Oregon Decriminalization of Commercial Sexual Solicitation Initiative (2022)
| Oregon Decriminalization of Commercial Sexual Solicitation Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Oregon Decriminalization of Commercial Sexual Solicitation Initiative (#51) was not on the ballot in Oregon as an initiated state statute on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have decriminalized commercial sexual solicitation. It would also have enacted health and safety standards to regulate commercial sex work businesses. The proposed law would have also protected an individual who was or is a "sex worker, client, or third-party facilitator" or an individual who has a conviction for prostitution, commercial sexual solicitation, or promoting prostitution from future employment discrimination.[1]
It would have established the Sex Workers Protection, Education, and Safety Fund that would have provided grants to health centers to provide free primary healthcare to sex workers. The initiative would also have established the Oregon Sex Workers Rights, Health and Safety Board that would be responsible for making recommendations for the distribution of grants and providing recommendations to the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Department of Justice on objectives and policies of the proposed law.[1][2]
Text of measure
Full text
- The full text of the measure is available here.
Sponsors
Arguments
- Aaron Boonshoft, who filed the initiative, said, "Sex worker rights are human rights, and the denial of those rights enables human trafficking."[3]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Oregon, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated state statute for the ballot is equal to 6 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signatures for Oregon initiatives must be submitted four months prior to the next regular general election. State law also requires paid signature gatherers to submit any signatures they gather every month.
Moreover, Oregon is one of several states that require a certain number of signatures to accompany an initiative petition application. The signatures of at least 1,000 electors are required to trigger a review by state officials, a period of public commentary, and the drafting of a ballot title. Prior to gathering these initial 1,000 signatures, petitioners must submit the text of the measure, a form disclosing their planned use of paid circulators, and a form designating up to three chief petitioners. The 1,000 preliminary signatures count toward the final total required.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 112,020 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 8, 2022.
In Oregon, signatures are verified using a random sample method. If a first round of signatures is submitted at least 165 days before an election and contains raw, unverified signatures at least equal to the minimum requirement, but verification shows that not enough of the submitted signatures are valid, additional signatures can be submitted prior to the final deadline.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Aaron Boonshoft on November 16, 2021.[2]
- On January 21, 2022, Boonshoft withdrew the first version (#42) of the initiative.[2]
- On January 28, 2022, Boonshoft filed a second version (#51) of the initiative.[2]
- On May 5, 2022, the sponsors withdrew the initiative.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Oregon Salem (capital) |
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