Small Municipalities Advocacy Coalition outlines 2025 legislative priorities for Stayton

John Sean Tate, lobbyist for the Small Municipalities Advocacy Coalition (SMAC), briefed the Stayton City Council on Jan. 6 about the coalition's 2025 legislative agenda and priorities for small cities.

Tate said the 2025 session will see thousands of bills and emphasized the coalition's focus areas: capital funding (ways and means), transportation and judiciary committees, housing and homelessness, and environmental rules that can create unfunded mandates for small cities.

He outlined three coalition-sponsored policy bills the group plans to pursue with legislative sponsors: one to revise DEQ testing requirements for lagoon wastewater treatment system operators; a second to reduce or waive grant match requirements for the smallest communities so infrastructure grants are practicable; and a third to require more accurate and relevant fiscal analyses for proposed state policy when requested by municipalities. Tate said Representative Deal had agreed to sponsor the bills in the House.

Why it matters: SMAC represents many small Oregon cities and seeks to tailor state policy and funding structures to the limits and needs of communities with small tax bases and smaller staff capacities.

Tate said SMAC is actively recruiting member cities and listed several communities that have expressed interest; he also warned that the hard work is getting hearings and moving bills through committees.

Councilors thanked Tate and asked how a recent gubernatorial executive order on labor agreements might affect local projects; Tate said members are still analyzing that question and expect it could raise project costs. He also said some members are examining how the governor's prior cancellation of municipal fines affected small-city finances and the state fiscal analysis process.

Tate requested anecdotal examples from Stayton if the council wants SMAC to pursue related legislation.