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Proponents urge sustained funding and policing powers in HB 4,139 as opponents warn of cuts to behavioral health
Summary
Supporters told the House committee HB 4,139 would restore dedicated funding and enforcement tools to curb illegal marijuana grows and labor trafficking; opponents, including treatment providers and county officials, warned the bill’s off‑the‑top funding would divert roughly $18 million per biennium from behavioral‑health services set up after Measure 110.
Supporters of House Bill 4,139 urged the House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business and Trade to preserve an off‑the‑top funding stream and stronger enforcement powers to curb illegal marijuana cultivation and related crimes.
Representative Kim Wallen of Medford told the committee hemp and marijuana plants “look identical” and argued current legal gaps have allowed illicit growers to flood the market. Wallen said the measure would expand inspection and license‑revocation authority and shift more OLCC tax revenue into an enforcement grant program to support local investigations and victim services.
Rob Bovette, an adjunct professor at Lewis & Clark Law School who helped draft the omnibus package, urged the committee to retain two sections in the dash‑2 amendment: the marijuana market enforcement…
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