Dec 11, 2024 | Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
The Recycling Modernization Act (RMA) contains funding for counties and service providers to obtain new trucks, cover transportation costs over 50 miles, provide public education around reducing contamination in the recycling system, expand recycling services, and purchase new curbside recycling containers.
The bulk of the funding is scheduled to go out in 2026 and 2027, as waste producers don’t begin paying into the system until July 1, 2025. There’s a total of $81.5 million available, which is a revised amount based on a survey of actual need.
In order to allow your local service providers to directly access funding from the organization operating the RMA, the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), you must complete the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s funding authorization form and return it to DEQ by March 31, 2025. DEQ has provided a copy to staff in every county. Once the authorization form is completed, CAA will reach out to all the parties to complete the final funding agreement.
Counties can also opt to receive funds directly from CAA and then pass them through to your service provider. This will require coordination with DEQ and CAA for reporting.
DEQ has hired 3 new regional Technical Assistance staff to help facilitate RMA implementation. Please reach out to them with any questions. Their contact information is below:
RMA TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS
NORTHWEST
Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook, and Washington
Steven Chang, steven.chang@deq.oregon.gov, 971-803-2493
WESTERN
Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Polk, and Yamhill
Telicia Hixson, telicia.l.hixson@deq.oregon.gov, 503-995-9491
EASTERN
Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco, and Wheeler
Rachel VanWoert, rachel.vanwoert@deq.oregon.gov, 971-269-7671
Contributed by: Tim Dooley | Legislative Affairs Manager
Oct 30, 2024 | Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) has worked collaboratively with public and private organizations since May to present the global 2024 Public-Private Partnership Security and Resilience Seminar Series.
This series includes subject matter experts from industry, academia, and government sectors, sharing critical infrastructure best practices, valuable lessons learned, and include introduction of preparedness resources and tools that can be used by organizations to reduce risk and increase resilience. The 4-part series addresses a wide array of topics including an introduction to violence prevention, addresses the impacts of houselessness, and offers two seminars focusing on the rapidly growing field of artificial intelligence. The full series has been open to business, industry, state, local, and federal participants from around the world.
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) knows that with the prevalence of artificial intelligence, counties want to know how they can be intentional and proactive. The last two sessions of this series are both 90 minutes long and explore the challenges, hidden dangers, and managerial risks associated with integrating AI, emphasizing the importance of ethical, secure, and effective implementation, and will feature insights from experts in government and the private sector to help seminar attendees explore strategies and considerations for harnessing AI’s power responsibly within organizational settings.
You can view recordings of all four sessions of the Public-Private Partnership Security and Resilience Seminar Series virtually through the following link by clicking here.
Individual Session Links:
Sponsored by Idaho Office of Emergency Management (IOEM), this series is a collaborative effort with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Albertsons Companies. It involves volunteer speakers with firsthand experience in key business and industry security and resilience topics.
Contributed by: Miles Palacios | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 29, 2024 | AOC News, Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
Going into the 2024 legislative session, funding for the Regionally Significant Industrial Sites (RSIS) program was an economic development coalition priority which would have continued giving local governments much needed support in expanding industrial development across Oregon.
RSIS is a performance-based economic development program that reimburses project sponsors for approved site improvement expenditures. The state shares a portion of the state income tax generated by employment on RSIS sites for industrial land site readiness activities beginning the year after a project’s employment thresholds are reached.
Before the expiration of RSIS, it was the state’s only program for getting regionally significant potential industrial sites ready for development.
In the 2023 session, we saw how investments in economic development could be impactful for industry and job creation with the passage of Senate Bill 4. This bill required the development of a program to award grants and make loans from Oregon Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Fund to businesses applying for federal semiconductor financial assistance. This was a critical step in increasing the supply and readiness of industrial lands in Oregon.
This semiconductor investment served as the spark for what would become the 2024 funding request for the RSIS program. House Bill 4042, the RSIS funding request, passed both its policy and revenue committee hearings – it ended the session in Ways and Means, unfunded without a floor vote.
As the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) prepares for the 2024 session, industrial lands and RSIS funding is a priority amongst our partner groups. Within this coalition it is a shared belief that RSIS has demonstrated results and deserves to be reauthorized.
Business Oregon has reported twelve approved RSIS sites representing 6,250 acres of industrial land expected to generate over 34,000 jobs and potentially receive reimbursement of up to approximately $570 million of project costs.
Building off of the 2024 proposed legislation, what will be introduced in 2025 will have the same $40 million request. If this proposed funding is granted, there would be positive impacts for local governments, bringing in tax revenue and creating economic opportunities for their community members.
Contributed by: Miles Palacios | Legislative Affairs Manager
Mar 28, 2024 | AOC Advocacy, Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
Counties are among the organizations now eligible to apply for grant awards under the $157 Million Broadband Deployment Program (BDP). Applications must be submitted by Thursday, April 25, at 5 p.m. (PST) to be considered for grant funding. Projects eligible include the construction and deployment of broadband infrastructure in locations that are unserved or underserved. Read the full press release from Business Oregon announcing the application process here. You may also contact your region’s Broadband Project Coordinator for support in the application process by emailing broadband.oregon@biz.oregon.gov.
