed of two assemblies (Oregon State Senate and Oregon House of Representatives) and operates similarly to the federal Congress. The Senate has 30 members, each elected to four-year terms, while the House has 60 members, each elected to two-year terms. Regular sessions of the legislature are conducted every other year in odd-numbered years, and typically last six to eight months.

• Licenses private utility companies to conduct business with customers in Oregon

• Establishes maximum rates that private utilities can charge

• Accepts consumer complaints regarding privately-owned utilities.

• Administers the state's program for prescribing and recording rights to water within Oregon

• Maintains records of water wells used for domestic consumption

• Mandates development of water conservation plans for large water users.