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Committee hears support and opposition for 1% state lodging tax increase to fund wildlife conservation
Summary
Proponents told the House Revenue Committee that a one-percentage-point increase in the state transient lodging tax would provide steady funding for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife priorities and federal matches; opponents, including tourism and lodging groups, warned of competitive harm to conventions and fragile rural economies.
The Oregon House Committee on Revenue heard several hours of testimony Thursday on House Bill 2,977, which would raise the state transient lodging tax (TLT) by one percentage point — from 1.5% to 2.5% — and direct the additional revenue to a Recovery Oregon’s Wildlife Fund subaccount to support species and habitat conservation and federal matching funds.
Representative Ken Helm, sponsor of the bill, walked the committee through the types of wildlife- and recreation-based visitation the state attracts and said the proposal is a modest way to fund nongame species conservation that benefits tourism. “This bill is all about providing a long-term, sustainable source of funding for species of greatest conservation need,” he told the committee.
Debbie Colbert, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), said the agency and partners have assessed more than 600 species and recently identified about 70 additional species of greatest conservation need, pushing the total above 300. She said current revenue streams are heavily weighted to hunting and fishing-related programs and that ODFW has inadequate dedicated funding for many at-risk species. “We have a roadmap for success to turn the needle for conservation,” Colbert said, “but it requires science, voluntary partnerships, and dedicated sustained funding.”
Proponents — including conservation groups, outdoor guides, and local wildlife organizations — argued the bill would create stable funding (estimated by an economic analysis in testimony at roughly $27.6 million annually) and increase the state’s ability to secure federal matching grants. Testimony from anglers, outfitters and tourism-adjacent nonprofits emphasized the connection between healthy wildlife populations and the outdoor recreation economy.
Opponents including Travel Portland, Travel Lane County, the Oregon Destination Association, and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association cautioned that increasing the statewide TLT could hurt convention and meeting competitiveness, undermine city-level tourism strategies and further dampen recovery from the pandemic in some urban markets. Travel Portland’s representative said cost sensitivity among meeting planners could put Portland at a disadvantage for large conventions.
The committee closed the hearing and indicated more work and deliberation will be needed. Testimony and written submissions are available through OLIS.