For more information, visit the Oregon Broadband Office webpage.
Contributed by: Legislative Affairs Manager Jen Lewis-Goff
Mar 26, 2024 | AOC Advocacy, AOC News, Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
Following House Bill 3414’s failure during the 2023 session, the prospect of the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC)’s community development policy priority — creating a fast-track process for limited urban growth boundary (UGB) expansions that significantly increase affordable and workforce housing in all communities experiencing shortages of buildable land — looked grim. However, immediately following the 2023 session, Governor Kotek and her policy advisors convened a small group of individuals, including AOC staff, to conduct a series of work sessions. Their aim was to revisit the policy items in HB 3414 and craft a bill to address Oregon’s housing supply crisis that could pass in the 2024 session.
After numerous meetings with the governor’s office, AOC staff and county planning department directors provided input and technical assistance on proposed legislation to ensure cities and counties would be able to implement the legislation if enacted. In consideration of the pending legislative concept, the AOC Transportation and Community Development Steering Committee recommended that AOC readopt our 2023 UGB-related priority as a top priority for the 2024 session.
Senate Bill 1537, the Emergency Housing Stabilization and Production Package introduced by Gov. Kotek, was amended many times before eventually becoming law, with AOC actively involved at every stage of the process.
SB 1537 directly addresses AOC’s fast-tracked UGB expansion priority, establishing a one-time UGB expansion tool for cities that need both land supply and affordable housing. The bill requires 30% of all homes to be built as “affordable housing” and ensures the expansion aligns with the preferences and understanding of Oregonians – with a diverse array of housing choices, a mix of densities and services the residents will need, and the necessary infrastructure for long lasting, successful communities. SB 1537 requires the land to not be zoned high-value farm or forest outside of urban reserves already designated and caps the expansion at a specific number of acres based on population (100 net residential acres for cities with a population over 25,000 and a maximum of 50 net residential acres in cities with a population under 25,000; Metro is capped at 300 total net residential acres).
Cities are currently looking over the requirements that must be met to qualify for this fast-track process. With counties serving as a strong partner in this process, planning departments stand ready to work with our local government partners to begin this process when they are ready.
AOC looks forward to working with the Department of Land Conservation and Development, the governor’s office, and stakeholders throughout the state on the next area needed to address the housing supply issues Oregon continues to face.
Contributed by: Legislative Affairs Manager Branden Pursinger
Jan 25, 2024 | AOC Advocacy, AOC News, Governance, Revenue, & Economic Development
Among AOC’s priorities for 2024 is a bill to be known as HB 4056 that will create an orderly process to get refunds to property owners in cases where a foreclosure sale generates proceeds that exceed the property’s tax debt, penalties, and costs related to foreclosing. The bill solves logistical problems counties face in the wake of Tyler v. Hennepin County, a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that invalidated Oregon law dictating how counties handle such cases.
Most Oregonians are unfamiliar with the foreclosure process, and it has been years since the legislature made major changes to laws governing the process. Getting a bill about such a complicated topic over the finish line in a short session will be a heavy lift. For HB 4056 to win passage, dozens of legislators will need to have a solid understanding of how foreclosure works in Oregon and counties’ responsibilities surrounding it.
AOC was happy to secure time at the joint meeting of the Interim House and Senate Judiciary Committees on Jan. 12, to boost lawmakers’ understanding of the foreclosure process. AOC arranged for county subject-matter experts to present to lawmakers about what state law requires counties to do when people fail to pay their property tax on time, who tends to get caught up in foreclosure proceedings and why, what sorts of property tends to be involved, and the many ways counties work toward positive outcomes under sometimes very difficult circumstances. Marion County Assistant Legal Counsel Scott Norris, Josephine County Assistant Legal Counsel Stephanie Nuttall, Lane County Assistant County Counsel Emily Vario, Lane County Property Manager Kellie Hancock, and Deschutes County Property Manager Kristie Bollinger presented at the meeting and answered questions from lawmakers.
Their presentation is available for download here, and a video of the meeting can be viewed here (the presentation begins at the 48 minute mark).
January “Legislative Days” (Jan. 10-12) was the last opportunity to communicate with lawmakers on-the-record before Oregon’s “short” legislative session begins on Feb. 5, setting off a mad dash to move legislation before the final gavel falls a few short weeks later (March 10, at the latest).
While many of the bills to be introduced are still under wraps, some are starting to trickle out. AOC legislative staff have been furiously preparing for the sprint ahead, working to pin down details of lawmakers’ plans, and doing our best to ensure AOC priority legislation is in the best possible position to find favor with lawmakers.
Contributed by: Michael Burdick | AOC legislative affairs manager
