OREGON — A landmark student press freedom
bill passed the
Oregon House of Representatives late last night on a 39-16 vote.
HB 3279
now moves to the Oregon Senate, where it will be assigned to the Judiciary
Committee. Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) introduced the legislation March 13,
modeling it after a similar bill that was introduced in Washington state. The
proposed statute is intended to "strengthen and clarify" student free expression
protections in the state, Galizio said.
If passed by the Oregon Senate
and signed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D), the new law would be the first in the
country to protect both high school and college student expression rights under
one statute.
The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 6-2 vote
April 30, with several "minor amendments," said Galizio's chief of staff, Brad
Cantor.
The amendments remove "advertising" from the list of protected
means of expression and allows for students suing under the proposed statute to
obtain $100 in damages and "injunctive and declaratory relief." The original
draft of the bill allowed for the awarding of attorney's fees and
costs.
The debate late Tuesday night was "pretty standard" Cantor said,
and it was "not a party-line vote." Cantor said that there were some questions
raised about why high school students were included in the legislation, but the
vote "wasn't contentious."
Cantor said that Rep. Galizio is "talking to
people, and the Senate side is aware of the bill."
The bill will need to
be passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by the end of May to meet
legislative deadlines for this session, Cantor said.
By Scott
Sternberg, SPLC staff writer
For More Information: Read the billOregon committee debates merits of student press freedom bill News Flash, 4/5/2007
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