March 4, 2024 9:30 a.m.  

State Representative Virgile Osborne said HB 4002 is a step in the right direction, but it is not enough.

Last week, the Oregon State Legislature, with a bipartisan vote, passed the legislation out of both chambers. Osborne said it was a noteworthy rollback of Measure 110, recriminalizing the possession of hard drugs, giving critical tools back to law enforcement and allocating funds back to the counties.

Osborne released a statement regarding the legislation which said, “The penalties are not enough, and the money allocated to counties is insufficient. But there is a lot of good in this bill. HB 4002 A recriminalizes possession, fixes the Boyd/Hubble issue, increases penalties for dealing near parks and treatment facilities – areas where dealers are known to prey on people – and gives more money to increase behavioral health workers in our state”. Osborne said, “But I want to emphasize something: this is by no means the end of our efforts towards Measure 110. With 4002 A we have taken the critical first step and I look forward to building upon it next session”.