The Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response on May 21 adopted the dash-6 amendment to House Bill 3,069 and referred the amended bill to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation.

Representative Croft, who moved adoption of the dash-6 amendment, described the amendment as a “comprehensive response” that consolidates grant processes administered by the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC). The amendment combines grant streams for treatment courts, Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) impacts, and deflection programs into a common grant process while removing the organization that handles restorative justice from that consolidated public-safety grant so it may pursue a separate grant process.

Representative Croft and other sponsors said the dash-6 establishes a deflection funding formula that guarantees a base amount to counties and provides additional funding tied to program size. As Representative Croft explained, the formula is intended as a transitional approach for two years while the CJC and counties gather data on program size, effectiveness and best practices; sponsors said that future funding decisions should be guided by evaluation of those measures.

The amendment also changes CJC membership to include a person with lived experience of the criminal justice system and a victim-advocacy representative, and it allows certain organizational representatives (for example, the Oregon District Attorneys Association) to designate their organization’s appointee. Sponsors said the bill includes “clean up” language related to sunsets in the 2013 Justice Reinvestment Act; they repeatedly stated that the bill does not change the current sentencing framework for robbery in the third degree but removes sunset language so the existing framework continues without an intervening expiration.

Representative Mannix read into the record proposed language from the A5 amendment describing “successful outcome” as recognizing that recovery pathways are individual and measured in engagement with case management, assessments, recommended treatment, improvements in quality-of-life stability factors and public safety. Mannix said he would bring that language forward later as a separate item.

Representative Edwards said she was sympathetic to the bill’s aims but planned to vote no that evening, expressing concern that the committee must ensure grant awards prioritize quality and best practices rather than solely program size. Representative Karl clarified that the amendment language was drafted with input from multiple stakeholders, not only the Oregon District Attorneys Association. Ryan Keck, interim CJC director, and other stakeholders were present and identified as participants in drafting the proposal.

On roll-call votes the committee suspended rules to consider the dash-6 amendment, voted to adopt dash-6, and then voted to advance the amended bill to the floor and refer it to Ways and Means. Committee members emphasized that referral does not guarantee funding and that fiscal impacts will be examined by Ways and Means.

The committee closed the work session on House Bill 3,069 and adjourned for the evening.