Relating to pretrial detainees; declaring an emergency.
Summary
HB 2666 requires every Oregon county to operate a facility for people in the custody of the county sheriff who are awaiting trial and who have behavioral health disorders or intellectual or developmental disabilities. The facility must be able to treat all such detainees from the community, be staffed by behavioral health professionals and sheriff’s deputies, and be jointly managed by the sheriff and the local community mental health program director.
If a county does not have a community mental health program, the Oregon Health Authority must provide behavioral health professionals and partner with the sheriff in managing the facility. The bill also authorizes the Oregon Health Authority to adopt rules governing these facilities to protect the health and safety of detainees and staff. The measure includes an emergency clause and would take effect July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill would create a new statewide mandate for county-level pretrial behavioral health housing and treatment facilities, shifting counties toward a more specialized detention-and-treatment model for certain detainees. It would also expand the Oregon Health Authority’s role by requiring it to supply staff where counties lack a community mental health program and by allowing it to set operational rules. The bill contemplates state General Fund support for county construction and maintenance costs, though the appropriation amount is left blank in the introduced text.
Sentiment
Based on the introduced text and the absence of committee testimony or recorded votes, the bill appears to be framed as a public safety and behavioral health response to the needs of pretrial detainees with serious mental health or developmental disabilities. The emergency clause suggests the sponsor viewed the issue as urgent. Because there is no available discussion or vote history, no clear support or opposition can be inferred from the record provided.
Contention
The main likely points of contention are the mandate imposed on counties, the cost of constructing and maintaining facilities, and the operational burden of staffing and joint management. Counties may object to the requirement that each county maintain such a facility, especially smaller counties or those without existing community mental health programs. Another possible issue is the undefined appropriation amount, which leaves funding unresolved in the introduced bill. Questions may also arise about the division of authority between sheriffs, mental health directors, and the Oregon Health Authority.