Oregon Senate Bill 577

Last updated

Oregon Senate Bill 577
Seal of Oregon.svg
Oregon State Legislature
Full nameRelating to bias crimes; and declaring an emergency.
IntroducedJanuary 14, 2019
House votedJune 19, 2019
Senate votedJune 13, 2019
Signed into lawJuly 15, 2019
Governor Kate Brown
Status: Current legislation

Oregon Senate Bill 577 was a change to Oregon's Hate Crimes Law. Bias is defined as "disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, or a belief". A bias crime or a bias-motivated crime is a more official label for a hate crime. These changes "made it a class A misdemeanor to damage someone’s property, intentionally subject them to offensive physical contact or intentionally cause serious injury on a person based on race, color, religion, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. It also removes the prior requirement that a hate crime had to involve more than one suspect". [1] Oregon Senate Bill 577 was put into effect on July 15, 2019. This was the first time this law had been updated in almost 40 years.[ clarification needed ]

Other than just the additions of what is defined as a crime, "The bill would also require all police agencies to document reports of alleged hate crimes – whether or not they result in arrest – and share information with the state criminal justice division. District attorneys will also be required to track their hate crime case loads and report on outcomes, sentences and recidivism". [2] With police and attorneys registering the crimes that they deal with, it will give a more accurate representation of how many bias crimes are reported and dealt with. Even with this editing of the bill "National data collection can be complicated by inconsistent reporting requirements on the state level. For example, as of 2019, 37 states still do not have anti-bias statutes for crimes based on gender identity". with the requirement of police and attorneys registering these crimes, more data will give us an accurate representation, and possibly make more states implement bias crime laws.

There are a multitude of supporters behind the bill such as "Unite Oregon, American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, Basic Rights Oregon, and CAIR-Oregon; Oregon State Police; Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore; and the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office". [3] No one has officially submitted any testimony against the bill.

Timeline of OSB 577 [4]

On January 14, 2019, in the Senate:

On January 17, 2019, in the Senate:

On March 12, 2019, in the Senate:

On April 4, 2019, in the Senate:

On April 23, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 3, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 5, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 7, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 11, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 12, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 13, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 17, 2019, in the House:

On June 18, 2019, in the House:

On June 19, 2019, in the House:

On June 24, 2019, in the Senate:

On June 25, 2019, in the House:

On July 15, 2019, in the Senate:

On July 23, 2019, in the Senate:

References

  1. ↑ "Oregon SB577 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. ↑ McCurdy, Christen. "New Hate Crime Law Kicks In". The Skanner News. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Oregon Considers Changing Its Hate Crime Laws to Collect Better Data". Willamette Week. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Oregon SB577 | TrackBill". trackbill.com. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
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