House subcommittee members recommended approval Thursday of House Bill 5,001, the budget for the Oregon Board of Accountancy, including a one‑time $1,000,000 transfer from the board’s operating reserves to seed a need‑based accounting scholarship program.

The recommendation, made during the Joint Committee on Ways and Means work session, also included a staffing model change that creates a deputy director to handle day‑to‑day operations so the executive director can focus on community outreach. The budget package the subcommittee approved totals $4,387,935 in other funds and seven positions, a reported increase of 29.5% above the current service level.

The measure directs the board to leverage an existing private‑sector scholarship program to administer awards and asks the board to report back to the Legislature in the 2027 session on the scholarship proposal. Michael Graham of the Legislative Fiscal Office told the committee the one‑time transfer would reduce the board’s ending balance “from about 27 months of operating reserves to about 9 months of operating reserves.”

Supporters on the panel praised the proposal as a workforce development step in a field with declining entrants. At the same time, members pressed whether drawing reserves down to nine months was appropriate; Graham and other fiscal staff said the reduction was intentional to bring the board’s balance closer to typical operating levels.

Later in the meeting the committee also recommended passage of Senate Bill 796, which would permanently authorize the Board of Accountancy to use money in its fund to provide accounting scholarships and establishes the statutory authority for the policy option package included in the 2025–27 budget.

Action: The subcommittee recommended HB 5,001 be amended by the dash‑1 amendment and reported out “do pass as amended.” The subcommittee also recommended SB 796 be reported out “do pass.” Vote tallies and individual movers/seconders were not specified in the transcript.

Why it matters: Committee members said the scholarship aims to expand the pipeline of accountants in Oregon while reducing what they characterized as an excessive reserve balance at the board. The scholarship is a one‑time appropriation; future scholarship funding would require a legislative expenditure limitation.

What’s next: The board is to report back in 2027 on the scholarship program. Any future scholarship spending would require either agency appropriation authority or additional action by the Legislature.