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Work group outlines six wildfire-funding options; some lawmakers criticize inclusion of the kicker and omission of harvest strategies
Summary
A Wildfire Funding Work Group report presented to the Natural Resources Subcommittee listed six funding strategies; lawmakers at the Ways and Means committee raised objections to proposals that included the 'kicker' and noted that timber harvest strategies were not covered.
The Natural Resources Subcommittee reported to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means on March 14, 2025, regarding the Wildfire Funding Work Group’s final report. The work group, convened under a 2024 budget note, identified six wildfire-funding strategies that had the broadest support among participants.
The six strategies listed in the report include: utilizing the kicker, amending the bottle bill, dedicating a portion of the insurance retaliatory tax, dedicating a portion of the state’s ending balance, a one-time transfer from the rainy-day fund, and a constitutional dedication of a portion of lottery funds. The report indicated that landowner assessment rates will be part of the solution and that a subgroup is continuing work on that piece.
During the Ways and Means meeting, one lawmaker said the report omitted discussion of timber harvesting as a revenue or fuels-management tool and urged inclusion of harvest strategies because of their potential to both generate revenue and manage fuels. Another lawmaker, Senator Bonner, said he was "more disturbed by what's included in the report than what's missing" and specifically objected to including the kicker as a potential funding source, saying its inclusion was "a little bit offensive." The committee recommended acknowledging receipt of the report.
The report is a stakeholder-sourced set of options rather than a committee proposal; the committee acknowledged receiving the work group’s findings and did not adopt any funding mechanism during the session.
