Proposed revisions to much-maligned Measure 110 are a failure. So say groups on opposing sides of the drug criminalization debate.

Does this two-sided opposition indicate Oregon Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Portland, and Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, created a middle-ground compromise with the legislative proposals they unveiled this week? Because, Kropf said, “What’s happening now is not working.” 

Here are four things to know about their House Bill 4002 for the 2024 Legislature, which convenes Feb. 5.

1. The political reactions were predictable

Republicans, law enforcement, League of Oregon Cities, and others said the proposed re-criminalization of minor drug possession didn’t go far enough, and the suggested procedure for getting individuals into treatment was unwieldy. The three Republicans on the Legislature’s special Measure 110 committee – Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp of Bend, Rep. Kevin Mannix of Salem and Rep. Christine Goodwin of Canyon City – issued a statement deriding the proposals as “Measure 110 Lite.”

On the other side, the ACLU of Oregon, Oregonians for Safety and Recovery, and some Democrats said recriminalizing minor drug possession was wrong and would backfire. “Care, not jail” read the signs held by a group demonstrating on the State Capitol steps. 

However, both sides liked many of the other provisions. 

2. Democrats wrote the bill behind closed doors

Lieber and Kropf chair the Measure 110 committee, officially the Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. However, it would be incorrect to describe the proposals as coming from the committee. Kropf and Lieber decided what to include, although they consulted with others.

The committee met four times to hear from policy experts, Oregon agencies and the public. The members – five Democrats and three Republicans – rarely talked about actual language for the eventual legislation. Instead, the co-chairs had a series of private discussions with stakeholders and a few committee members, including Knopp and Goodwin.

Because those meetings were not public, the co-chairs had to avoid having a quorum of committee members present.

This unfortunate process reflects the way the Oregon Legislature often writes laws: in private, instead of through plodding public negotiations.

Such secrecy is anti-democratic and disorienting. Democrats can claim they considered all views during negotiations. Republicans can contend their ideas were not included. But who knows?

Mannix, who returned to the Legislature after a 22-year absence, rued the demise of in-committee bill-writing sessions. “You could sit there for eight hours and be working through the language of the bill. And we used to do that kind of stuff,” he said. “But we don’t do it that way anymore.” 

3. Details are to come

Having privately briefed committee members, Lieber and Kropf on Tuesday publicly released what they called the framework for HB 4002. Legislative lawyers then discussed the key provisions. 

HB 4002 will be introduced as a placeholder. Once lawyers finalize the wording, the actual legislation will be amended into the bill in February.

“We’ve got some big themes and proposals to go over today, as it relates to public health,” Lieber said at Tuesday’s meeting. “These are just proposals. We are going to push on these and it will continue to go through the public process.”

She and Kropf jotted down committee members’ suggestions in response to the proposals. One question is how soon the main bill – that is, the Lieber-Kropf amendment – will be publicly available so others can propose amendments of their own. The Oregon Constitution limits this year’s session to 35 days, creating a hectic pace. 

4. This debate won’t derail the session

 The larger question hanging over the 2024 session has been whether Republicans might walk out, depriving the majority Democrats of a legislative quorum for conducting business.

If such a boycott does occur, which seems unlikely, it won’t be over HB 4002. It likely will stem from the reemergence of some long-running, polarizing issue – or from the 2024 campaign season.

In hopes of having a more collaborative and cohesive session than last year, legislative leaders have strived to narrow the scope, focusing on housing and homelessness; substance abuse, behavioral health and public safety; early childhood; and state budget fixes.

“If we don’t talk about guns and abortion, we can have a really good session,” House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich of Hood River told the Salem City Club last week.