ORS 137.686
Organized Retail Theft Grant Program
- rules
(1)
The Organized Retail Theft Grant Program is established to assist:(a)
Cities and counties with the costs incurred by local law enforcement agencies in addressing organized retail theft;(b)
The Department of State Police with costs incurred by the department in addressing organized retail theft; and(c)
Community-based organizations in addressing organized retail theft.(2)
The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission shall administer the grant program described in subsection (1) of this section and shall award the grants described in this section.(3)
The commission shall adopt rules to administer the grant program. Rules adopted under this section must include:(a)
A methodology for reviewing and approving grant applications and awarding grants; and(b)
A process for evaluating the efficacy of programs and services funded by the grant program.(4)
Moneys distributed to grant recipients under this section must be spent on costs associated with addressing and prosecuting organized retail theft.(5)
The commission shall establish three categories of grants under this section as follows:(a)
Grants awarded, on a competitive basis, to cities and counties;(b)
Grants awarded, on a competitive basis, to community-based organizations; and(c)
Grants awarded to the department. [2023 c.582 §1](b)
Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this subsection, no less than 10 percent of grant funds awarded under this section must be distributed to community-based nonprofit organizations that provide services to victims of crime, with priority given to culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services.(2)
The Justice Reinvestment Grant Review Committee is established, consisting of the following members:(a)
The Governor shall appoint the following seven members:(A)
One member shall be a district attorney.(B)
One member shall be a county sheriff.(C)
One member shall be a chief of police.(D)
One member shall be a county commissioner.(E)
One member shall be a community corrections director who is not a sheriff.(F)
Two members shall be representatives of community-based organizations that provide services for underserved racial, ethnic or minority communities.(b)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint one nonvoting member who is a judge.(c)
The President of the Senate shall appoint two nonvoting members from among members of the Senate.(d)
The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint two nonvoting members from among members of the House of Representatives.(3)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
A majority of the voting members of the committee constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.(b)
The committee shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson.(c)
If there is a vacancy for any cause, the appointing authority shall make an appointment to become effective immediately.(d)
The committee shall meet at times and places specified by the call of the chairperson or a majority of the voting members of the committee.(e)
Legislative members of the committee shall be entitled to payment of compensation and expenses under ORS 171.072 (Salary of members and presiding officers), payable from funds appropriated to the Legislative Assembly.(4)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
An application for a grant described in this section must be submitted by a local public safety coordinating council convened under ORS 423.560 (Local public safety coordinating council).(b)
The grant application must include a statement of commitment, from the relevant stakeholders of the service or program for which the county is requesting funding and including the district attorney, presiding judge and community corrections director, to reduce recidivism and decrease the county’s utilization of imprisonment in Department of Corrections facilities while protecting public safety and holding offenders accountable.(5)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
During a grant application period established by the commission, the proportion of grant funds available to each county shall be determined in accordance with the formula used to distribute baseline funding under ORS 423.483 (Baseline funding).(b)
At the conclusion of the grant application period, the commission shall award grants in accordance with rules adopted by the commission. If unallocated funds remain at the conclusion of the grant acceptance period, the commission may establish a supplemental grant period and distribute the unallocated funds.(6)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
The commission shall regularly evaluate the community-based sanctions, services and programs funded under this section. The commission shall specifically assess the extent to which each county is reducing utilization of imprisonment in Department of Corrections facilities by offenders convicted of felonies under ORS 137.717 (Presumptive sentences for certain property offenders), 475.752 (Prohibited acts generally) to 475.980 (Affirmative defense to ORS 475.969, 475.971, 475.975 (1) and 475.976 (1)), 811.182 (Criminal driving while suspended or revoked), 813.010 (Driving under the influence of intoxicants) or 813.011 (Felony driving under the influence of intoxicants).(b)
The commission shall report the results of an evaluation conducted under this section to a committee of the Legislative Assembly related to the judiciary.(7)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
