Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee adopts amendment and advances bill to create Elliott State Research Forest account and transfer management
Summary
The Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources adopted the Legislative Fiscal Office’s a‑4 amendment to Senate Bill 147 and advanced the bill to the full Ways and Means Committee with a due-pass recommendation.
The Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources advanced Senate Bill 147, which renames the Elliott State Forest as the Elliott State Research Forest, shifts management responsibilities from the Oregon Department of Forestry to the State Land Board, and establishes related administrative and contracting provisions.
The subcommittee adopted the Legislative Fiscal Office’s recommended a‑4 amendment. The amendment changes the authority and administration of the Elliott State Research Forest account: rather than a continuously appropriated account to the State Land Board, the a‑4 amendment designates the Department of State Lands as the administrative agency for the account and removes the authority to transfer funds into the account.
LFO staff told the subcommittee the bill also clarifies statutory authority for expansion and exchange of lands, allows capital financing, and exempts goods and services related to forest management from the public contracting code. The measure, as amended, establishes the Elliott State Research Forest account to receive revenue from operations; LFO said some expenditures and positions in the Department of State Lands budget (SB 5539) are anticipated to be supported by revenues deposited into that account, contingent on the revised account structure and passage of SB 147.
Senators and representatives in the subcommittee adopted the a‑4 amendment and moved SB 147 as amended to the full Ways and Means Committee with a due-pass recommendation. The subcommittee also identified carriers for the floors: Representative Reese Iverson will carry the bill on the House floor and Senator Anderson (with later swaps discussed on the record) agreed to carry the bill on the Senate floor.
Why it matters: SB 147 makes statutory changes intended to create a research-focused management structure for the Elliott lands, allow certain financing options, and enable an account for revenue derived from operations. LFO staff and the subcommittee tied portions of the Department of State Lands budget recommendation (SB 5539) to revenues and authorities established by SB 147, so the bills are linked for implementation and funding assumptions.
Next steps: SB 147 as amended was forwarded to full Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation for consideration in the full committee and both chambers.
