Item 5: Ratification of IGR Actions

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Section 1, 2b - university police have all the powers of police, without benefits of collective bargaining for non-striking employees, PERS and other benefits afforded police officers. Good for universities, not good for professional standards maintenance, recruiting, retention. They are not defined in 181.850, the prohibition to enforce immigration laws. In almost all aspects of responsibility for police officers and law enforcement agencies, this bill defines campus police officers along with other traditional definitions. In order to erase the ambiguity between agencies where concurrent jurisdiction applies (e.g. EPD and U of O, or Corvallis PD and OSU) the definitions must be consistent. Responsibilities seem to be there and they would be defined as police officers, so could make arrests for violations in any area of the State. The provisions that make this bill questionable are the provisions that allow a university to not authorize their officers to carry firearms and exempting them from the protections of Oregon law as police officers (see above). In practical terms, a university police officer could respond to any call with all the authority but without the ultimate capability of using deadly force. This would make tactical responsibly in the most serious offenses faced by any community a nightmare because the agency of jurisdiction does not have the capability of handling deadly force situations. Therefore, the responsibility would fall back to other agencies - absolving the university system of the ultimate responsibility of having employees exert deadly force. If they are to be police officers, they must have all of the corresponding responsibilities, protections and capabilities. SB 0405 Relating Clause: Relating to university police; creating new provisions; amending ORS 40.275, 44.550, 90.440, 124.050, 131.605, 133.005, 133.033, 133.318, 133.525, 133.721, 133.726, 136.595, 146.003, 147.425, 153.005, 153.630, 161.015, 163.730, 165.535, 180.320, 181.010. Title: Allows State Board of Higher Education to authorize university under board control to establish police department. Declares emergency, effective on passage. Sponsored by: Printed pursuant to Senate Interim Rule 213.28 by order of the President of the Senate in conformance with presession filing rules, indicating neither advocacy nor opposition on the part of the President (at the request of Senate Interim Committee on Judiciary) URL: http://www.leg.state.or.us/11reg/measpdf/sb0400.dir/sb0405.intro.pdf Contact Respondent Dept Updated Priority Recommendation Chuck Tilby EPD-ADM 3/5/2011 Pri 2 Support Comments: Similar to SB116, but without the drawbacks. This bill defines officers hired by universities as police officers and they are afforded all of the responsibilities, authority, protections afforded any other police officer in this state. Therefore, this bill is far superior than SB116. EPD is in favor of universities being able to hire police officers as long as their authority, responsibility and capability are the same as any other 10 | Page March 16, 2011 IGR Committee Meeting