Committee forwards $10 million lottery bond request for James Beard Public Market to Ways and Means after mixed reactions

House Bill 3377 would provide $10,000,000 in funding from the sale of lottery bonds to the Portland Public Market Foundation for construction of the James Beard Public Market in Portland and declares an emergency effective on passage. Committee staff said the bill has fiscal and revenue implications that will be examined further by Ways and Means.

The committee moved the bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation and referred it to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means by prior reference. Committee members debated whether state lottery bond proceeds should fund a project that many described as centered in Portland.

Representative Teal said the project “seems like something that Portland should be able to do” and questioned the use of state funds. Representative (last name recorded in transcript as) Deal said he liked the project but would vote no because it did not include explicit guardrails to benefit other regions of the state; he said he had discussed the issue with a colleague and that the bill lacks sections to ensure representation or benefits for Southern Oregon farmers or other regions. Representative Scarlatos and others echoed concerns about explaining the allocation of statewide tax dollars to Portland projects, and several committee members urged Ways and Means to consider guardrails so the market “promotes all of Oregon’s bounty,” including Southern, Eastern, Central and coastal producers.

Other members voiced support. Representative Dobson argued Portland’s successes can benefit the entire state and noted potential spillover effects, and several representatives said they would trust Ways and Means to scrutinize the funding. One member who spoke said they would vote no on principle because the project did not clearly benefit their constituents; others stated they would vote yes and trust additional review by Ways and Means.

On the roll call recorded in the transcript the clerk recorded at least Representative Dobson and Representative Lively (aye). The clerk declared the motion passed and closed the work session on HB 3377; the bill was referred to Ways and Means for fiscal analysis.

The transcript records committee concern about statewide benefit and several members requested that Ways and Means consider amendments or “guardrails” to ensure the project promotes products and producers from across Oregon. No formal amendments were adopted in the committee work session recorded in the transcript.

Votes at a glance House Bill 3377 — Move to the floor with due-pass recommendation; refer to Joint Committee on Ways and Means by prior reference. Outcome: approved by committee and referred to Ways and Means.