The week of September 21, 2020, featured another remote Legislative Days, during which, the interim committees of the Oregon State Legislature held informational hearings on a variety of topics. Earlier in the year there were discussions about possibly holding a third special session during that same week, but those discussions ultimately went by the wayside. There is still the possibility of a third special session, but it likely would not be held until after the upcoming November General Election.

Policy updates are as follows:

Health Care

During the Senate and House committees on health care, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) gave updates on the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of  $45 million in Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) resources to fund hundreds of organizations to work on the problems the state has had with health equity. Funds are being distributed in grants. These grants can be used for a variety of purposes, ranging from health and economics to violence prevention. OHA is also strongly recommending the flu vaccine this year, as it will help reduce the burden on the healthcare system, keeping hospital capacity rates low. The state is also working to increase testing capacity as we move into the fall, with a goal of reaching 17,000 tests per day, statewide. The E-Board approved funding for this increased, and rapid testing. 

Human Services

During the House and Senate committees on Human Services, Oregon Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS) Director, Lilia Teninty discussed expanded family supports as a response to increased needs for the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) community during the pandemic and wildfires. 

Department of Human Services (DHS) Director, Fariborz Pakseresht reported on how the agency has shifted in response to the pandemic and wildfires. He also discussed the 10 percent reduction exercise (requested of all agencies for the Agency Request Budget), which amounts to a $48 million cut to the agency, and is hopeful for more federal assistance in reducing those cuts.  

During the Senate Committee on Mental Health and House Committee on Behavioral Health meetings, it was clarified, the Governor’s Behavioral Health Advisory Council’s recommendations, released earlier this month will now move onto the Governor’s Racial Justice Council for further consideration and cohesion of values before becoming final recommendations. 

The Secretary of State’s Audit on the Mental Health Treatment System was also reviewed. OHA acknowledged a need for improvement, and does not contest the findings of the audit. The agency has a multi-year plan to address the concerns raised in the audit, and encouraged the Legislature not to see rough economic times as a bad time to fund the Behavioral Health System, and rather, to find alternative ways to view funding the under resourced system. 

The Senate Committee on Mental Health reviewed behavioral health parity. This presentation included a review of SB 860 (2017), and the findings made by the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), including the conclusion that provider pay parity has not yet been established in Oregon, nor has systemic, consumer-based mental health parity. There will be another assessment of the parity system to come, and the committee plans to discuss parity again in December. 

Judiciary

The Senate and House judiciary committees met jointly to discuss a number of topics, including issues surrounding possible legislation to protect those acting in good faith from COVID-19 liability. This topic will be an ongoing matter of concern for counties moving toward the 2021 Legislative Session.

Land Use

The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) and other stakeholders provided an update to the House Committee on Agriculture and Land Use on recent implementation of land use bills passed to increase the housing supply. The DLCD presentation is available here. Committee staff were asked to convene a workgroup to explore potential barriers to rebuilding communities from wildfire devastation. Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) staff and Association of Oregon Counties Planning Directors (AOCPD) have requested a seat on the workgroup and continue to work closely with DLCD and other state agencies on wildfire response efforts. 

Natural Resources

House Committee on Water heard presentations on Oregon Business Council’s water project, as well as an update on Oregon’s Dam Safety program. AOC remains engaged in discussions related to water in our state and will continue to be a part of the water discussions during the 2021 legislative session. 

House Natural Resources received an update on Oregon’s Anti-Poaching Program and a 2020 Wildfire update. The wildfire update that was presented to numerous committees can be found here.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources met and received a primer on timber taxes in Oregon, as well as an update from the Oregon Department of Agriculture on pesticide regulation. There was a slide presentation on timber taxes and discussions about value versus volume based tax rates on harvest. Currently, there is no draft language for potential timber tax legislation; however, it appears some legislation may be introduced in 2021. 

Revenue

The Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue and the House Committee on Revenue met jointly to hear the latest revenue forecast. A summary was provided, and state economists walked the committees through a slide presentation. “Somewhat shocking” is how the economists described their forecast. Revenues are anticipated to be up by about $2 billion from the June forecast. While the economy is recovering at a faster pace than initially projected, the economists warned that the state is still looking at the deepest recession and revenue loss in Oregon history. While the state is expected to bring in $1.4 billion more in State General Fund revenues than originally anticipated, this revenue does not come close to offsetting the projected $4.4 billion budget deficit. But this news is very helpful for the 2021-23 budget that legislators will need to craft in the coming 2021 session.  

Highlights:

  • State General Fund and Lottery Fund resources are up $474 million (1.9 percent) from the 2019 close of session estimate.  The projected combined net General Fund and Lottery Fund resources are up $2 billion (8.6 percent) from the June 2020 forecast.
  • The prior revenue forecast estimated a 21 percent job loss and four-year recovery. The actual job losses came in at 14 percent, and the estimated recovery period was reduced to three years.

Rules          

Senate Rules met to vote on the governor’s appointments to various state boards and commissions. Most notably, after some initial controversy and an Oregonian article on the governor’s picks for the Board of Forestry, the governor pulled them from consideration by the committee. 

Transportation

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) presented to the Joint Committee on Transportation (JCT) on the agency’s operations through COVID-19 and wildfire threats. ODOT was allotted the full two hours to discuss wildfire response and cleanup, major construction projects, congestion mitigation, Driver and Motor Vehicles (DMV) operations, and transportation revenues. The committee spent significant time discussing physical distancing constraints on DMV operations and expressed frustration with the agency’s current service levels. The committee requested additional timeline information related to ODOT’s plans to address the severe backlog of transactions that have greatly impacted wait times and revenues. ODOT will present a larger revenue picture to JCT during the December Legislative Days.

Emergency Board

Closing out Legislative Days, the Legislative Emergency Board (E-Board) met. In some ways, this meeting of the E-Board was more ‘normal’ in the sense that many of the action items were financial authorizations typical of E-Board meetings prior to COVID-19, featuring adjustments to state agency budgets and grants in the normal course. However, there were a few items of particular note for counties, including:

  • Additional funds for election safety and security.
  • Expanding COVID-19 testing capacity.
  • $10 million in funding for low-income Oregonians who lost their homes in the wildfires was allocated.
    • Though this does not directly apply to Counties, it was a rare bipartisan effort to increase the originally proposed $2 million to support housing needs uncovered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or insurance. 

The next meeting of the E-Board is likely to be on October 12, 2020.

Contributed by: Rob Bovett | Legal Counsel and Legislative Director 

*With additional contributions by legislative affairs staff.