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:

  1. Making progress towards achieving a decolonized workspace and culture through a shift in language and centering indigenous sovereignty in internal and external work;
  2. Prioritizing and holding ourselves accountable to the organization’s values of anti-Black racism, equity, and racial justice education and reflection;
  3. 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.
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EQUAL PROTECTION: Use of E-Verify System by Public Employers (HB 4052) (2012)

Introduced by Representative Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), HB 4052 proposed a mandate on all state agencies to use the federal E-Verify system. E-Verify is an internet-based computer database run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that is used by some businesses to verify the work eligibility of employees. The system is widely understood to be flawed and often inaccurate, each error increasing the risk that a U.S. citizen or legal U.S. worker could be denied employment and a paycheck because of the mistake.

March 21, 2012

PRIVACY: Law Enforcement Access to Medical and Financial Records of Elders (HB 4084) (2012)

HB 4084 came to the 2012 legislature as the product of the Elder Abuse Work Group that had met during the interim to discuss issues of crimes against elderly Oregonians and how we might amend the law to better protect this population. While many interests were well represented in the Work Group, including long-term care providers, law enforcement, community banks, and the state agency for human services, the group developed its recommendations without consideration of either a criminal defense or a privacy rights perspective. The result was a bill that significantly compromised the rights of Oregonians in both areas.

March 21, 2012

FREE SPEECH: Disorderly Conduct at a Funeral (SB 1575) (2012)

For years, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) and founders the Phelps family have picketed outside funerals, holding signs displaying often hateful homophobic messages. HB 3241 was introduced in the 2011 session to target these activities but, at the ACLU’s urging to reject the measure so clearly in violation of both the free expression provision of the Oregon Constitution (Article I, section 8) and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the bill failed. The concept came back in this short session and, though more limited than it had been before, was still motivated by the desire to respond to the offensive and abhorrent speech activities, albeit religiously motivated speech, of the WBC.

March 21, 2012