EQUAL PROTECTION: Expanding Access to Driver Licenses (SB 845) (2011)
SB 845 would have expanded access to driver licenses to all Oregonians, regardless of whether or not an individual can prove lawful presence.
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SB 845 would have expanded access to driver licenses to all Oregonians, regardless of whether or not an individual can prove lawful presence.
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.”
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.
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.
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).
The ACLU of Oregon’s legislative archive includes information on each session back to 1997.