OLSON PROPOSES ANTI-DRUG, PORN BILLS

Being under the influence of illegal drugs and showing pornography to
children would become crimes under separate bills being considered by
state Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany.

Olson mentioned these and other pending proposals in a newsletter he
e-mailed last week.

It was the second time he issued the letter. The first time it came
out during the primary election, and Olson withdrew it after being
reminded that it's against the rules for legislators to issue
state-paid newsletters within 60 days of an election.

In the newsletter, Olson lists 12 issues he has been working on
during the legislative interim.

One is a bill on "possession of a controlled substance by
consumption." In an interview he said it's being considered in
response to a mid-valley high school principal and doctors from
Deschutes County who said they wanted more authority to deal with,
respectively, students high on marijuana and pregnant women who were
taking meth.

Olson, who is running for re-election to his second term, has formed
work groups on that and other legislation he's been asked to consider.

He said that under court decisions protecting pornography as free
speech, there's little that law enforcement can do about sex
offenders who show porn to children. His work group on the issue has
met twice. He said he's working on providing some tools to law
enforcement that would stand up in the courts.

Other bills he has been working on include a measure to clarify that
a sheriff can revoke the concealed-weapons license of someone judged
to be a threat or danger.

The Court of Appeals has claimed that a law revision in 2003
inadvertently removed the authority from sheriffs in that regard, but
legislative counsel has argued that the court made a mistake.

Another Olson proposal in the works would give judges discretion to
lower fines for traffic violations if warranted by the circumstances.

Current law sets minimum fines that judges must impose.