Lebanon voters will be asked to make choices on four statewide measures and one local initiative in the Nov. 8 election. Following is a summary of each:
Measure 111 – Affordable Healthcare
Measure 111 would add a section to the Oregon Constitution establishing a right to “cost-effective, clinically appropriate and affordable health care as a fundamental right” for every Oregon resident.
The amendment would require the state to balance the obligation of ensuring a right to healthcare against funding public schools and other essential public services. The amendment also states that legal remedies for lawsuits brought against the proposed section may not interfere with the balance between a right to healthcare and funding other essential public services.
Supporters argue that the constitutional provision is necessary due to unreliability of health care at the federal level, asserting that the state can provide more stable access to health care. They argue that medical costs hold people back from success in business, education, home ownership and more.
Senate Minority Leader Fred Girod, whowill represent east Linn County through the end of this year, opposes the measure: “This bill promises something that Democrats know they can’t deliver. The bill doesn’t fund any system to deliver on that promise. If Democrats are serious about giving Oregonians free health care, they should come up with an actual plan. This kind of lazy policymaking lacks important details Oregon voters need to make an informed decision at the ballot box.”
Voters need to determine whether healthcare should be a right, which is what would be established by this measure, or a privilege. Should every Oregonian be afforded access to some type of health insurance?
Measure 112 – Removes Slavery as Punishment from Constitution
Measure 112 would remove language in the Oregon Constitution that allows the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and would require options for alternatives to incarceration in criminal sentences.
Until recently, Oregon has been one of 10 states that have longstanding provisions in their laws prohibiting slavery and/or involuntary servitude, but with exceptions for criminal punishment.
Support for Measure 112 would not only remove that language from the state constitution, thereby prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude without exception. It would also add language to the state constitution authorizing an Oregon court, or probation or parole agency, to order alternatives to incarceration, such as education, counseling, treatment or community service, as part of sentencing of criminals.
Measure 113 – Ban Legislators with 10 Unexcused Absences from Serving Next Term
Measure 113 would amend the Oregon Constitution to disqualify state
legislators from re-election following the end of their term if they are absent from 10 legislative floor sessions without permission or excuse.
Ten unexcused absences would be deemed disorderly behavior, and would apply to both legislative attendance during regular and special legislative sessions.
The state constitution already authorizes legislative chambers to punish disorderly conduct, including legislative absenteeism, with a two-thirds supermajority vote. Punishment may include the expulsion of a member.
The history: Republicans have walked out of the 2019 and 2020 sessions, arguing that it was their only option to stop bills to reduce Oregon’s carbon emissions on which, they said, they were stonewalled by the Democratic supermajority. The 2020 walkout forced the legislative session to adjourn with just three bills passed.
Republicans also boycotted a floor session in February 2021 to protect Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 policies, including school closures, and in September 2021 walked out of a special session focused on redistricting.
A coalition of Democratic and state educators and other union leaders, along with organizations such as Planned Parenthood, Oregon Center for Public Policy, Our Oregon and Everytown for Gun Safety have endorsed the measure.
“We haven’t been able to solve this problem legislatively for obvious reasons – they would likely walk out if we tried to refer something,” Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. “So I’m following the lead of community advocates who have put this proposal forward.”
Most states allow legislators to conduct business with a simple majority of members present; Oregon is one of a handful that require two-thirds of lawmakers to be on hand, but Democrats and their allies have chosen to pursue what they consider the simplest option for voters, rather than changing the quorum rule.
“Oregonians just understand it on its face,” said Joe Baessler, associate director of AFSCME Council 75, told OPB. “You don’t show up for work without a reason and you lose your job like anyone else. That makes it super popular and fair, and so it will pass.”
Measure 114 – Firearm Purchase Permits, Magazine Restrictions
Measure 114 would create a law requiring a permit to purchase a firearm in Oregon. Permits would be issued by the Oregon State Police. Applicants would need to pay a fee, submit a photo ID, be fingerprinted, complete approved safety training, pass a criminal background check, and not be prohibited from possessing firearms.
If OSP believes an applicant to be a danger to themselves or others, or if an applicant is prohibited from possessing a firearm, it can refuse to issue a permit.
The measure would also prohibit the manufacture, importation, possession, use, purchase, sale, or transfer of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds.
Violations would constitute a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 364 days in jail, a fine of up to $6,250, or both.
Supporters cite a “public health crisis of gun violence” and argue that the proposed legislation is a “common sense” solution which is “well-put-together.” Measure 114 has been endorsed by the Oregon Progressive Party, Oregon Nurses Association, League of Women Voters of Oregon, and Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety.
Opponents argue that the measure will further erode Second-Amendment rights in Oregon because it requires a permit to exercise such rights, from law enforcement agencies that could delay approval indefinitely if they so choose. The measure won’t stop criminals from procuring firearms, they say, and they argue that it likely will not survive a legal challenge, given the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, in which the Court ruled that New York’s law requiring a license to carry concealed weapons in public places is unconstitutional.
Local Anti-Psilocybin Measures
City of Lebanon
This measure would delay for two years the establishment of businesses related to the psychedelic prodrug compound.
It would delay the establishment of psilocybin centers and the manufacture of such products within the Lebanon city limits until Dec. 31, 2024, if approved by a majority of voters in the Nov. 8 general election.
Psilocybin, often referred to as psychedelic mushrooms, is a federally regulated Schedule I drug. Preliminary data from clinical trials suggests that psilocybin therapies are effective for treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorders, smoking cessation and alcoholism. Experts caution, however, that such fungi can be very powerful and even deadly.
In 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, known as the Oregon Psilocybin Service Act, which allows for the manufacture, delivery and administration of psilocybin at licensed facilities. Oregon was the first state to pass such an initiative.
Measure 109 passed in Oregon with 55% of the vote. However, Linn County voted 55% against it, with roughly two-thirds of Lebanon voters opposing it. It gives the city the option to prohibit psilocybin service centers and manufacturers within the city limits, but any such prohibition must be referred to voters, hence this initiative.
Linn County Measure 22-200
The county Board of Commissioners has also put the psilocybin issue before voters in this measure, which would prohibit psilocybin manufacturers and service centers in non-incorporated areas of Linn County. A yes vote would prohibit psilocybin product manufacturers holding a license issued by the state from operating outside of incorporated cities.