Before applying for grant funds to administer a community-based program described in subsection (10)(a)(D) of this section, the county must obtain the consent of the presiding judge of the judicial district in which the county is located.(b)
A grant application to administer a community-based program described in subsection (10)(a)(D) of this section must include the costs of appointed counsel.(8)
After consulting with the Justice Reinvestment Grant Review Committee, the commission shall adopt rules to administer the Justice Reinvestment Program. The rules must include:(a)
A methodology for reviewing and approving grant applications and distributing grant funds. Rules described in this paragraph must provide the Justice Reinvestment Grant Review Committee with the ability to approve grant applications for submission for final approval by the commission. The commission may either approve the grant application or return the application for reconsideration by the committee.(b)
A process for evaluating the efficacy of community-based sanctions, services and programs funded under this section.(c)
A requirement that the grant review committee consider, when approving grant applications, each county’s historical reduction of utilization of imprisonment in Department of Corrections facilities by offenders convicted of felonies under ORS 137.717 (Presumptive sentences for certain property offenders), 475.752 (Prohibited acts generally) to 475.980 (Affirmative defense to ORS 475.969, 475.971, 475.975 (1) and 475.976 (1)), 811.182 (Criminal driving while suspended or revoked), 813.010 (Driving under the influence of intoxicants) or 813.011 (Felony driving under the influence of intoxicants).(d)
Provisions allowing the grant review committee to submit to the commission, and the commission to approve, provisional funding plans for counties applying for grants under this section.(9)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
If a county does not reduce utilization of imprisonment in Department of Corrections facilities by offenders convicted of felonies under ORS 137.717 (Presumptive sentences for certain property offenders), 475.752 (Prohibited acts generally) to 475.980 (Affirmative defense to ORS 475.969, 475.971, 475.975 (1) and 475.976 (1)), 811.182 (Criminal driving while suspended or revoked), 813.010 (Driving under the influence of intoxicants) or 813.011 (Felony driving under the influence of intoxicants), upon request of the grant review committee, the commission shall decline to grant the full grant amount requested by a county, provide technical assistance, withhold approved grant funds or terminate further distribution of the grant award.(b)
If the commission takes an action described in paragraph (a) of this subsection, any remaining moneys may be redistributed by the commission through a supplemental grant program. Priority shall be given to counties funding programs for historically underserved communities including rural communities, racial, ethnic and minority communities and tribal communities. Rural counties may apply for supplemental grants in cooperation with other rural counties.(10)
As used in this section:(a)
“Community-based program” includes:(A)
Work release programs;(B)
Structured, transitional leave programs;(C)
Evidence-based programs designed to reduce recidivism that include the balanced administration of sanctions, supervision and treatment;(D)
Administering a reentry court under section 29, chapter 649, Oregon Laws 2013; and(E)
Specialty courts aimed at medium-risk and high-risk offenders.(b)
“County” includes a regional collection of counties.(c)
“Culturally responsive service” means a service that is respectful of, and relevant to, the beliefs, practices, cultures and linguistic needs of diverse consumer or client populations and communities whose members identify as having particular cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of their place of birth, ancestry or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at home. A culturally responsive service has the capacity to respond to the issues of diverse communities and require knowledge and capacity at systemic, organizational, professional and individual levels of intervention.(d)
“Culturally specific organization” means an organization, or a program within an organization, that serves a particular cultural community, that is primarily staffed and led by members of that community and that demonstrates self-advocacy, positive cultural identity and intimate knowledge of the lived experience of the community, including but not limited to:(A)
The impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community;(B)
Specific disparities in access to services and resources experienced by the community; and(C)
Community strengths, cultural practices, beliefs and traditions. [2013 c.649 §53; 2013 c.649 §54; 2019 c.598 §1; 2022 c.78 §18](a)
Mental health and substance use disorder treatment;(b)
Maternal health services;(c)
Trauma-informed restorative justice services;(d)
Violence reduction programs, including but not limited to violence interruption mentors or after-school programs focused on art, music, theater or dance;(e)
Crisis intervention without police involvement;(f)
Reentry programs that are connected to education, workforce development and transitional supports;(g)
Long-term supportive housing;(h)
Support for setting aside conviction records;(i)
Pretrial release support;(j)
Services for victims, including incarcerated victims or victims on pretrial release;(k)
