Oregon lawmakers have worked to advance bills that would help people fight opioid overdoses, provide more public defenders to impoverished criminal defendants who cannot afford an attorney and give more compensation and help to crime victims.
Now those proposals 鈥� and other parts of the Legislature鈥檚 public safety agenda 鈥� face a roadblock: the GOP-led walkout in the Senate, which started May 3. Democratic lawmakers warned Wednesday that bills to address growing crises across Oregon will die if Republican senators don鈥檛 return to the Senate floor.
Much is at stake for Oregonians: Nearly 300 people are sitting in jail with pending criminal charges and don鈥檛 have a defense attorney assigned to them. Hundreds of Oregonians die every year from opioid overdoses.
鈥淪enate Republicans left before we finished the job,鈥� Sen. James Manning Jr., D-Eugene, said in a statement. 鈥淭his is a real opportunity for bipartisan cooperation, but we won鈥檛 have it if they don鈥檛 come back in time to ensure every bill goes through the proper, public process.鈥�
Republican senators have said they are willing to return on June 25 鈥� the last day of the session 鈥� to pass bipartisan budgets and bills. But Gov. Tina Kotek and Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, have said that鈥檚 unacceptable.
In an interview with the Capital Chronicle on Wednesday, Knopp discounted the warning as political posturing.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all theater from them,鈥� Knopp said. 鈥淣one of that stuff is in any jeopardy as long as they don鈥檛 try to shut down the government, which is what they鈥檝e threatened to do if they don鈥檛 get their way.鈥�
At this point, negotiations between Senate Republicans and Democrats have failed to show any visible signs of headway. Kotek has said she鈥檒l call a special session to pass the budget if necessary, which would happen at some point beyond June 25.
For now, it鈥檚 unknown what will come of policy bills if the impasse in the Senate continues.
Some of those proposals include:
- would expand the state鈥檚 program that compensates crime victims and help with the costs of medical expenses and mental health services. For example, the bill would provide counseling services to a person who witnesses the death of a crime victim.
- would provide funding to help state and local law enforcement agencies coordinate efforts to fight organized retail theft rings.
- would require defendants in sexual assault cases to get tested for HIV within 48 hours of their arraignment. The proposal is intended to provide information to victims sooner.
- is intended to deter political violence and paramilitary activity. It would allow the attorney general to file a civil action against groups that use intimidation or threats to prevent lawful activities, such as voting. The bill also would allow private citizens to sue a paramilitary group.
- would expand the offense of driving under the influence to include any impairing drugs. Most drugs are already covered by the law, but prescription and herbal drugs are not.
Republican senators are opposed to two bills in the Democratic-backed package of public safety measures. One is House Bill 2005, which would raise the minimum age to purchase most firearms from 18 to 21 years old, ban firearms that don鈥檛 have serial numbers and allow local agencies to ban firearms on government-owned property.
The other is , which would provide naloxone kits in public buildings and for emergency responders to give people to block the effect of opioid overdoses. Republican senators want to amend this bill because it would allow minors to get addiction treatment without their parent鈥檚 knowledge or consent. They support an amendment that would allow a minor to petition the court if their parent does not or cannot consent to their treatment.
Public safety budget details
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday also released the broad strokes of a proposed $4 billion public safety budget for the next two years. That would pump about $2 billion annually into different areas.
The framework includes:
- $813 million for the Oregon Department of Justice, which includes programs to help victims of human trafficking, crime victims and programs to prevent violence in communities.
- $611 million for Oregon State Police, which includes recruitment and retention of staff, technology improvements at the 9-1-1 command center and ongoing work to process applications for firearm ownership.
- $83 million to help the prepare more law enforcement officers to address the shortage of police officers.
- $2.2 billion for the Oregon Department of Corrections, which includes money for security upgrades at prisons and more addiction treatment for inmates.
- $750.7 million for the Oregon Judicial Department, which funds the circuit court systems in the state鈥檚 36 counties and pays for various programs, including one that helps people expunge low-level marijuana possession convictions.
鈥淭he people of Oregon were loud and clear that making our streets and communities safer must be one of our top priorities this session,鈥� Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, said in a statement. 鈥淲ith this package, we are taking direct aim at the root causes of crime and improving law enforcement response to ensure every Oregonian feels safe and secure wherever they live in our state.鈥�
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