On Tuesday, the Oregon House voted 31 to 27 in favor a bill that would prohibit fare officers from asking for proof of fare from passengers in the TriMet public transit in Portland. The bill’s sponsors cite concerns about racial bias and profiling after a Latina woman was arrested at a fare stop in 2018. HB 4097, having passed the House, will now go on to the Senate for consideration in the ongoing 2020 legislative session.
The bill was created by Representative Diego Herandez, D-Portland. He was motivated by a 2018 case where Ana Del Rocio, a David Douglas school board member, was stopped at the Chinatown MAX station in Portland and charged with fare evasion and giving false information to a police officer. The court ruled in Del Rocio’s favor, saying the fare inspection was unlawful under the Oregon constitution and the seizure was made without individual suspicion.
After the case, the TriMet Board of Directors unanimously approved a revision to their code, clarifying that fare evasion is not a crime, and said that they have taken steps in order to decriminalize fare evasion. They did highlight that although fare evasion is not a criminal offense, it is still necessary to pay for use of TriMet systems and if asked, riders must show proof of fare to authorities.
In July 2018, TriMet began resolving adult fare evasion citations directly within the first 90 days before they automatically go into the court system. We also changed the penalties when fare evasion was the sole offense to a tiered fine or community service.
TriMet website
This announcement was not enough in the opinion of Representative Diego Herandez, prompting him to introduce the legislation.
According to the bill, it will not prevent officers’ ability to enforce the Oregon law. Officers may be present on mass transit vehicles to enforce law and to intervene in emergencies if a person’s safety is in danger.
“Nothing in this section prohibits a police officer from enforcing laws that are not related to payment of user charges, fees or tolls imposed by a mass transit district… House Bill 4097-A [only] prohibits a police officer from conducting or participating in any effort to determine whether an individual has paid a charge, fee, or toll imposed by a mass transit district,” The House wrote in the Staff Measure Summary of the bill.
With the walkout of Republican legislators, the fate of the bill is up in the air. If the senators don’t return before Mar. 8, the bill will die, however, if they do return, this policy will likely pass the Democrat-dominated Senate.
