Lawmakers hear testimony on rural community resource center and EDD matching funds to help small jurisdictions compete for federal dollars

During a March 10 public hearing, the House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business and Trade received extensive testimony on two related measures aimed at increasing technical capacity for rural Oregon communities.

House Bill 3104 would appropriate $6,000,000 to the Oregon Business Development Department to establish a statewide rural community resource center. Committee staff said $3,000,000 of that appropriation would fund seven professional staff to provide planning, project development, grant-writing and implementation assistance; the other $3,000,000 would support development of proposals and project plans, including a leverage fund to provide match dollars and incentives for partnerships. The bill’s dash-1 amendment would appropriate $70,000 to each of the 12 economic development districts (EDDs)…