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   From: stupid-shits@splcenter.org   
      
   As the bill that would undo Oregon’s drug decriminalization law advances   
   through the Legislature, dozens of people filled more than four hours of   
   testimony late Monday offering starkly divergent views of its   
   implications.   
      
   The committee tasked with addressing criticism of Measure 110 is expected   
   to vote Tuesday on House Bill 4002. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5   
   p.m. If the bill passes, it would move to the House for a vote as early as   
   this week.   
      
   The Democrat-backed bill is expected to pass the committee and, sources   
   say, has bipartisan support in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate in   
   the short session, which is set to wrap up early next month.   
      
   The bill is wide-ranging and expensive, with an estimated $211 million   
   price tag that includes money for specialty courts, “shovel ready   
   projects” intended to address addiction and mental health, medication to   
   help treat people in jails who suffer from opioid addiction and training   
   for people working in mental health fields.   
      
   It earmarks more than $30 million for county-based diversion programs, a   
   centerpiece of the proposal.   
      
   Lawmakers also propose spending about $800,000 for the state to come up   
   with a plan to address the mental health and addiction needs of youths.   
      
   But for months the prospect of making minor drug possession a crime again   
   has overshadowed all other aspects of the bill, which unwinds Measure 110,   
   passed by state voters in 2020.   
      
   Under HB 4002, minor drug possession would become a misdemeanor and local   
   governments and law enforcement would decide whether to opt into an   
   approach giving people the chance to pursue substance abuse treatment   
   before they are booked into jail.   
      
   Lawmakers on Monday said nearly two dozen counties so far have signed   
   statements agreeing to such an approach; the bill leaves it to each county   
   to decide the details of how the so-called deflection programs would work.   
      
   “The idea is that if a law enforcement agency adopts this deflection   
   program, these cases would never reach the point where they would be   
   charged,” Jessica Minifie, senior deputy legislative counsel, told   
   committee members.   
      
   The bill includes a provision allowing the district attorney to argue   
   before a judge that the person is not a candidate for diversion, an   
   element that raised questions for some, including lawmakers.   
      
   “I was under the impression that this was going to be a straight exit ramp   
   out of the system,” said Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. “But it sounds   
   like there’s discretion with the district attorney’s office.”   
      
   Minifie said a prosecutor may object to placing a person accused of drug   
   possession on probation and allowing them to take part in a diversion-like   
   program “if entry into the probation agreement would not serve the needs   
   of the person or the welfare of the community.”   
      
   “And then the court would hear the basis of the objection and ultimately   
   make the decision,” she said.   
      
   A new study by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, a state agency that   
   crunches data related to the state’s criminal justice system, concluded   
   the proposed changes to the possession and drug-dealing statutes would   
   disproportionately impact Black Oregonians in particular.   
      
   Commission analysts said they predict Oregon will see about 2,200   
   additional convictions for drug possession, 103 of them involving Black   
   people. The analysis found that the number should be no more than 74   
   convictions to be on par with white Oregonians.   
      
   While the study predicted racial disparities would emerge, analysts expect   
   they will be significantly less significant than before Measure 110 was   
   passed when Black people were overrepresented for drug possession   
   convictions at a rate five times higher than what analysts predict will   
   result from HB 4002.   
      
   Analysts predicted the proposed sentencing changes for drug dealing may   
   result in disparities for Latinos in particular. An analysis of sentencing   
   lengths for all drug dealing convictions found that most sentences fall   
   around 25 months, though for Latinos sentences are about three months   
   longer on average.   
      
   The agency also looked at potential participation and success rates of   
   deflection programs, estimating that about 3,100 people would participate   
   and that about half would successfully complete the requirements to avoid   
   conviction.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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