Commissioners discuss HB 27‑25 ports language, ask staff to schedule special meeting for CDS support letters

County staff provided a legislative update that covered several bills affecting Morrow County and regional partners, and commissioners agreed to a special meeting to consider time-sensitive letters of support for Community Development and Sustainability (CDS) grant requests.

Staff highlighted House Bill 27‑25, which would narrow which ports are eligible for Strategic Investment Program (SIP) participation; staff described a proposed amendment (a “dash‑2”) that would limit the change to ports east of the westernmost dam on the Columbia River and said the amendment still represents a state-level change in how ports interact with SIPs. Commissioners discussed the idea of negotiating an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Port of Morrow to define when the port participates in SIPs and to reduce the need for statutory change. Commissioner Gus Peterson said he prefers reverting to the pre‑HB 2009 framework but indicated an IGA that both the port and county accept would be worth exploring.

Staff also called attention to House Bill 29‑44, which AOC (Association of Oregon Counties) is asking counties to oppose; that bill would amend the public-employment-relations statute and allow unions to file civil actions against public bodies for untimely information responses, a change AOC opposes.

Because a number of CDS funding requests arrived after the agenda deadline, staff proposed and the board agreed to a short special meeting Friday morning to review and, where appropriate, approve letters of support. Staff said they would distribute requests to commissioners in advance and aim to schedule the special meeting around 9 a.m.

Commissioners asked staff to notify affected local partners and to continue outreach to the Port of Morrow about a potential IGA before pursuing or opposing state legislative changes.