As the bill that would undo Oregon’s drug decriminalization law advances through the Legislature, dozens of people filled more than four hours of testimony late Monday offering starkly divergent views of its implications.

The committee tasked with addressing criticism of Measure 110 is expected to vote Tuesday on House Bill 4002. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. If the bill passes, it would move to the House for a vote as early as this week.

The Democrat-backed bill is expected to pass the committee and, sources say, has bipartisan support in the Democrat-controlled House and Senate in the short session, which is set to wrap up early next month.

The bill is wide-ranging and expensive, with an estimated $211 million price tag that includes money for specialty courts, “shovel ready projects” intended to address addiction and mental health, medication to help treat people in jails who suffer from opioid addiction and training for people working in mental health fields.

It earmarks more than $30 million for county-based diversion programs, a centerpiece of the proposal. Rep. Pam Marsh, D-Ashland, is working with the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office to line up support for a diversion program locally (See MORE COVERAGE).

Lawmakers also propose spending about $800,000 for the state to come up with a plan to address the mental health and addiction needs of youths.

But for months the prospect of making minor drug possession a crime again has overshadowed all other aspects of the bill, which unwinds Measure 110, passed by state voters in 2020.

Under HB 4002, minor drug possession would become a misdemeanor and local governments and law enforcement would decide whether to opt into an approach giving people the chance to pursue substance abuse treatment before they are booked into jail.

Lawmakers on Monday said nearly two dozen counties so far have signed statements agreeing to such an approach; the bill leaves it to each county to decide the details of how the so-called deflection programs would work.

“The idea is that if a law enforcement agency adopts this deflection program, these cases would never reach the point where they would be charged,” Jessica Minifie, senior deputy legislative counsel, told committee members.

The bill includes a provision allowing the district attorney to argue before a judge that the person is not a candidate for diversion, an element that raised questions for some, including lawmakers.

“I was under the impression that this was going to be a straight exit ramp out of the system,” said Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene. “But it sounds like there’s discretion with the district attorney’s office.”

Minifie said a prosecutor may object to placing a person accused of drug possession on probation and allowing them to take part in a diversion-like program “if entry into the probation agreement would not serve the needs of the person or the welfare of the community.”

“And then the court would hear the basis of the objection and ultimately make the decision,” she said.

A new study by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, a state agency that crunches data related to the state’s criminal justice system, concluded the proposed changes to the possession and drug-dealing statutes would disproportionately impact Black Oregonians in particular.

Commission analysts said they predict Oregon will see about 2,200 additional convictions for drug possession, 103 of them involving Black people. The analysis found that the number should be no more than 74 convictions to be on par with white Oregonians.

While the study predicted racial disparities would emerge, analysts expect they will be significantly less significant than before Measure 110 was passed when Black people were overrepresented for drug possession convictions at a rate five times higher than what analysts predict will result from HB 4002.

Analysts predicted the proposed sentencing changes for drug dealing may result in disparities for Latinos in particular. An analysis of sentencing lengths for all drug dealing convictions found that most sentences fall around 25 months, though for Latinos sentences are about three months longer on average.

The agency also looked at potential participation and success rates of deflection programs, estimating that about 3,100 people would participate and that about half would successfully complete the requirements to avoid conviction.

Law enforcement agencies and groups representing local governments have come out in favor of the proposal. They argue the proposal prioritizes holding people accountable, while also encouraging treatment.

Public defenders and advocacy groups that include the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, the Urban League of Portland and the Latino Network strongly oppose the plan, arguing it would only add to the state’s beleaguered public defense crisis, deepen racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system and harm people coping with drug addiction.

Jennifer Parrish Taylor, director of advocacy and public policy for the Urban League, among the state’s oldest civil rights organizations, said the proposal will cause “unconscionable harm and lasting violence to communities of color and other Oregonians experiencing drug addiction.”

She appealed to individual lawmakers to break ranks with their colleagues and vote against the bill even if the bill is likely to pass anyway.

“I appreciate the acute political pressures you are under not to break with leadership on this issue,” she said. “But the time is always right to do what is morally right even when it feels hard.”

Juanita Swartwood, a chief petitioner of a proposed voter initiative that would recriminalize drug possession, told lawmakers her granddaughter struggles with drug addiction and that while Measure 110 didn’t cause her addiction, it normalized drug use.

“I agree that addiction is a disease and not a crime, but sometimes to break the cycle of addiction the consequences and incentives of criminal justice are necessary and needed,” she said.

Also in favor of HB 4002: Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, who won election as a criminal justice system reformer and is facing a tough re-election bid this year as Portland’s downtown has become a symbol of Oregon’s growing fentanyl trade and addiction.

For the first time, Schmidt publicly revealed his views on recriminalizing drug possession during the hearing. He called HB 4002 a compromise.

“It’s about striking a balance between the need to elevate treatment and treat addiction as the public health issue that it is, while holding people accountable for actions that harm their community,” he said.

The law includes provisions that attempt to minimize harm to accused people, he said.

“…(E)ach one speaks to the same philosophy: That the use of jail should always be a last resort, that everyone deserves multiple opportunities for treatment, and that the consequences of a conviction should be as brief as possible,” he said in prepared remarks.

GUEST COLUMN: Rep. Marsh: A balanced approach to Oregon’s addiction crisis