The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) continued to advocate for a legislative framework addressing comprehensive wildfire policies that reduce wildland fire risk, are adaptable at the local level, are an appropriate level of response to the state-wide risk of fire impacts in communities, and establish a level of responsibility for all landowners throughout the 2021 Legislative session. On Monday, June 21, SB 762 passed out of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Capital Construction on a party line vote. The comprehensive bill includes an investment of over $195 million dollars in the 2021-23 biennium.  

During the robust discussion in the subcommittee, many issues with the legislation were raised by committee members, including lack of public process, participation, and concerns regarding the definition of Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), which plays a key role in the legislation. AOC recognizes the need to protect our communities from wildfire. Staff have submitted concerns regarding unintended consequences for counties to legislators and stakeholders, specifically regarding the need to narrow the definition of WUI and provide for the evaluation of regional differences when creating the wildfire risk map. The bill was heard in the full Joint Committee on Ways and Means with encouragement by Representative Smith (R-Heppner) to hold off on moving the bill until a bipartisan agreement could be made on whether to define the WUI in rule or statute. It was passed out of the full Joint Committee on Ways and Means on a partisan vote to the House and Senate floors for final consideration.

Upon reaching the Senate floor in the final days of session, an agreement was reached and SB 762 B was referred to a special Joint Committee on SB 762 and a work session was held by this special joint committee on the evening of June 24. During that meeting, the committee adopted the -17 amendments, which removed the definition of WUI from the bill and instead requires the Board of Forestry to define WUI in rule, and passed SB 762 B as amended by the -17 amendments to the floor with a do-pass recommendation. The compromise amendment garnered bipartisan support for the legislation (now SB 762 C-Eng) in both chambers, the bill passed both the Senate and House upon final consideration and is now headed to the governor’s desk for signature. 

Below is a high level summary of the legislation. 

Utilities 

  • Requires electric utilities to operate in compliance with a wildfire mitigation plan.

Health Systems 

  • Requires the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to monitor for wildfire smoke, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to create clean air shelters for the public, and OHA increase the availability of smoke filtration systems.

Emergency Response 

  • Requires wildfire to be included in the definition of “emergency” and for the Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) to update its statewide emergency plan to prepare for wildfire.

Statewide Map 

  • Directs the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to create a statewide map of wildfire risk with five risk classifications. 

Defensible Space 

  • Directs the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to create and enforce defensible space standards for all lands in the wildland-urban interface that are designated as extreme or high risk.

Land Use Planning 

  • Directs the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to identify updates to statewide land use planning program and local comprehensive plans and zoning codes needed to incorporate wildfire risk maps and minimize wildfire risk.

Building Codes 

  • Requires the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS) to adopt hazard mitigation building code standards (R327) and amend R327 to include standards for additions to existing dwellings and accessory structures and for replacement of existing exterior elements.

Resiliency 

  • Requires the state to adopt programs to mitigate wildfire risk through forest resilience and treatment projects. 
  • Creates a new program that treats state and federal lands the same, and creates restrictions on where the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) can engage in shared stewardship work. 

Small Woodlands Incentive 

  • Creates an incentive program for small tract forestland owners to restore the forest health.

Oregon Conservation Corps 

  • Creates the Oregon Conservation Corps to engage youth and young adults in reduction of risk wildfire poses to communities and critical infrastructure, and to help create fire-adapted communities.

Wildfire Response Capacity

  • Requires ODF to increase their wildfire readiness and response capacity in a variety of ways listed in the legislation. 

Wildland-Urban Interface 

  • Section 31 requires the State Board of Forestry (Board) to adopt by rule the definition of WUI to be used in specified sections of the measure. 
  • Section 33 requires the Board to consider national best practices in the establishment of the definition and the criteria by which the WUI must be identified and classified. Provides that the criteria established by the Board may not exclude a category of land from inclusion in the wildland-urban interface and that the rule must be adopted within 100 days following the effective date of the 2021 Act. 

Wildfire Programs Director and Committee 

  • Creates a position within the Office of the Governor to supervise the Wildfire Programs Advisory Council, which is a committee of 19 appointed stakeholders to identify additional changes needed to land use, building codes, and defensible space provisions.

Contributed by: Lauren Smith | Legislative Affairs Manager