DA’s get 2nd chance at reclassification
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Oregon House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government, and Veterans is meeting today at 1 p.m. and one of the items on the agenda is a proposal that was not approved by the Legislature in the last session.
House Bill 4045 provides that district attorneys would qualify as police officers under the Public Employees Retirement System. In the 2023 session, lawmakers reduced that to only deputy district attorneys.
Umatilla County supported the measure in its entirety, saying both the DAs and DDAs deserved to be included in the Police/Fire Public Employee Retirement System instead of simply being in PERS.
“They go out on scene, just like police officers and firefighters do,” Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer said of the county’s decision to lobby for the change. “They’re watching the body cam footage. They’re listening to the audio and experiencing the horrific tings that people do to each other these days.”
Umatilla County District Attorney, the president of the Oregon District Attorneys Association, said the change could help attract applicants to rural areas. Police and parole officers, prison guards, firefighters, and prosecuting attorneys are banned from going on strike under Oregon law. Of those, only the district attorneys are not categorized as police/fire under PERS.
