The Natural Resources Subcommittee reported Senate Bill 5,502 — the Department of Agriculture budget — out with the dash-1 amendment and recommended do pass as amended. The subcommittee recommended a total-funds budget of $173.6 million supporting 491 positions, including policy packages for a cannabis reference lab, workforce housing grants, pesticide enforcement capacity and continued Japanese beetle eradication efforts.

Senator Bonham pressed the committee on support for eastern Oregon farmers facing historic drought and market stress, asking whether the state wanted to preserve farmland east of the Cascades. He said that the state previously spent higher levels of general fund on agriculture and urged consideration of sustainability or bridge funding: “I could easily spend $16,000,000 today to make sure that we could farm in Jefferson County 2 years from now.”

Legislative Fiscal Office staff clarified that the governor’s proposed reduction to USDA predator control funding was not carried forward in the LFO recommended budget; the current service level for wildlife predator services was retained. Representative Owens, speaking as a farmer, supported the budget and urged continued funding for Department of Agriculture marketing and support services while asking the legislature to consider additional funding where programs appear inadequately supported.

The committee also reported a set of agriculture-related fee bills out — Senate Bill 5,503 (ratifying several ODA fees), House Bill 2,805 (removing the sunset on annual food-establishment license increases), HB 2806 (commercial weighing/measuring instrument fees), and HB 2809 (pesticide registration fee cap increase) — all of which the subcommittee tied to the agency budget and the department’s fiscal sustainability.

The motion to report the department’s budget and the fee bills out as amended passed with recorded objections noted in the transcript. Members requested a longer-term sustainability plan for ag funding and follow-up on specific program needs.