Legislation

Our policy team is a constant presence in Salem and local municipalities to pass bills that advance or defend civil liberties and civil rights, and to defeat those that do not. In addition to our mission to defend and advance civil liberties and civil rights, we are committed to:

Making progress towards achieving a decolonized workspace and culture through a shift in language and centering indigenous sovereignty in internal and external work;
Prioritizing and holding ourselves accountable to the organization’s values of anti-Black racism, equity, and racial justice education and reflection;
Leading with race and centering those most directly impacted by racism and white supremacy in policy decisions, including but not limited to BIPOC/BIWOC communities, immigrants and refugees, people with varying abilities, LGBTQ communities, and people experiencing poverty or other socio-economic injustices.

Filter Legislation

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Control Prison Population Growth Through Sentencing Reform (HB 3194) (2013)

For almost two years leading up to the 2013 session, a group of legislators, judges, and criminal justice officials and stakeholders met as the Governor’s Commission on Public Safety to examine ways that Oregon can control anticipated growth in prison population and public safety spending. In December 2012 the Commission submitted its report to the Governor, which outlined several options for policy changes to address these issues. This session, the Joint Committee on Public Safety took up consideration of the options in the form of HB 3194.

May 3, 2013

EQUAL PROTECTION: Restore Driving Privileges to Immigrants in Oregon (SB 833) (2013)

Since 2007, when then Governor Ted Kulongoski signed an Executive Order to require proof of lawful presence as a condition of obtaining a driver license, thousands of people in Oregon have been faced with the terrible choice between not driving to school, work, and medical appointments, or driving unlicensed with an ever-present fear of being pulled over. With the harmful and ongoing entanglement between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement, a routine traffic stop could lead to deportation proceedings, making this choice for unlicensed Oregonians even more high-stakes.

April 30, 2013

ACLU Urges Lake Oswego to Consider Alternative Agreement With FBI

April 16, 2013 - Lake Oswego City Council is set to vote on a proposal to join the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) this evening, without discussion. The ACLU is urging the Council to postpone the vote until more details on the agreement between local law enforcement and the FBI can be reviewed.

UPDATE: April 17, 2013 - The Lake Oswego City Council voted unanimously to join the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).

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The efforts to improve communication and cooperation among law enforcement agencies, including between the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies, is important. As yesterday’s events in Boston have once again illustrated, such cooperation can be essential to protect public safety. However, the FBI and other federal agencies operate under very different laws and policies than state and local police agencies are required to follow here in Oregon.

Unfortunately, the FBI’s standard agreement for participation by local agencies in their Joint Terrorism Task Forces does not make any accommodation for those different standards and requirements. Indeed, that standard agreement makes it extremely likely that local police officers, once deputized as members of the FBI JTTF, will engage in activities that violate the important protections and safeguards of Oregon law and the Oregon Constitution.

April 16, 2013

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Mandate Daily Opportunity for Pledge of Allegiance in Schools (HB 3014) (2013)

Representative Sal Esquivel (R-Medford) introduced HB 3014, which would have required Oregon public schools, including public charter schools, to hang a U.S. flag in every classroom and to provide a daily opportunity for a student or teacher to lead the students in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Under current law, schools are required to provide this opportunity once weekly.

The ACLU of Oregon has had long standing concerns about this statute, primarily because we believe it is vulnerable to a challenge under the Oregon constitution’s religious freedom provision, Article I, section 5. The Pledge of Allegiance includes “One Nation under God” and yet our constitution states in part: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury for the benefit of any religious (sic), or theological institution…”

April 8, 2013

FREE SPEECH: Enable expansion of municipal "sit-lie" ordinances (HB 2963) (2013)

Seeking to expand the “sit-lie ordinance” in Portland, the Portland Business Alliance (PBA) introduced HB 2963. The bill would have overturned the decision in the 2009 Multnomah County case State v. Perkins where the judge said that the Portland ordinance that regulated when people could be on the sidewalk was preempted by state law and therefore was unconstitutional.

April 5, 2013

PRIVACY: Prohibit Location Tracking of Students (HB 2386) (2013)

In November 2012, a student at a Texas school was kicked out of school for failure to wear a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that the school had distributed for tracking attendance. RFID tags are tiny computer chips that are more commonly used to track everything from cattle to commercial products moving through warehouses. The National ACLU has been commenting on the use of RFID technology since 2005, concerned that privacy and data security issues may well outweigh any potential benefit.

Hearing of the Texas example, Representatives Phil Barnhart (D-Central Lane and Linn Counties) and Lew Frederick (D-Portland) and Senator Betsy Close (R-Albany) were concerned, as well. They introduced HB 2386 to protect the privacy of Oregon students. The bill outlawed completely the use of RFID location tracking of students in Oregon schools.

April 5, 2013