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Senate committee advances bill narrowing Oregon State Hospital roles and youth admissions
Summary
The Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health voted to send Senate Bill 834 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation after a short work session Tuesday.
The Senate Committee on Early Childhood and Behavioral Health voted to send Senate Bill 834 to the Senate floor with a "do pass" recommendation after a brief work session Tuesday.
Senate Bill 834 would amend statutes related to the Oregon State Hospital to (1) prohibit the hospital from providing care to patients under age 18, (2) add psychiatric nurse practitioners as providers who may determine whether a person meets the criteria for an "extremely dangerous" civil commitment, (3) separate the statutory roles of hospital chief medical officer and superintendent, (4) require initial evaluations be completed by certified evaluators, and (5) replace the statutory term "symptomology" with "symptomatology." The committee's staff analyst said the measure has minimal fiscal impact and no revenue impact.
The committee chair asked the Legislative Policy and Research Office analyst, Katie Hart, to summarize the measure at the start of the work session. After the summary, a committee member moved the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion received no recorded second in the transcript and the clerk called the roll. Senators Gorsuch, Patterson, Vice Chair Anderson and Chair Reynolds voted yea; one senator was recorded as excused. The motion passed and the measure was sent to the floor.
During discussion, one senator said the bill made sense but expressed concern about the lack of resources for people age 18, noting the change does not by itself "take care of that problem." Committee members acknowledged that the bill does not address community treatment options for young adults removed from hospital care.
The committee then closed the work session on SB 834 and proceeded to informational business.
Votes at a glance Senate Bill 834 — Motion: move SB 834 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation; Mover: Senator Anderson (as recorded in the transcript); Second: not specified in the transcript; Vote: Gorsuch — yes; Patterson — aye; Anderson (Vice Chair) — aye; Reynolds (Chair) — aye; Olimpico — excused; Outcome: passed and measure sent to the floor.
