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Committee advances a package of natural-resources and agriculture bills to Ways and Means
Summary
The House committee held multiple brief work sessions and moved a series of appropriation and regulatory bills — including funding for food systems, conservation and watershed programs, and changes to agricultural fee authorities — to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means by prior reference.
The House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water on Tuesday opened and closed a series of work sessions and advanced multiple bills, sending them to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means by prior reference or the appropriate standing committee.
The committee took due-pass actions on several funding and regulatory measures that the committee described as having little to no amendment and limited fiscal impact. Among the measures advanced were: House Bill 2979, which appropriates $8,000,000 from the General Fund for distribution to the Oregon Community Food System Network and the Oregon Farmers Market Association; House Bill 2984, which appropriates $1,500,000 to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for deposit into the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund; House Bill 3143, which establishes a ‘‘landowners living with beavers’’ grant subaccount and deposits $1,500,000; House Bill 3173, which establishes an Oregon Flora Program at Oregon State University and was amended (dash-3) to make the appropriation ‘‘an amount as appropriated by the Legislative Assembly’’; House Bill 3131, which appropriates $7,300,000 to the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board’s Agricultural Heritage Fund; and several Oregon Department of Agriculture fee/registration bills (notably HB 2805, HB 2806 and HB 2809) that authorize modest annual increases to certain license or registration fees and were referred onward for revenue and budget review.
Most measures were moved by voice vote with no carriers requested. One bill, HB 2805 (authorizing annual increases of up to 3% in food-establishment license fees), prompted a roll-call vote at the committee’s request; Representative Boyce recorded a “no” vote, several members recorded “aye,” and Representative Sharp was excused. The committee chair noted that Representative Sharf had given permission for the committee to act on several work sessions in her absence.
The chair and committee staff repeatedly described the items as programs that had previously received funding and that modest additional resources can have outsized local effects. Committee members and presenters characterized several of the appropriations as bipartisan, targeted investments intended to support small communities, conservation efforts and local food systems.
The package of bills will now be reviewed by Joint Ways and Means or other referred committees as indicated in each motion.
