Oregon Measure 57, Prison Sentences for Certain Drug and Property Crimes Measure (2008)

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Oregon Criminal Sentence, Measure 57 or Senate Bill (SB) 1087 was on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Oregon as a legislatively referred state statute . It was approved.

Measure 57 increased term of imprisonment for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances. The measure enacted law which prohibits courts from imposing less than a presumptive sentence for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances, and requires the Department of Corrections to provide treatment to certain offenders and to administer grant programs to provide supplemental funding to local governments for certain purposes.

Aftermath

On February 17, 2010 Measure 57 was indefinitely placed on hold. According to reports, the Oregon Legislature made the decision in light of the state's economic woes. According to subcommittee arguments, in order to fund Measure 57, several public safety jobs would have to be cut and facilities closed. However, an article by Joshua Marquis, the Clatsop County district attorney in the Oregon Catalyst, argued that in the one year it was in effect the measure did not cost the state half of the estimated total.

According to a report from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, not as many people as expected were sentenced to prison for their crimes and those sent to prison received shorter sentences than expected after the adoption of Measure 57.

2011 changes and forecast

See also: Oregon Minimum Criminal Sentence Increase, Measure 73 (2010)

During the 2011 legislative session Measure 57 and Measure 73, approved in 2010, became focal points during the budget discussion. According to Gov. John Kitzhaber's proposed budget, Measure 57 would continue to be suspended and Measure 73 would be implemented. The 2010 measure required 25-year prison terms for repeat felony sex offenders and jail time for repeat drunk drivers. The proposed budget assumed that the current prisons could handle the impact of Measure 73. Measure 73, however, also required the state to compensate counties for jailing repeat drunk drivers. According to reports, these changes were estimated to require that lawmakers find an additional $21.5 million for the Department of Corrections budget. Some of the changes necessary also required a two-thirds majority vote by the legislature.

At the conclusion of the 2011 legislative session, lawmakers agreed to two more years of 60-day limits on holding probation violators and modified Measure 73. Measure 57 was to take effect at the end of the suspension - January 1, 2012. Measure 73 was amended to require 90-day jailing for third-time convicted drunk drivers. The costs were to be paid by the state. The measure previously required 13-month terms.

In October 2011, the state released a new inmate forecast. The report indicated that 1,000 more inmates were expected by 2014. It was estimated that this would cost $30 million a year. According to the report, the increase would have been more pronounced had legislators decided not to keep most drunken drivers in local jails, referring to the amendment to Measure 73 in July 2011. The changes, forecasters said, cut the number of inmates by 360 through 2021.

The full forecast report can be read here: Oregon Corrections Population Forecast - October 1, 2011

2012

According to reports, the hold on Measure 57 expired at midnight on December 31, 2011.

According to corrections officials, Measure 57 was expected to add 2,000 inmates and was estimated to cost more than $600 million in the next decade for operations and new prisons.

House Bill 3078 of 2017

House Bill 3078 of 2017 reduced criminal sentences for property crimes that were increased under Measure 57. HB 3078 was challenged in court, but on January 31, 2019, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld HB 3087. The bill can be read here.

Election results

Measure 57
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		1,058,955	61.38%
No		665,942	38.62%

Election results from Oregon Secretary of State

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Measure 57:

“

Increases Sentences For Drug Trafficking, Theft Against Elderly And Specified Repeat Property And Identity Theft Crimes; Requires Addiction Treatment For Certain Offenders

”

Full text

The full text of the legislation enacted by Measure 57 is available here.

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This historical ballot measure article requires that the text of the measure be added to the page.

Background

Competing ballot measures

A similar measure, (Oregon Ballot Measure 61 (2008), proposed by Kevin Mannix, was also approved for the November election, but it was narrowly defeated.

The main differences were:

1) Measure 61 had mandatory prison time for some first time felony offenders, while SB 1087 only does so for repeat offenders

2) SB 1087 (Measure 57) significantly increased funding for drug treatment programs, while Measure 61 provided none.

3) Measure 61 was estimated to cost $250-$400 million per two year budget cycle, while SB 1087 (Measure 57) was estimated to only cost $140 million.

If both measures had passed, the one with the most votes would have gone into effect.

An increase in prison inmates since 1994

In 1994, Measure 11, an earlier initiative proposed by Kevin Mannix, was passed, which set mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes. It is responsible for 28% of today's prison population. At this time, Oregon used the highest percentage of its state budget to lock up criminals and supervise parole of any state. Oregon had seen a growth in prison inmates from about 4,000 to more than 13,500.

On the approval of Measure 57, Oregon's prison population and percentage of state budget was estimated to become more pronounced. However, Oregon had seen an even greater drop in violent crime than the rest of the country on average since Measure 11 passed.

Support

Supporters included:

• Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who said the legislative measure was widely supported by prosecutors, police and jail officials who know a lot more about fighting crime than Mannix.

• Measure 57 or The Better Way to Fight Crime Committee, which was a broad coalition of police officers, police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, business leaders, teachers, parents, advocates for children and seniors and many more.

