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Debate in Senate committee over bill to raise penalties for false child‑abuse reports
Summary
Senate Bill 385 would raise penalties for knowingly making false reports of child abuse; sponsors and survivors urged stricter penalties while committee members raised concerns about chilling legitimate reports and suggested narrowing language.
SALEM — On Feb. 4 the Oregon Senate Committee on Judiciary heard testimony on Senate Bill 385, a proposal to increase criminal penalties for knowingly making false reports of child abuse.
Committee staff summarized the bill: it would reclassify the offense of making a false report of child abuse from a Class A violation to a Class A misdemeanor for a first or second offense and make a third or subsequent offense a Class C felony. Staff said the bill’s effective date would be the 91st day after the governor signs it.
Sen. Kim Thatcher, who introduced SB 385, told the committee she drafted the bill because false reports can have “huge consequences” for accused parents and for children swept into proceedings. Thatcher said the current penalty, a Class A violation, is often not enforced and that stronger penalties are…
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