House GOP on Kotek’s fentanyl State-Emergency

House Republicans Issue Statement on Gov. Kotek Acknowledging Oregon Has Fentanyl Crisis
By Oregon House Republican Office,

SALEM, Ore. – House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River) issued the following statement in response to Gov. Tina Kotek declaring a state of emergency in Portland due to the fentanyl crisis plaguing the city, thanks in large part to failed leftist policies like Measure 110 and the a soft approach taken to penalizing drug dealers and traffickers.

“Three years after Measure 110 initiatives started to ravage Oregon and over a year after she began her administration, Gov. Kotek has finally identified that Portland has a fentanyl crisis. While it’s about time, this problem is bigger than one city; we remind the Governor that this crisis has spread across the entire state. We welcome her to join Republicans in pursuing serious policy solutions – like HB 4036 – and ask her to urge her fellow Democrats in the legislature to do the same,” said Helfrich.

HB 4036 is the House Republican bill to bring Oregon out of the M110 debacle. The bill reclassifies possession as a Class A Misdemeanor, the standard that Oregon’s district attorneys and law enforcement community agree is necessary to have any real leverage in undoing the damage. It also increases penalties for the drug dealers pushing poison into our communities.

HB 4036 prioritizes getting people clean through voluntary diversion and treatment programs or mandatory recovery programs, consistent with the will of the people. It also directs treatment dollars to responsible and accountable county governments instead of shadowy, well-connected special interest groups that have failed to deliver for Oregon.

Read the bill here.