June 3 Oregon Legislature passes bill banning “revenge porn”
House Bill 2393, which passed the Senate unanimously 28-0, is now headed to Gov. Kate Brown to be signed into law. The bill aims to target the act known as “revenge porn,” or the dissemination of sexually explicit image of another person without their permission, often by a past sexual partner. The current law, passed in 2015, only protects victims whose images are shared on a website, but the new bill will cover texts, emails and any other form an image can be spread. The bill would also give victims the right to sue the offender up to $5,000, according to The Oregonian.
June 4 Oregon youths sue over United States energy policy
Three judges from the 9th United States Circuit Court of Appeals are hearing arguments from 21 young people and the federal government in Portland over allegations that current U.S. energy policy is not considerate of climate change, hurting the future of young people. The lawsuit asks courts to declare energy policies that contribute to global warming unconstitutional, according to The New York Times. Named for a University of Oregon student who filed for the case in 2015, Juliana v. United States has faced backlash from both the Obama and Trump administration, and has been slowly working its way through the court system, according to Portland Mercury.
June 4 Oregon Legislature votes to ease removal of outdated marijuana convictions
Senate Bill 420 will ease the processing of expunging records of marijuana convictions which occurred before its legalization in 2015. According to The Skanner, marijuana convictions impede those trying to get a house or a job and disproportionately affect people of color. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that in 2013, Black people were twice as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession in Oregon than white people. The bill currently awaits technical changes before being finalized and sent to Gov. Brown
June 6 Oregon to set cap on greenhouse emissions
Only months after Washington State passed bill regarding climate change, Oregon’s The Clean Energy Jobs Bill was voted through by the Oregon Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction. The bill now heads to the state Ways and Means Committee before going to a House and Senate vote and then finally to the governor. Oregon would be the second state in the country to regulate economy-wide emission reductions, according to NPR.
