Sponsor says campus reporting bill fixes gaps; committee forwards measure after sponsor answers questions

Representative Nessa Hartman told the Senate Education Committee on May 21 that House Bill 3,731 changes reporting requirements for misconduct at institutions of higher education to add optional and required narrative sections and to allow an unlimited-length executive summary. The measure, she said, is intended to clarify the context behind the numerical data institutions already report and to address gaps identified after prior reports.

Hartman, who identified herself as the sponsor and representative of House District 40, said the bill is tied to earlier work from the 2023 campus-survivors legislation and that the revisions respond to feedback from Title IX coordinators across the state. “After I listened to the testimony ... I was, for lack of better words, very shocked by the statements that were made by the representative that came from Portland State University,” Hartman said, adding that Portland State later submitted written testimony (May 14) indicating support after earlier confusion.

Kavi Shrestha, legislative aide for Hartman, told the committee he had compiled more than 30 pages of feedback from Title IX coordinators and that the bill and the dash 5 amendment reflected extensive consultation. He said the original survey already asked for the total number of reports and that the bill clarifies how to tally reports where the perpetrating party is unknown. The additional narrative space, he said, lets institutions explain verification status and related law-enforcement investigations.

Committee members asked whether the reports would include "substantiated" versus "unsubstantiated" findings and whether the public would see case-level details. Staff and the sponsor responded that the bill is intended to improve the quality of publicly available aggregate reporting by adding context; the transcript and sponsor comments emphasized the reports would not disclose identifying information and that small numbers would be handled to avoid identification.

The committee voted to send House Bill 3,731 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; transcript entries show Vice Chair Weber moved the motion and that the motion passed. Committee members said they still wanted additional refinement in rulemaking if needed, and some recommended the rules committee as a venue for continued technical discussion; the sponsor objected to delaying the bill and urged it proceed so that improved reports can be available promptly.

Hartman and staff highlighted that Title IX coordinators sometimes need narrative space to explain why investigations did not result in formal findings (for example, because a complainant chose not to pursue formal investigation) and that aggregated numbers alone can mislead without that context. The committee selected a floor carrier for the bill and the transcript records that Senator Nelson Vaughan will carry the measure on the floor.