One of the big items on the list for the 2024 legislative assembly starting on Feb. 5 and ending March 10, is addressing Measure 110 shortcomings, the controversial bill was passed three years ago and has shown areas that need improvement.
The type of improvements needed are up for debate, yet with the majority Democrats revealing their wide-ranging proposal on Tuesday, we can ascertain the improvements will include recriminalization of personal drug possession in some form.
This unveiling was reported in an OPB article by Dirk VanderHart on Jan. 23., which explains the details of the bill and what will change. The underlying motivations to fix the shortcomings of Measure 110 are to respond to voters and avoid any future ballot measure that could change course drastically and undue any real progress made over the last three years.
The proposals were given by Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber (D-Portland) and state Rep. Jason Kropf (D-Bend), who were tasked with chairing a special legislative committee to respond to Oregon’s struggles with meth and fentanyl. After four hearings since October, House Bill 4002 was the result, recriminalizing small amounts of personal drug possession, especially, targeting fentanyl, meth, and heroin.