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HB 4101
This proposal did not become law. The bill amends ORS 811.540 to direct the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to assign higher sentencing categories and person felony status when a defendant fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer has a prior conviction within ten years or would have caused physical or serious physical injury. This would have raised potential prison terms for repeat offenders and those who cause harm during pursuits, while leaving first-time offenders without injuries at the existing Class C felony baseline.
Generated explanation · Introduced · Analyzed 8/19/2026 · Open official Introduced text
This proposal did not become law.
Generated analysis of Introduced text; it does not establish that the bill applies to you. Read the full decision brief.
No upcoming event is verified in the available records.
Plain-language analysis
Generated analysis, not an official summary or legal advice. Confirm with linked Oregon documents.
This proposal did not become law. The generated effects below describe what it would have required if enacted.
The bill amends ORS 811.540 to direct the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to assign higher sentencing categories and person felony status when a defendant fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer has a prior conviction within ten years or would have caused physical or serious physical injury. This would have raised potential prison terms for repeat offenders and those who cause harm during pursuits, while leaving first-time offenders without injuries at the existing Class C felony baseline.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Official sources do not state why this measure was proposed.
Sponsor testimony, staff summaries, committee materials, or statutory findings may explain it.
Inferred from cited text; not a stated purpose.
The text explicitly ties enhanced sentencing categories to prior convictions and resulting injuries, suggesting a legislative aim to escalate penalties for repeat offenders or those whose pursuits cause harm. Section 1(4)(a)-(c) creates tiered OCJC classifications based on recidivism and injury outcomes.
Basis: Inferred · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Face potentially higher OCJC sentencing categories up to Category 8 and person felony designation if they have a prior conviction within ten years or cause physical or serious physical injury.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Would have had to update its sentencing guidelines grid rules to implement the new tiered classifications.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Would have needed to track prior conviction dates and document injury outcomes to determine applicable sentencing categories during plea negotiations or trial.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Might have seed longer potential sentences for offenders who cause physical harm, though the bill does not create new victim compensation mechanisms.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Law enforcement would have continued pursuing fleeing vehicles, but prosecutors would have had to carefully document prior conviction dates and injury severity to apply the correct OCJC category. Defendants with recent priors or who cause injury face steeper sentencing ranges. Higher potential prison terms could have increased state correctional costs for this offense. The person felony designation might have affected parole eligibility, probation conditions, and collateral consequences such as firearm restrictions. First-time offenders without injuries remain at the existing Class C felony baseline, preserving current sentencing options for lower-risk cases.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Defendant with recent prior conviction causing serious injury
A defendant with a recent prior conviction would have caused serious physical injury to a civilian during a high-speed pursuit; the bill enables prosecutors to seek Category 8 plus person felony sentencing, resulting in a significantly longer prison term that reflects the heightened danger and recidivism.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Defendant with minor injury and outdated prior
A defendant flees after a minor traffic stop, inadvertently would have caused a low-level physical injury such as a pedestrian sprained ankle, and has an old conviction just outside the ten-year window; the bill forces OCJC to apply Category 6 plus person felony, potentially triggering mandatory minimums or loss of diversion eligibility that disproportionately impacts rehabilitation prospects.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
The text would have legally permitted tiered sentencing based on prior convictions and injury outcomes. However, weak enforcement of the ten-year lookback period or subjective injury classification could have leaded to duty creep, where defendants with minor or unrelated priors face elevated person felony status without corresponding public safety justification. Misclassification of injury severity by law enforcement or prosecutors could have alsoed result in disproportionate sentencing enhancements that exceed the legislature intended tiered structure.
Sources · Introduced
The bill trades expanded prosecutorial discretion and potentially longer prison terms for repeat offenders or those causing harm against the risk of disproportionately severe person felony classifications for defendants with minor injuries or outdated priors. Upsides include stronger deterrence and accountability for dangerous pursuits; downsides involve increased correctional costs and potential sentencing rigidity that might have limited judicial flexibility for lower-risk cases.
Potential effect if enacted: Stronger deterrence and accountability for dangerous pursuits.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Clearer sentencing tiers that reflect recidivism and actual harm caused during police pursuits.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential effect if enacted: Increased correctional costs due to longer potential prison terms.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Potential sentencing rigidity that might have limited judicial flexibility for lower-risk cases.
Basis: Bill text · Source: Introduced
Model self-rating: high. Analysis is strictly derived from the provided introduced bill text. No external assumptions or speculative claims are included. This is the model’s assessment of its own analysis, not independent verification or human review.
4 records currently loaded
Records available in the current snapshot.
Earliest loaded signal
Introduced bill text posted
Posted Jan 28, 2026, 3:25 PM PST
Not a qualifying replacement
The introduced bill remains the only adopted text; no qualifying adopted replacement is shown.
AI assessment dated 2026-09-29. This classification is separate from enactment and legal effect.
Evidence snapshot: 2026-09-29. Later legislative records are not automatically reassessed.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
Reviewer: /root/review_recent_a · 2026-09-29
Not a qualifying replacement
The introduced bill remains the only adopted text; no qualifying adopted replacement is shown.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
“SECTION 1. ORS 811.540 is amended to read: 6 811.540. (1) A person commits the crime of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer if: 7 (a) The person is operating a motor vehicle; and 8 (b) A police officer who is in uniform and prominently displaying the police officer’s badge o”
Introduced
“SECTION 1. ORS 811.540 is amended to read: 6 811.540. (1) A person commits the crime of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer if: 7 (a) The person is operating a motor vehicle; and 8 (b) A police officer who is in uniform and prominently displaying the police officer’s badge o”
Introduced
Reviewer: /root/review_recent_b · 2026-09-29
Not a qualifying replacement
The original sentencing bill is the sole official version.
Policy purpose: broadly retained.
“SECTION 1. ORS 811.540 is amended to read: 6 811.540. (1) A person commits the crime of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer if: 7 (a) The person is operating a motor vehicle; and 8 (b) A police officer who”
Introduced
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No deeper official pre-number history was found.
Chief sponsors: Representative Rick Lewis, Representative Court Boice
Regular sponsors: Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson, Representative Matt Bunch, Representative Ed Diehl, Representative Darcey Edwards, Representative Darin Harbick, Representative Jeffrey Helfrich, Representative Bobby Levy, Representative Emily McIntire, Representative Virgle Osborne, Representative Mark Owens, Representative Anna Scharf, Representative Alek Skarlatos, Representative Dwayne Yunker, Senator David Brock Smith, Representative Jami Cate
Records already listed in Activity are not repeated here.
Official origin records are incomplete; missing facts are not inferred.
4 events
Full timeline
4 entries shown.
In committee upon adjournment.
Referred to Judiciary.
First reading. Referred to Speaker's desk.
“Increases sentencing guidelines for felony fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer.”
Confirm with the official record.
Supplemental, source-linked analysis from project researchers and community contributors. It is separate from Oregon's official record.