Under a bill that cleared the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, someone wanting access to personal information on a concealed handgun license would have to show clear and convincing evidence that the public interest requires disclosure.

At the Capitol in Salem, the committee voted for an amended version of HB 2727 and sent it to the floor for a vote. If approved there, it will then go to the Senate.

Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, a member of the committee, supported the amended bill.

"It sets the bar at 'clear and convincing' and returns the decision to the sheriff as to whether to release (the records)," Olson said this morning.

The original version requested by Oregon sheriffs would have completely prohibited the release of information on individual concealed handgun licenses.

Olson said the amended version allows some flexibility for when it's in the public interest to make a record available.

Also under the bill, license applicants could request on their application that the sheriff contact them if there's a request for disclosure.

Some 4,400 Linn County residents have state licenses, issued by the sheriff, to carry concealed handguns. More than 2,000 do in Benton County. Statewide the count is more than 100,000.

Olson was pleased that both sides of the aisle could agree on a compromise in the committee.

The amended bill would become part of the public records law. The law exempts some public records from disclosure except when the public interest requires it, and the handgun section would be included in those provisions.

The issue came to a head last year after a Portland-based organization interested in gun issues tried to get names and addresses of all the handgun license holders in Benton and several other counties, though not in Linn.

The group claimed it wanted the list of names for a mailing list. Sheriffs in Linn, Benton and several other counties responded by asking license holders if they had obtained the permits for security reasons and wanted them to be kept confidential. The Portland organization eventually withdrew its request, and Oregon sheriffs asked for the bill to establish that handgun licenses were confidential.