Senate passes Buehler whistleblower, drug abuse bills

The Oregon Senate passed Monday two bills written and championed by state Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, to protect government whistleblowers and tackle drug abuse and overdoses.

Oregon whistleblowers will receive enhanced protections and transparency through the legislation from Buehler, who initially introduced whistleblower legislation last session in response to the Kitzhaber-Hayes whistleblower, Michael Rodgers.

“Last year, we learned the identity of an Oregon hero – Michael Rodgers,” he said. “In the face of indifference at best – or intimidation at worst – he blew the whistle on potential corruption. This bill sends the message that we will stand with other heroes, like Rodgers, and will not let their voices be silenced.”

Buehler put together a broad coalition of support since last session, enlisting help from SEIU, Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, Oregon State Bar Association, and industry organizations. The group has worked diligently to refine the legislation during the short session.

HB 4067 will give public and non-profit employees the same protections as employees of publicly traded corporations, taking much of the language from the federal Sarbanes-Oxley provisions.

It will ensure employees are given guidelines and protocols so they know how and where to report, increases penalties for those that attempt to intimidate or silence whistleblowers, and enhances protections for distributing materials that are believed to be evidence of corruption.

“Michael Rodgers’ story – and more recently, the stories of child abuse and neglect surrounding the nonprofit Give Us This Day – show the need for stronger whistleblower protections and overall ethics reform,” said Buehler. “Oregonians deserve transparency and accountability from their elected officials and agencies.”

The bill now goes to the House for a concurrence vote and then to the governor’s desk for signing.

The Oregon Senate also voted unanimously to pass HB 4124, a bill introduced by Buehler to prevent heroin and prescription, especially narcotic, drug abuse and overdoses.

The bill already received unanimous support the House and is now awaiting the governor’s signature before becoming law.

“Too many lives are lost to this dark disease. This is an important step in solving this crisis, one that will result in a number of lives being saved from addiction and acute overdose,” said Buehler.

“However, there is much more that needs to be done to reverse years of bad practice and policies from some pharmaceutical companies who have mislead medical professionals. Outside of session, I will continue working with the medical community to develop ways providers can prevent over prescribing and addictions.”

The bill combines two concepts aimed at mitigating heroin and prescription drug abuse. The law would allow pharmacists to distribute Naloxone without a doctor’s prescription. This drug can be used to save someone suffering from an acute overdose.

The second concept improves and makes it easier to use a database within the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program so doctors can better access information on what medications patients have been prescribed. This will help prevent those who obtain multiple narcotic prescriptions from different providers across the state.

“We need to bring this issue out of the shadows. It is not something most people feel comfortable talking about but the reality is prescription drug addiction can happen to anyone who has a major surgery or lives with chronic pain. This is not an age, race, gender or class issue. It is a human issue and it affects all Oregonians,” explained Buehler.

“Heroin addiction has become an epidemic and is continuing to spread. This disturbing trend has a very real human cost – one that I have seen firsthand far too often. If this bill can save even one life, it will be worth it,” he added.

HB 4124 now goes to the Governor for signing.