DAS tells General Government subcommittee assessments will rise as federal funds taper

At a Jan. 28 meeting of the General Government Subcommittee, officials from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services said the portion of DAS costs paid from the general fund is expected to increase from about 50.5% to roughly 55.5% in the 2025-27 biennium, largely because federal stimulus and COVID-related federal funding are tapering off.

Malia Mesiba, legislative director for the Department of Administrative Services, introduced the presentation and the DAS team for the informational session. Kate Nass, chief financial officer for DAS, and Robert Otero, DAS budget director, walked lawmakers through how DAS sets assessments and rates, how those charges feed into agency budgets and the controls DAS uses to show federal partners how administrative costs are allocated.

The change matters because DAS assessments are built into every state agency's budget and fund central policy and administrative functions used statewide, including the chief operating officer's office, human resources policy and the statewide accounting manual. "We set an assessment based on whatever the right criteria is for that particular thing," Kate Nass said, describing the department's effort to tie assessments to measurable drivers such as agency FTEs, budget size and license counts.

DAS officials said about half of assessment-based revenue currently comes from the general fund, with roughly 13% from federal…