PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek will sign a bill that will make it a crime to be caught with small amounts of illicit drugs again, according to a statement released by the governor’s office Thursday.

House Bill 4002 will reverse Measure 110, which has received mixed feedback since it was approved by voters in 2020.

In a statement, Kotek gave a round-up of all the bills she would be signing as the legislative session closes, including on measures focused on housing and homelessness, education, campaign finance reform and HB 4002. She said she intends to ensure “reforms to Measure 110 will start to take shape” by signing the bill.

“I intend to sign House Bill 4002 and the related prevention and treatment investments within the next 30 days. As Governor, my focus is on implementation. My office will work closely with each implementing authority to set expectations, specifically in response to the Criminal Justice Center’s Racial Equity Impact Statement, which projected disproportionate impacts to communities of color and the accompanying concerns raised by advocates. House Bill 4002 will require persistent action and commitment from state and local government to uphold the intent that the legislature put forward: to balance treatment for individuals struggling with addiction and accountability.”

HB 4002 will give people the choice between being charged and treatment when they are caught carrying drugs like fentanyl and meth. Treatment includes completing a behavioral health screening and participating in a “deflection program” in order to sidestep fines.

When the Oregon Senate voted to pass the legislation on March 1, Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber said it was a matter of taking action.

“The drug crisis is killing Oregonians and threatening the health and safety of our communities,” she said. “The Oregon Drug Intervention Plan is a treatment-focused approach that gives providers and law enforcement the tools they need to keep people safe and save lives.”

The bill received bipartisan support. Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp said he thought both parties “voted the will of the people of Oregon who believe they were sold a bill of goods on Measure 110.”

However, many local advocates have expressed concern of potential racial disparities with recriminalization as well as the impact on an already-burdened public defender shortage statewide.

The executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance, Tera Hurst, previously called HB 4002 a costly step in the wrong direction

“We do have plenty of data that the criminalization of addiction doesn’t work,” Hurst said. “When it becomes a crime again, people go back into the shadows and – especially with fentanyl – when they go back to the shadows, they die.”

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.