Dueling Oregon initiatives on drug sentencing reform

This local AP article notes that voters in Oregon are considering a pair of competing ballot initiatives that call for reform of the state's drug sentencing laws. Here are details from the story:

A pair of crime measures on the November ballot offer Oregon voters a choice between mandatory sentencing or increased sentences and expanded drug treatment programs — but not both.

One, Measure 61, is an initiative sponsored by former state lawmaker Kevin Mannix that would send first-time offenders to prison for up to a mandatory three years. The other, Measure 57, is a referral from the Legislature that would increase prison terms for repeat offenders convicted of nonviolent property or drug crimes while expanding treatment and prevention programs.

In the event that both measures pass, as polls suggest, Measure 57 contains a clause stipulating that the one with the highest vote count becomes law.

Mannix said a mandatory sentence for drug and property crimes is needed because so many offenders are given probation that it has become "a joke that's also an insult to the victims of crime."  Supporters of Measure 57, however, say the competing Mannix proposal will cost at least twice as much without providing any treatment programs to prevent the most common cause of property crime — drug and alcohol abuse and addiction....

The coalition of supporters for Measure 57 also includes the sheriffs of the state's largest counties, police chiefs, unions, the Oregon Education Association, AARP Oregon and the Oregon Nurses Association....

The state Criminal Justice Commission has estimated that Measure 57 would cost an additional $140 million per biennium while the Mannix initiative would cost between $256 million to $400 million.