• Oregon Council of Police Associations

• Oregon Police Chiefs for Safer Communities

• Oregon Assoc. of Community Corrections Directors

• Federation of Oregon Parole and Probation Officers

• Juvenile Parole Officers – AFSCME Council 75

• AFSCME Corrections United

• Association of Oregon Corrections Employees

• Oregon Attorney General, Hardy Myers

• Nominee, Oregon Attorney General, John Kroger

• AARP Oregon

• Stand for Children

• National Association of Social Workers-Oregon Chapter

• SEIU, Local 503, representing front-line workers at the Oregon Youth Authority, & 45,000 other workers

• Oregon Prevention Education and Recovery Association

• Oregon Business Association

• Oregon Education Association

• Save Oregon Seniors

• Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens

• Advocacy Coalition for Seniors & People with Disabilities

• Oregon Alliance for Retired Americans

• Rob Ingram, long-time youth advocate—Portland

• Partnership for Safety & Justice

• Former Supreme Court Justice Betty Roberts

• Elders in Action Commission

• United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley

• Ainsworth United Church of Christ, Justice Commission

• Community Action Relationship of Oregon

• Community Alliance of Tenants

• Community Providers Association of Oregon

• Human Services Coalition of Oregon (HSCO)

• Multnomah County Democrats

• Northwest Oregon Labor Council

• One Voice for Child Care

• Oregon AFL-CIO

• Oregon Consumer League

• Oregon Health Action Campaign

• Oregon Nurses Association

• Rural Organizing Project

• SEIU Local 49

• Association of Oregon Counties

• SHERIFFS:

Sheriff Southwick, Baker County

Sheriff Diana Simpson – Benton County

Sheriff Craig Roberts – Clackamas County

Sheriff Tom Bergin – Clatsop County

Sheriff Dennis Dotson – Lincoln County

Sheriff Bob Skipper – Multnomah County

Sheriff Todd Anderson – Tillamook County

Sheriff John Trumbo – Umatilla County

Sheriff Rasmussen, Union County

Sheriff Jack Crabtree – Yamhill County

• DISTRICT ATTORNEYS:

Matt Shirtcliff, Baker

John S. Foote, Clackamas

Joshua Marquis, Clatsop

Steve Atchison, Columbia

R. Paul Frasier, Coos

Everett Dial, Curry

Michael T. Dugan, Deschutes

Timothy J. Colahan, Harney

Marion Weatherford, Gilliam

Ryan Joslin, Grant

Edwin I. Caleb, Klamath

Mark Huddleston, Jackson

Peter Deuel, Jefferson

Stephen Campbell, Josephine

David Schutt, Lake

Bernice Barnett, Lincoln

Jason Carlile, Linn

Walt Beglau, Marion

Elizabeth Ballard, Morrow

Michael D. Schrunk, Multnomah

John Fisher, Polk

Wade M. McLeod, Sherman

William Porter, Tillamook

Dean F. Gushwa, Umatilla

Mona K. Williams, Wallowa

Eric Nisley, Wasco

Bob Hermann, Washington

Brad Berry, Yamhill

• COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:

Commissioner Annabelle Jaramillo, Benton County

Commissioner Jay Dixon, Benton County

Commissioner Don Lindly, Lincoln County

Commissioner Mary Stern, Yamhill County

• CITY COUNCIL:

City Councilor Betty Boche, Beaverton

City Councilor Denny Doyle, Beaverton

City Councilor Doug Pugsley, Dundee

Mayor Robert Austin, Estacada

Mayor Julie Hammerstad, Lake Oswego

Councilor Deborah Barnes, Milwaukee City

Mayor Cheri Olson, North Plains

Opposition

Kevin Mannix [1] continued to promote his Measure 61. “Either way, we make progress,” Mannix says. “I win some if [Measure] 57 passes, and the people win more if 61 passes.” [2]

Loren Parks Missing Millionaire website: "With the financial help of Nevada medical-device millionaire Loren Parks, Mannix easily gathered 149,000 signatures to place Measure 61 on the ballot." [3]

Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance: The Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance was a new organization that brought together citizens with a mission of reducing crime in Oregon through reforms affecting prevention, investigation, prosecution, the courts, indigent defense, accountability, transition programs out of prison, prison work, treatment and rehabilitation.

Some Republicans attacked the measure for being "soft-on-crime."Kevin Mannix continued to promote his "tough-on-crime" initiative while pointing out the weaknesses of the competing Measure 57. "We shouldn't be patsies and let drug dealers and identity thieves and burglars get a free pass on their first convictions, which is what they get on the legislative referral," he said.

For a citizen-initiated measure in Oregon, the ballot title is determined by the state's Attorney General. In the case of this measure, the legislature chose to supplant this process by inserting its own title.

See also

• Oregon Ballot Measure 61 (2008)
• Oregon 2008 ballot measures
• 2008 ballot measures
• List of Oregon ballot measures
• Procedures for qualifying an initiative in Oregon
• Laws governing the initiative process in Oregon

External links

Suggest a link

• Better Way to Fight Crime Committee Yes on Measure 57
• 2008 Election Results
• Published in West Linn Tidings I urge you to support Measure 57
• 2008 General Election Measures: Voter Guide
• StatesmanJournal.com: "Kroger backs alternative to crime measure," July 17, 2008
• "Either anti-crime measure will cost over $1 billion, state says," Oregons Against Measure 11