Oregon Commissioner Warns New Bill Could Undermine Mental Health and Public Safety Reforms

Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell, testifying before the Oregon State Legislature’s Joint Committee On Addiction and Community Safety Response earlier this week, proposed renewed focus on House Bill 2467 over House Bill 2005 as a more effective path to supporting vulnerable individuals in the community.

House Bill 2005 Poses Challenges To Aid And Assist

House Bill 2005, according to Bathell, attempts to combine two distinct systems of work, but this hinders progress and fails to incorporate crucial input from county leadership. Commissioner Bethell said the counties are not being heard in the aid and assist space and noted that “House Bill 2005 puts two systems of work together and harms one or both.”

She illustrated the challenges with the recent stabbing at the Union Gospel Mission, where a man who was presumably experiencing a crisis violently attacked 12 people at the shelter despite having over 100 pages of interactions with the City of Bend Police Department. He had already been at the state hospital for attempted murder in the past.

Despite the good work done by the community on House Bill 2467, the man in the example found it necessary to attempt murder to get help because of a federal court order. Bethell highlighted the urgent need for real solutions in mental health care.

She feels the current legislative efforts don’t adequately address the ongoing crisis and urged the Legislature to take a step back and not rush the bill through.

Commissioner Bethell’s full testimony can be watched here: