Dec 15, 2025 | AOC Advocacy
The 2026 legislative session will primarily focus on rebalancing the state general fund after impacts from the federal budget bill passed this summer, H.R. 1, created a significant gap in the state budget. Changes to federal tax laws, to which the Oregon tax code is tied, are projected to result in at least a $63 million dollar budget hole in the current biennium (possibly closer to $370 million), and current projections forecast an expected loss of $15 billion in federal funding for Medicaid and food assistance over the next six years.
Members and staff from the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) met with Ways and Means Co-Chairs Senator Kate Lieber and Representative Tawna Sanchez for a special state budget briefing this month. The co-chairs provided a detailed overview of the state’s general fund challenges and options for rebalancing in 2026. The message relayed by county representatives to the co-chairs was clear – counties across Oregon are facing significant budget challenges of their own and cannot bear cost shifts or funding cuts. The Legislature should consider AOC and counties to be reliable partners with whom to collaborate on solutions for efficient delivery of critical public services to every Oregonian.
The Legislature is constitutionally required to pass a balanced biennial budget and has three basic options for addressing the gap — reduce spending, increase revenue, and access reserve accounts. To reduce spending, all state agencies were asked to submit proposals for both 2.5% and 5% budget reductions that could be adopted in the 2026 session along with a list of all programs established or expanded since 2021. Ways and Means Subcommittees received presentations on these reduction proposals during November Legislative Days, and have been subsequently holding stakeholder meetings to solicit feedback. AOC staff is meeting with legislators and providing ongoing feedback on proposals related to the delivery of essential county services.
The Department of Administrative Services published a detailed overview of the estimated impacts of H.R. 1, available here. The Legislative Revenue Office’s report on the impact of H.R. 1 on state general fund revenue is available here. This public folder includes estimated impacts by program areas.
The revenue forecast provided to the Legislature by the state economist in February will dictate exactly how much of a state general fund revenue gap the Legislature must fill during the 2026 short session. AOC will keep our members up to date as conversations about budget cuts and rebalances continue.
Contributed by: Mallorie Roberts | Legislative Affairs Director
Dec 12, 2025 | AOC News, Natural Resources
Approximately 40 county commissioners, judges, and supervisors from across the nation met in Wasco, Sherman, and Gilliam counties for the first Rural Energy Academy Peer Exchange in early December. Hosted by the National Association of Counties (NACo) and Mana Consulting Group, the peer exchange is designed for county leaders to learn about renewable energy projects and gather the necessary information needed to make educated decisions around renewables in their respective counties. The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) members in attendance included Sherman County Judge Joe Dabulskis, Crook County Commissioner Susan Hermreck, Gilliam County Judge Cris Patnode, and Wasco County Commissioner Phil Brady.
Program participants first visited Pachwáywit Fields, the largest operating solar project in Oregon. County leaders not only saw the massive footprint of the solar site but learned how large-scale solar projects are integrated and managed with stewardship practices like seasonal grazing of sheep.
Next, the group traveled to Leaning Juniper II Wind Farm where Avangrid presented a technical overview of their wind projects in the region. Avangrid covered the early project development, operations and decommissioning, and repowering practices. Attendees were able to ask questions not only to the developers but also to local Oregon officials in Wasco, Gilliam, and Sherman counties on how renewable projects benefit their counties.
The tour continued at Avangrid’s National Training Facility where attendees got an up-close view of tools, equipment, and the training environment used in utility-scale wind and solar operations. The day concluded with a panel discussion featuring regional county leaders and advocates. Panelists shared practical insights from their work with local governments, highlighted considerations that strengthen the county voice during major project discussions, and discussed lessons learned for the region. The panel included Sherman County Judge Joe Dabulskis, former Community Renewable Energy Association (CREA) Executive Director Mike McArthur, and AOC Legislative Affairs Manager Branden Pursinger.
The peer exchange wrapped up with a discussion on ways to support regional energy workforce and data centers.
“It was an honor that NACo chose Sherman County as the first location to launch their energy peer exchange,” said Judge Dabulskis. “It was very educational; I feel I learned as much as anybody that attended and more than anything the networking with peers around the country was priceless.”
Conversations have already begun on how to bring this peer exchange to more county elected officials and how to tailor the conversations to be state specific.
Contributed by: Legislative Affairs Manager Branden Pursinger
Dec 12, 2025 | AOC News, Events
The 2025 Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) Annual Conference, held Nov. 19-22 in Eugene, Ore., brought together over 600 county officials, agency leaders, partners, and exhibitors for three days of focused networking, learning, and relationship building to better serve Oregon’s communities.
Kicking off the conference was a powerful message of hope and survival from Keynote Speaker Kevin Hines. Hines, who survived a suicide attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge, told the captivated audience to help those who may be in pain and commit to “be here tomorrow, and every day after that.”
Mental health was the focus of this year’s conference, serving as the presidential initiative of outgoing AOC President, Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer.
“The powerful keynote from Kevin Hines set a purposeful tone for the conference,” said President Shafer, “reinforcing the critical importance of mental health initiatives.”
This focus carried through the conference sessions, which featured critical discussions on empowering local mental health authorities, the local impact of federal health and human services policy changes, and addressing county-level challenges within healthcare systems.
On the second day, Governor Tina Kotek joined the conference, emphasizing the need for counties and the state to collaborate. “I will be a strong partner with our counties,” Kotek promised, “to make sure we help Oregonians and we move the state forward.”
The governor encouraged attendees to foster regional partnerships during the afternoon agency meet and greet, a valuable opportunity for engagement with state and federal agency leaders.
Beyond mental health, speakers addressed a range of critical issues facing Oregon’s counties and the essential services they provide, including road safety, public health modernization, county revenue, emergency management, and energy capacity.
A key moment of the conference was the graduation ceremony for AOC’s County College program. Designed for new commissioners, judges, chairs, and high-level staff, the program offers a comprehensive overview of the responsibilities and authorities of a county and county elected officials. County leaders from twenty-one counties completed the six-month program.
For newly elected officials, the program is an invaluable resource. Baker County Commissioner Michelle Kaseberg credits her experience at County College with “helping me connect the information shared at the AOC Annual Conference to real-world county operations.”
In addition to educational sessions and networking opportunities, one of the highlights every year is Wander Oregon, an event that showcases the diverse offerings of Oregon’s counties. Nineteen counties shared their finest food, beverages, and artisanal products – from fry bread and seafood to lavender, cheeses and much more. We are grateful to all participating counties and their staff for making Wander Oregon a wonderful celebration of what Oregon has to offer.
“The 2025 AOC Annual Conference was an overwhelming success, bringing together dedicated county leaders and partners to focus on the most pressing issues facing Oregon’s communities,” said Executive Director Gina Nikkel. “This event proved once again to be an indispensable forum for networking, collaboration, and building the partnerships necessary to effectively serve all Oregonians.”
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Dec 8, 2025 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Covenant Technology Solutions
At this year’s Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) Conference, we were reminded just how much Oregon’s counties carry on their shoulders. From public health and mental health to housing and homelessness, public safety, roads, and so much more, you are on the front line of almost every complex issue our communities face.
On behalf of our team at Covenant Technology Solutions, I want to extend a sincere thank-you to everyone who serves in county government across Oregon – elected officials, department leaders, IT teams, finance, public safety, public health, and the many staff members who keep essential services running every day. We are also grateful to AOC for creating spaces like this conference where counties can learn from one another and from partners like us.
One theme that came up over and over in Eugene was cybersecurity, specifically email security and the growing problem of email impersonation. As part of our preparation for AOC, we reviewed the public email security settings (DMARC-related) for all 36 Oregon counties. Only two counties fell into the “low risk” category; 94% were at either medium or high risk of email impersonation.
We also ran a dark web exposure check tied to county email domains, when applicable. In several cases, we saw county email addresses and passwords show up in older data breaches. That doesn’t mean someone is currently “in” your systems, but it does mean credentials associated with your organization have been leaked and could be re-used by attackers. When passwords are reused across systems, a stolen login from one breach can become the front door into email, VPN, or line-of-business applications.
When we shared these findings at the booth, the most common responses were, “I’m not surprised,” or “I get those emails all the time.” Many leaders also shared a deeper concern: they know it’s a problem, but they’re not sure what, realistically, can be done, especially with limited staff and budgets and IT teams that are already stretched.
We don’t think the answer is to add more fear or more work to your plate. We do believe there are practical, achievable steps counties can take to materially reduce their risk.
Here’s what we recommend as next steps:
- Review your county’s report together.
We’re happy to send your individualized email and dark web exposure report and walk through it in plain language, what it means, where the gaps are, and which changes matter most.
- Support your IT team, not replace them.
If it’s helpful, we can work directly with your internal IT staff or existing provider to close those email security and identity gaps, especially within Microsoft 365.
- Consider a broader security scan.
For counties that want a deeper view, we can run a full security scan to identify other high-impact, low-effort improvements beyond email and credentials.
If you’d like to see your report, talk through options, or just sanity-check where you stand, I’d welcome the conversation.
Tom Choquette
Tom.Choquette@covenant.global
Dec 8, 2025 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: OSU Extension Service
It sounds like the setup for a holiday romantic comedy – Priya Rajarapu works as a Christmas tree expert for Oregon State University’s Extension Service, helping Oregon’s 300-plus Christmas tree growers produce a healthy crop each holiday season so that the state can export millions of perfect trees across the world.
But this job is more science than sentiment. In her Extension role and as an assistant professor in the College of Forestry, Rajarapu, who earned her doctorate in entomology, is studying how to keep Oregon’s holiday industry thriving as the climate changes.
“Oregon is a perfect place to grow evergreens because of the climate,” she said. “Our mild summers and wet winters are ideal for native species like noble and Douglas-fir that are traditionally among the most popular Christmas trees in the Western United States.
“If you’re sick you call a doctor. If you’re a Christmas tree grower who has a sick tree, you call me.”
As temperatures rise and weather patterns shift, the cost to maintain a healthy crop of Christmas trees is rising. And once-rare extreme climate events, like the 2020 fires and the 2021 heat dome in Oregon can have decades-long impacts on forests that affect the holiday tree industry.
“Our goal is to help the current and future growers sustain production of Christmas trees on their land,” Rajarapu said.
Long a sustainable industry, with at least one tree going into the ground for every one cut, Christmas trees are an important agricultural crop for Oregon. Oregon sold 3.17 million trees in 2023 (the most recent year for which federal statistics are available) – making it the top Christmas tree grower in the United States and contributing $118 million to Oregon’s economy.
Industry associations estimate that Christmas tree prices should remain stable this year, averaging about $12 to $15 per foot, and don’t anticipate that tariffs and trade policies will have a significant impact on the tree industry. To support growers, Rajarapu and her colleagues are working at North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora to develop new resilience strategies.
For example, an ongoing study is looking at different mulch alternatives to understand whether any of these mulches boost seedling survival during their first year. Native noble fir make up just over half of Oregon’s Christmas tree sales, but in recent years, OSU Extension experts have also been studying the genetics of introduced species from Eurasia that are potentially more resilient to climate change.
Before his retirement, Rajarapu’s predecessor Chal Landgren personally carried seeds back from Georgia, establishing the new species at the three-acre field site that she now oversees. For example, Nordemann and Turkish fir, both native to Georgia, now make up a small but growing percentage of Oregon’s crop. These new-to-Oregon species can hold their needles longer after they’re cut and displayed.
“They’re drought-and pest-tolerant,” Rajarapu said. “That reduces the need for inputs such as chemical insecticides.”
More than half of Oregon’s Christmas trees are sold in California each year, with other Western states, Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Panama, Singapore and Maldives among Oregon growers’ top markets, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
“With consistent water, these new species can hold their needles for four-to-six weeks indoors,” Rajarapu said. Additives like sugar or alcohol that claim to lengthen a tree’s life indoors aren’t backed by scientific evidence, she explained, but lots of water, especially in the first few days, is key to a tree that lasts the season.
“When you buy a real tree, you’re supporting a local business,” said Rajarapu, who is planning to display a noble fir at her home this year. “And it just smells and feels like Christmas.”
Read this article online: https://beav.es/JYm
Story by Misty Edgecomb, Oregon State University
Story source: Priya Rajarapu, OSU Extension Christmas Tree Specialist and Assistant Professor, College of Forestry
Photo caption: Priya Rajarapu, Christmas Tree Specialist at Oregon State University Extension explains the characteristics of various tree species.
Photo credit: Oregon State University
