As the first chamber deadline for bills to be worked out of committee is nearing, some level of clarity has been provided regarding the fate of priority bills for the County Solutions program at the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC). Top focuses for AOC County Solutions include funding Sudden Oak Death prevention, tide gate restoration, and local technical assistance programs for housing.

Sudden Oak Death

For the second session, AOC County Solutions worked with the Legislature to secure funding for an integrated pest management program to prevent and fight Sudden Oak Death. The funding request in House Bill 2365 would secure $1.7 million for the 2019-2021 biennium. The bill would require the State Department of Forestry to allocate $50,000 in a block grant to AOC to facilitate and encourage integrated programs in counties. The bill was unanimously passed out of the House Committee on Natural Resources on March 21 and now sits in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means until further action is scheduled.

The Department of Forestry recently completed an Economic Impact Statement on Sudden Oak Death. A key highlight from this report shows that if the Department discontinued treatment efforts, economic impacts could be devastating for southwest Oregon. In this scenario, by 2028 nearly 1,200 jobs related to timber could be lost; timber harvest could be reduced by 15 percent; and property values could plummet. Funding for integrative pest management is critical to ensure timber communities do not suffer avoidable, irreparable damage from Sudden Oak Death.

For additional information on Sudden Oak Death from the Oregon Department of Forestry, click here.

Tide Gates

Tide gates provide a means for draining tidelands (the areas that incoming tides cover). Tide gates have historically been critical for draining these lands for agricultural use and development purposes. Along the Oregon Coast, there are estimated to be well over 1,000 tide gates, all of which are aging. Many of the tide gates are up to 150 years old, and need to be updated with federal, state and local standards.

An ongoing discussion has taken place on replacement and repair to these old structures, including the need to address fish passage. AOC County Solutions is convening a tide gates work group on behalf of Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) and is striving to identify methods for expedient, cost-efficient solutions, including streamlining permitting. In order to make the repairs necessary, parties whose jurisdiction the tide gate is in must complete permitting processes through multiple agencies to begin the work. The goal of AOC County Solutions through this process will be to secure funding to create a streamlined approach with a coordinator assisting private landowners with permitting.

House Bill 2979 would provide $250,000 to AOC to obtain and manage contracted services with an independent, third-party organization. The contractor would provide technical assistance and information for private landowners to facilitate landowner compliance with local, state and federal regulatory and other requirements that relate to coordinating, planning, designing, monitoring, providing interagency liaison services for and engaging in the replacement or repair of tide gates, with priority given to the replacement or repair of tide gates with an opening size of four feet or smaller. The bill was unanimously voted out of the House Committee on Natural Resources on March 28. This bill now sits in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means pending further action.

Senate Bill 812 is the companion bill to HB 2979. SB 812 is scheduled for a work session on April 4 in the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. The intent of the Chair is to move the bill to the appropriate committee for further consideration.

Technical Assistance for Housing

AOC came together with the League of Oregon Cities (LOC), Department of Land and Conservation Development (DLCD), and Housing and Community Services Department (HCSD) to create a solution to the housing crisis at the local level. House Bill 2228 would create a local government technical assistance program, and would result in the hiring of six regional coordinators who would be instrumental in reducing barriers to developing new housing by facilitating and supporting grant management, planning, and technical services for local governments in areas where cities and counties see the greatest need for assistance.

AOC President Martha Schrader (Clackamas County), Commissioners Claire Hall (Lincoln County) and Bill Baertlein (Tillamook County) testified in support of the bill at its public hearing on February 4. In their testimony, the commissioners discussed county needs for more and affordable housing and articulated the impact additional supports could have in identifying resources and opportunities as local governments are struggling to find capacity to go out for grants, bring in developers, or find solutions to deal with constraints of the current local land use plans. To watch the commissioners present their testimony, click here. To view AOC’s written testimony, click here.

The bill passed out of the House Committee on Human Services and Housing on March 25. The bill is now in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means until further action is scheduled.

Contributed by: Megan Chuinard | Public Affairs Associate