Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is staying out of the legislative fight over a proposed agricultural labor standards board that would regulate farmworkers’ wages, schedules and work conditions.

House Bill 2548 has elicited no shortage of strong opinions from farmers, many of whom recently testified it will devastate an already over-regulated industry, as well as labor advocates, who say it’s meant to correct the state’s historic neglect of farmworker voices in shaping regulations.

At this point, though, Kotek said she’s neutral when asked if she agrees with HB 2548’s approach and whether she’d sign the proposal into law if it’s passed in its current form.

“I don’t currently have a position on the bill,” she said during a recent roundtable discussion with reporters. “I understand the intent of the bill and am sympathetic to the idea that we need to protect our agricultural workers as best we can.”

Kotek said that up until now, her focus has been on enhanced standards for agricultural worker housing, which the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration implemented earlier this year.

While labor advocates argued the new standards should’ve gone farther, the rules have also been criticized by Oregon’s major farm groups for mandating expensive remodeling requirements.

For example, critics say increasing the amount of living space per occupant will effectively reduce housing availability for workers — since most growers can’t afford to expand existing dwellings.

Kotek said she realizes “there are disappointments across the board on those new rules” but believes OSHA has achieved a workable compromise.

“I think they strike a good balance between improving the health and safety conditions of ag worker housing while also recognizing the pace at which we can make those changes,” she said.

The upgraded housing standards have been cited by opponents of HB 2548 as an example of why Oregon’s farm industry can’t afford another layer of regulations imposed by “an unelected and unaccountable governing body.”

Though the agricultural workforce standards board envisioned under the bill would include employers and workers, critics doubt the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries will appoint members who’ll give the farm industry a fair shake in negotiations.

Opponents say the board is likely to saddle farmers with burdensome new rules on top of onerous recent policies such as the stricter housing standards and the phase-out of the agricultural exemption from higher overtime wages.

Proponents counter that HB 2548 will prevent retaliation against workers who complain of harsh or unsafe conditions, as it’d protect them from being fired without just cause, and strengthen the state’s agricultural workforce to the benefit of farmers and employees.

The proposal recently survived the year’s first legislative deadline and is scheduled for an April 2 vote before the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.

If it isn’t approved or rejected at that work session, the bill may also be referred for further deliberations to another committee that doesn’t face legislative deadlines.