Filtering into the Oregon House chamber, noises from the ongoing State Capitol reconstruction project briefly delayed Thursday’s debate on reforming Measure 110.

That was about the only thing that went off script as representatives overwhelmingly embraced controversial House Bill 4002 – dubbed the Oregon Drug Intervention Plan – and two related bills.

After nearly two hours of often emotional debate, HB 4002 passed on a bipartisan vote of 51-7, with two members excused. Senate action awaits.

“This session will conclude, but we will still have much, much more work ahead of us in this area,” said Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend. He and Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Portland, led the committee in developing the bill among hours of testimony from experts and the public.

Opposition came from far ends of the political spectrum, while some of the most liberal lawmakers joined conservatives in supporting the bill, including the reinstitution of criminal penalties for minor drug possession.

Perhaps Republican Sen. Fred Girod of Lyons set the tone Tuesday evening when he favored the revised bill, despite what he cited as its shortcomings, in the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response. The committee passed the amended version 10-2.

“It lacks a little bit on the prevention side. However, this bill has come a tremendous distance, and it’s hard to vote ‘no’ when something is 80% of the loaf,” he said. “Granted, I didn’t get the whole loaf. But I did get a good share of it, so I will be very supportive.”

On Thursday, Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, delivered one of the most powerful speeches. A firefighter, she set aside her prepared remarks and told what it was like to repeatedly respond on drug overdoses. “What we have on our streets today is more powerful, more insidious than we’ve seen before,” she said, with a lethality far exceeding the drugs that killed two of her friends in the 1990s.

Rep. James Hieb, R-Canby, said two of his little brothers died from fentanyl overdoses in 2014: “I’ve told my family story so many times that I have become numb to my own pain.” He said the final version of HB 4002, though not perfect, “is much better than I expected. I believe that this bill will help addicts. I believe that this bill will help save lives and will help save so many families from the pain associated with the loss of their loved ones. I believe this bill is a step in the right direction.”

Voting no were Portland-area Democrats Farrah Chaichi, Mark Gamba, Travis Nelson and Khanh Pham. They disagreed with recriminalization and feared the bill would disproportionately harm people of color.

Although the bill had many good aspects, Nelson said, it lacked the needed equity lens.

Gamba said his office received nearly 1,000 messages about HB 4002, and a clear majority were in opposition. Pham put her constituents’ opposition at 2-1.

In contrast, Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, said he was affirming the desires of his constituents by voting for the bill, which paired “justice with mercy, mercy with justice.” 

Also voting no were rural Republicans Jami Cate, Lebanon; Ed Diehl, Stayton; and Dwayne Yunker, Grants Pass.

Diehl described the bill as the most anti-crime, pro-law enforcement measure sent to the House floor in years. But, he said, it doesn’t go far enough. Offering one of the few blatantly partisan comments of the debate, Diehl said the bill was weak at first, but Republicans and outraged Oregonians applied intense pressure. Democrats finally heard Oregonians’ wishes and no longer blocked reasonable change.

Backers stressed that HB 4002 and its accompanying $211 million budget measure, HB 5204, were just the start. HB 5204 passed 54-2, with Cate and Yunker voting no.

“Colleagues, this is a lot of money,” said Rep. Tawna Sanchez, D-Portland. “But I’ll be real; it’s only a drop in the budget. And it’s only the beginning.”

Legislators’ spending requests for the 2024 session far exceeded the discretionary money available. Sanchez, co-chair of the powerful Ways & Means Committee, acknowledged that she might have offended some colleagues by rejecting their requests.

The House has 60 members. More than a third spoke on one or more of the three related bills. Most read their speeches. Their colleagues sometimes paid attention.

But I noticed Rep. Court Boice, R-Gold Beach, listening intently to Sanchez’ extemporaneous remarks. In his speech earlier, Boice recounted that he was a “no” on HB 4002 until he talked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

After the vote, House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, thanked members for a respectful conversation on a difficult subject.

On a 55-0 vote, the House also passed Rayfield’s HB 4001. It establishes the Task Force on Specialty Courts, including drug courts.

House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich of Hood River had begun the day by wishing Rayfield an upcoming happy birthday on Friday. According to Helfrich, studies show that people who have more birthdays live longer.

The day ended with Helfrich, a retired Portland police officer, praising law enforcement and Republicans for demanding recriminalization.

“Even in the minority,” he said of legislative Republicans, “we forced a policy to happen, and Oregon will be better for it.”