SB 65 Right to sue hinders freedom of speech

02/16/2025
SB 65 VOTE:NO
In Committee
 Public Hearing 02/10/2025 3:00pm HR E
Status (overview) of bill:https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/SB65
Committee assigned to bill:https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Committees/SJUD/Overview

The Act lets a person whose civil rights have been violated by a person acting under the color of law sue for damages and other relief. The Act lets a plaintiff who wins this type of suit recover attorney fees. The Act lets a defendant who wins this type of suit recover attorney fees if the plaintiff’s claim was frivolous.

This summary is a little misleading. The basis for damages in ORS 31.705 reads:

(a) “Economic damages” means objectively verifiable monetary losses including but not limited to reasonable charges necessarily incurred for medical, hospital, nursing and rehabilitative services and other health care services, burial and memorial expenses, loss of income and past and future impairment of earning capacity, reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for substitute domestic services, recurring loss to an estate, damage to reputation that is economically verifiable, reasonable and necessarily incurred costs due to loss of use of property and reasonable costs incurred for repair or for replacement of damaged property, whichever is less.

(b) “Noneconomic damages” means subjective, nonmonetary losses, including but not limited to pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, humiliation, injury to reputation, loss of care, comfort, companionship and society, loss of consortium, inconvenience and interference with normal and usual activities apart from gainful employment.

Of course (b) was added in 2021 by Democrat majority, in their emotional state in a locked down capitol,  which allows a suit against anyone you don’t agree with.  It will cause slavey walking on eggshells not to offend someone to give them “emotional distress or perceived humiliation. It violates freedom of speech and may be unconstitutional.

Their trend is to dismiss court cases for valid crimes and load them with subjective emotional cases, and this bill is another step to reparation playing on emotions.

 

EMAIL COMMITTEE

Sen.FloydProzanski@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.KimThatcher@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.AnthonyBroadman@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.SaraGelserBlouin@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.FredGirod@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.JamesManningJr@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen.MikeMcLane@oregonlegislature.gov

Tags: Civil Rights

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