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.
Filter Legislation

FREE SPEECH: Weakening Oregon’s Constitution (HJR 34) (2011)

Introduced by Rep. Andy Olson (R-Albany), HJR 34 was a constitutional amendment to add language to Article I, section 8, allowing the legislature to enact laws regulating the furnishing of sexually explicit material to minors “consistent with the U.S. Constitution.”

April 27, 2011

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: DNA Evidence Retention (SB 731) (2011)

This session, because of the evenly divided House, it was easier to stop than to pass a bill. The ACLU nevertheless spearheaded the passage of SB 731, culminating a ten-year effort to bring added protection to the criminal justice system regarding the preservation and use of evidence containing biological material (DNA) to prove innocence.

April 12, 2011

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: DNA Testing of Individuals Arrested (SB 881) (2011)

This session, like last session, saw the introduction of a proposal to allow the collection of DNA from those arrested. SB 881, at the behest of Sen. Jackie Winters (R-Salem), would have required local law enforcement to collect a DNA sample of individuals arrested for any felony crimes committed against another person, all sex crimes and burglary in the first degree. SB 881 would have authorized the collection of biological evidence from individuals prior to any determination of guilt and without the requisite court order after a showing of probable cause.

April 7, 2011

FREE SPEECH: Weakening Oregon's Constitution (SJR 28 & HJR 35) (2011)

The perennial attempt to weaken the Oregon Constitution’s free expression provision (Article I, section 8) to allow local governments to restrict nude dancing once again was introduced this session with constitutional amendments in both the Senate (SJR 28) and the House (HJR 35).

March 22, 2011

Legislative Archives

The ACLU of Oregon’s legislative archive includes information on each session back to 1997.

March 18, 2011