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) for a total of $1,680,000, and it would limit those funds for rural communities and require that the districts receive federal matching grants from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA).

Representative Mark Owens, sponsor of HB 3104, said rural jurisdictions lack the staff capacity needed to identify, develop and implement projects that leverage federal and state funding. "This bill is designed to support rural communities as a critical component to Oregon's economic future and give them the basic supports they need," Owens said in prepared remarks.

Tillamook County Commissioner Erin Skarr and others described how rural cities and counties often miss funding opportunities because they lack specialized staff; Skarr recounted Tillamook County’s recent success building affordable housing only after finding outside technical expertise and an incentive fund. Greg Wolf of the Organized Sector and Scott Aycock of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council said EDDs already have full-state coverage and long-standing relationships with small communities, and that modest state investment in EDDs has yielded large returns: testimony cited prior state funding that helped the districts leverage approximately $67 million in grants after a $500,000 state allocation in 2021.

Testimony in support of House Bill 3099, which would appropriate $70,000 to each EDD, came from Representative Daniel Winn and several EDD executives. Teresa Hager, executive director of CCD Business Development Corporation (the EDD for Coos, Curry and Douglas counties), outlined recent projects the EDD supported — including water-system and housing work in small towns — and said EDDs have a high success rate securing grants when resourced. Witnesses emphasized that federal grant programs often require local matching funds, and the state allocation would allow EDDs to serve as match and unlock federal awards for small communities.

Committee members asked about geographic prioritization, the potential for ongoing funding, and the administration and oversight structure if the state funds the center and EDDs. Testimony proposed scattered staffing (no single brick-and-mortar requirement), partnerships with organizations such as the League of Oregon Cities and the Association of Oregon Counties, and multiple channels for distributing funds depending on project type. No committee votes were recorded during the hearing; both bills remain in committee for further consideration.