| On April 4th a major legislative deadline passed, the First Chamber Deadline, which means any bill not heard in a work session before April 5th is dead and will not continue in the legislative process this term.
The House Judiciary Committee, which I am a member of, had 225+ bills referred to it and only 48 were referred out. The bills referred out covered many different topic areas, including:
- Agency bills
- Various changes to youth incarceration programs
- Funding victim services programs
- Workforce incentivization
- Funding courthouse repairs and renovations
- Changes to the animal neglect criminal code
Due to the funding impact to the state, many of the bills referred out went to Ways and Means, and therefore still have a significant hurdle before moving on to the House and Senate floors for vote.
A major policy bill which passed out of Judiciary on a 6-4 party line vote was HB 2005, the gun omnibus bill. This bill combines HB 2006 and HB 2007 (which are now dead), and was heard in Ways and Means on April 7th and passed out of that committee on a 13-8-2 vote and will be heard on the House floor on May 1st.
I voted “no” in committee and will vote “no” on the House floor for HB 2005. I have numerous issues with the bill, but especially the age limits to purchase or possess a firearm if they are under 21 years of age, except in certain circumstance such as being given a firearm by their parent/guardian for hunting and target practice (Section 6 in the B-engrossed HB 2005). The other major concern I have is in the B-engrossed Section 12 (formerly HB 2007), which pertains to the ability of municipal corporations and other government entities to prohibit carrying concealed weapons by permit holders in buildings or on “adjacent grounds”, which is undefined. The broad language may create a patchwork of legal/illegal areas throughout cities and unincorporated areas, making it difficult for someone to know if they are legally carrying concealed or not as they cross jurisdictional boundaries.
My take is that this bill will pass (with very rare exceptions, all bills that go to chamber floors will pass because they majority will always find the required 31 house votes and 16 senate votes) and that it will be quickly challenged in court for violating the Constitution and not immediately enacted.
While I absolutely agree that we, as a legislative body and society in general, need to find a solution to the mass shootings, I don’t think this bill will achieve the desired results. My intent is to focus on what we can do to improve our broken behavioral and mental health system so that people no longer want to commit these heinous acts.
Unsurprisingly, I heard from many constituents on this bill, and the vast majority were opposed to its passage.
Sincerely,
Charlie
On March 17th, Representative Conrad toured the new Eugene Family YMCA construction site. Lane County residents will soon be able to enjoy the new facility that supports the health and education of our families!
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On March 24th, Representative Conrad toured the McKenzie Valley area, including visiting the Discovery Center and all three McKenzie River Valley community centers.
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