From the Desk of Kimberly McCullough
As the ACLU of Oregon’s new Legislative Director, the 2015 legislative session was an exciting adventure. When I started, the Oregon Legislature was already moving full steam ahead in its fourth week of session. Playing catch-up was challenging. Over a thousand bills had already been introduced. My schedule was filled to the brim meeting with legislators, collaborating with coalition partners, negotiating with opponents, researching, and testifying at hearing after hearing. Fortunately, I had the great privilege of learning the ropes from our illustrious former Executive Director David Fidanque - until he retired, two months later. And by the end of session, I looked back in amazement at everything that had transpired and how successful we were.
To see how your legislator voted on civil liberties issues, download the ACLU of Oregon's 2015 Legislative Scorecard (PDF).
PRIVACY
We care deeply about the privacy of our fellow Oregonians. As the state’s leading privacy advocates, we place responsibility on legislators to pass privacy-protective laws that keep pace with advancing technology.
Our Privacy Package
At our request, bipartisan sponsors in the Senate and the House introduced three privacy bills aimed at limiting excessive government surveillance and prohibiting unreasonable and intrusive searches. It was a tough fight, as we faced significant opposition from law enforcement and district attorneys. SB 641 made it across the finish line and now prohibits law enforcement from duplicating the contents of a cell phone without a warrant or consent. SB 639 and SB 640 would have limited government access to our online activity and location tracking information and restricted the use of automatic license plate readers. While these two bills were unsuccessful this time around, we won’t give up until we have secured these and additional privacy protections in Oregon.
Health Information
We supported several successful bills that protect sensitive medical records from disclosure. We also killed a bill that would have expanded the list of individuals with unfettered access to sensitive health information in Oregon’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
Online Information
We actively participated in negotiations on two bills related to the privacy of our online information after we die. We also supported a successful bill that protects K-12 students from having their private information collected, sold, or disclosed by companies that operate online learning tools.
More to be done
We want to expand the right to privacy, increase the control Oregonians have over their personal information, and ensure civil liberties are enhanced rather than compromised by technological innovation. We will also continue to push for legislation restricting government surveillance, including prohibitions on warrantless access to third-party records and location tracking.
POLICE PRACTICES AND ACCOUNTABILITY
To effectively protect public safety, law enforcement must protect our civil liberties, not sacrifice them. Transparency, accountability, and fairness are necessary to ensure individual rights are respected, to curb police misconduct, and to repair lost trust between communities and police. We supported numerous successful bills reforming police practices in the 2015 legislative session, a few of which are described here.
The Right to Record
We championed a bill introduced by Representative Lew Frederick which clarifies that it is not a crime to openly record on-duty law enforcement in Oregon. See our scorecard.
End Profiling!
Profiling is based on the false assumption that members of certain populations are more likely to be criminals. Although racial profiling was already prohibited in Oregon, we worked with the Center for Intercultural Organizing and allies to expand the law and create mechanisms for collecting and analyzing profiling complaints. See our scorecard.
Body Cameras
Police body cameras have significant potential as a tool for accountability by capturing video of misconduct. Body cameras also pose significant risks to privacy. In an attempt to balance these competing concerns, we secured amendments to the body camera bill that prohibit officers from picking and choosing which encounters to record, ban the use of facial recognition technology, and require release of video footage when it is in the public interest. We also recognize this is a complex issue that will require ongoing evaluation.
More to be done
Many important police reform bills did not make it through this session. One such bill would have required the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases where an officer has used deadly force, and another would have required recording of grand jury proceedings. These and other changes are necessary for proper redress when misconduct occurs. We also serve on a task force created with the goal of recommending additional reforms to identify and correct patterns and practices of profiling.
MARIJUANA
The ACLU of Oregon has long opposed the failed war on marijuana. That’s why our staff helped draft Ballot Measure 91, and we rejoiced in its success. However, legalization will not be successful without ongoing and diligent effort. Shifting legalization opponents away from fear-based and false ideas and toward a harm reduction model is no easy task.
We monitored a total of 38 bills related to marijuana that were introduced during the 2015 session and testified at numerous hearings of the Joint Committee on Implementing Measure 91. Throughout the process, we encouraged legislators to honor the will of the voters and protect the medical marijuana system and patients who need their medicine.
Overall, we are pleased with many of the changes to Oregon’s marijuana laws. More specifically, we were able to:
• Protect patient and purchaser privacy.
• Reclassify numerous marijuana-related offenses, which reduced criminal penalties.
• Expand expungement opportunities for individuals with marijuana-related convictions (particularly for youth, who will now only have to wait one year before they may expunge marijuana-related offenses from their record).
• Reduce harsh civil penalties for recreational licensee violations.
More to be done
We see the need for further criminal penalty reductions for marijuana-related crimes that remain felonies and sentence reductions for individuals currently serving time for marijuana-related offenses. We are keeping a close eye on municipal ordinances regulating marijuana and are participating in the OLCC’s rulemaking process as well.
LOOKING AHEAD
This session, we took significant steps toward protecting civil liberties in Oregon. But our work is never done! We are currently working with coalition partners to prepare for the 2016 short session. We are also in the process of crafting a strategic plan for legislation in the 2017 session.
With your support, we will continue to carry the torch for civil liberties in Oregon – because freedom can’t protect itself!
