Committee adopts dash‑4 amendment to House Bill 2005 and sends measure to Ways and Means

The Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety on Tuesday adopted the dash‑4 amendment to House Bill 2,005 and voted to send the amended bill to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a do‑pass recommendation.

Jules, legislative counsel for the committee, told the committee the dash‑4 mirrors changes in the posted dash‑3 and makes additional clarifications to facility‑siting rules and timelines. "The dash‑4 amendment posted on OLIS makes identical changes to the dash‑1 as the dash‑3 amendment and it makes additional minor changes to the facility siting provisions in sections 59 and 60," Jules said.

The measure revises several forensic behavioral‑health provisions, including timelines for extending an individual's commitment for restoration. Jules said the amendment changes the deadline to extend a felony restoration commitment from five days to 10 days after receiving the required report. The amendment also clarifies that an order extending the maximum period of commitment for a misdemeanor may be received within five days of filing a petition for extension if the notice and evaluation arrive with less than five days remaining before the commitment expires. Jules said changes to community restoration in section 45 apply to defendants found unfit to proceed on or after the bill's effective date.

Jules also said the dash‑4 clarifies the timing for local final decisions on facility siting in sections 59 and 60: the deadline is tied to when a completed application is filed with the local government, and the provision does not apply on land where the local government determines the facility will not have adequate utility services. Fiscal and revenue statements for the dash‑1, dash‑3 and dash‑4 amendments were posted, Jules said.

Senator Lieber, a committee member, placed the bill in the broader context of recent state investments in behavioral health. "In '20‑'21, this legislature made an investment of $140,000,000 to build out beds and housing units," Senator Lieber said. She listed additional appropriations in subsequent years, saying the legislature provided roughly $100,000,000 in 2022, $65,000,000 in 2023, and $18,000,000 in 2024 for recovery housing and bed capacity. She described current and planned investments, including a $65,000,000 proposal for SRTF and RTF beds, $10,000,000 for youth residential capacity, $10,000,000 for the Oregon Harm Reduction Clearinghouse, $10,000,000 to increase community restoration services, an estimated $38,900,000 in ongoing general‑fund community restoration services, $7,000,000 for community behavioral health SUD treatment, and more than $56,000,000 to authorize 218 new positions at the Oregon State Hospital.

Representative Mannix, Vice Chair, praised the package as a comprehensive set of solutions. "We've taken a complex subject with a comprehensive series of solutions and we've blended them together to integrate them into a whole that addresses a wide range of issues," Representative Mannix said.

Committee members noted feedback from local district attorneys shaped specific timeline changes: "We had heard from District Attorney Barton about the effective date of the community restoration timelines. So we made that change based on their suggestion and then there was a change in the extension hearing based on feedback we got from the DAs yesterday that 5 days to 10 days," Co‑Chair Croft said during discussion of the drafting changes.

The committee first voted to adopt the dash‑4 amendment into House Bill 2,005; the roll call for that motion recorded multiple aye votes and the chair declared the motion carried and the dash‑4 amendments part of the bill. Later, the committee voted to refer House Bill 2,005 as amended to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a do‑pass recommendation; the chair announced that motion carried and the bill was sent on to Ways and Means. The co‑chairs asked Ways and Means to consider Co‑Chair Croft as the House carrier and named Senator Lieber and Co‑Chair Prozanski as Senate carriers for the measure.

Committee members and staff emphasized the work on the bill is ongoing and additional modifications are expected as implementation proceeds. The committee adjourned after making the referral.