Programs for persons, and families of persons, who are currently or were formerly incarcerated;(L)
Programs designed to reduce recidivism and reduce contact with the criminal justice system;(m)
Programs for persons who have been impacted by police violence, either directly or through a family member; or(n)
Planning grants and technical assistance to support the development of new culturally specific services, or to strengthen existing services, that are aligned with the other purposes described in this subsection.(2)
Recognizing that systemic racism exists within this state and within the criminal justice system, and that culturally specific organizations and culturally responsive services must be expanded to address those disparities, the purpose of the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program is to promote racial equity, reduce racial disparities, reduce recidivism and decrease a county’s utilization of imprisonment in a Department of Corrections institution, all while protecting public safety and holding offenders accountable.(3)
Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, up to three percent of funds distributed under this section may be used by the Northwest Health Foundation Fund II for administrative costs.(4)
The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section.(5)
As used in this section:(a)
“Administrative costs” means all costs incurred throughout the administration of the Justice Reinvestment Equity Program that are not directly related to the delivery of program services or projects.(b)
“Culturally responsive service” means a service that is respectful of, and relevant to, the beliefs, practices, cultures and linguistic needs of diverse consumer or client populations and communities whose members identify as having particular cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of their place of birth, ancestry or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at home. A culturally responsive service has the capacity to respond to the issues of diverse communities and require knowledge and capacity at systemic, organizational, professional and individual levels of intervention.(c)
“Culturally specific organization” means an organization, or a program within an organization, that serves a particular cultural community, that is primarily staffed and led by members of that community and that demonstrates self-advocacy, positive cultural identity and intimate knowledge of the lived experience of the community, including but not limited to:(A)
The impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community;(B)
Specific disparities in access to services and resources experienced by the community; and(C)
Community strengths, cultural practices, beliefs and traditions. [2022 c.78 §15](2)
The commission shall convene a stakeholder group to assist with the evaluation described in subsection (1) of this section. The group must be composed of culturally diverse persons with expertise in culturally responsive evaluations, persons with expertise in criminal justice issues and subgrantees receiving funds under section 15 of this 2022 Act.(3)
The evaluator conducting the evaluation described in subsection (1) of this section must have expertise in racial equity, facilitation of community-based participatory evaluation methods and demonstrated experience with facilitating inclusive processes with diverse communities.(4)
No later than September 30, 2024, the commission shall provide a report detailing the progress of the evaluation described in subsection (1) of this section to the Legislative Assembly, in the manner provided in ORS 192.245 (Form of report to legislature), and shall include recommendations for additional evaluation needs. [2022 c.78 §16a](2)
The commission shall monitor the downward departure prison diversion programs described in subsection (1) of this section and evaluate prison utilization by counties that receive the supplemental grant funds. The commission shall annually report the evaluation findings to the Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means. [2018 c.98 §5](b)
The commission shall review the data described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and make the data, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender and county, available to the public in a clear and accessible format, either in a report or on the website of the commission.(2)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, in coordination with the Department of Corrections, shall collect data concerning the number of persons on supervision, persons revoked from supervision and sentenced to incarceration, and persons sanctioned for violating conditions of supervision and serving a sanction in a local correctional facility.(b)
The commission shall review the data described in paragraph (a) of this subsection and make the data, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender and county, available to the public in a clear and accessible format, either in a report or on the website of the commission.(c)
The Department of Corrections, community corrections agencies and local supervisory authorities shall, at intake of a person on supervision, collect and maintain information concerning the person’s race, ethnicity and gender, according to standardized designations in census data, and shall at least annually provide the data to the commission. [2022 c.78 §26]
Source:
Section 137.686 — Organized Retail Theft Grant Program; rules, https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors137.html (accessed May 26, 2025).