Legislative session nears end as Deschutes County watches fate of lodging tax, wildfire, transportation and health funding

Deschutes County officials received an update June 13 on the Oregon Legislature’s end-of-session scramble and the uncertain fate of several bills with direct county impact.

The county’s legislative liaison, Doug Riggs, said many decisions appear to be finalized by leadership and House Ways and Means, with only a narrow set of subcommittees left meeting. “I think pens are down on just about everything and now it's a matter of the LFO staff writing reports,” Riggs said, adding that some measures could still move in the next few days.

County commissioners were told that a transient lodging tax proposal advanced out of the House Revenue Finance Committee on a party-line, 4-3 vote and that the measure changes the local/state revenue split from “30/70 to 60/40,” a change that the county was watching for its potential to free local revenue for tourism-related impacts. Riggs said the bill still must clear additional steps in the House and the Senate before final enactment.

Why it matters: the end of session typically determines funding for capital projects, local programs and the structure of county-state agreements. Commissioners and staff flagged several items that, if not enacted or funded, could affect county services and budgets.

What the update covered

- Unemployment insurance bill: At least one participant reported a bill cited as “SBA 9 16” had passed the House and was on its way to the governor with an element described as providing a 10-week availability of unemployment insurance; that status was reported during the briefing. The report was delivered as a legislative update rather than as formal county action.

- Transient lodging tax: The House Revenue Finance Committee advanced the lodging-tax change on a 4-3, party-line vote, moving a proposed formula change described in the briefing from 30/70 to 60/40. County staff said the change would give more local flexibility to use revenue for projects affected by tourism.

- Wildfire and emergency measures: Senate Bill 83 and Senate Bill 75 were described in the briefing as being “held” by legislative leadership and not moving at the time of the update.

- Transportation package: Riggs said the transportation proposal that had been publicly released faced widening partisan division and that a group is preparing a ballot-referral effort; that could lead to a package facing a public vote even if it were enacted.

- Community corrections and behavioral health funding: County staff said the legislative Ways and Means Committee had not adopted a cost study for community corrections, and several counties had already announced layoffs. On behavioral-health county-state agreements, staff reported the governor’s office signaled counties might be expected to assume a larger share of costs and that a six-year agreement was being proposed, though shorter terms were being discussed as alternatives.

- Water bills: The briefing noted a Senate bill described as “1153” had been amended to exempt municipal water providers and moved out of rules committee, and that Senate Bill “1154,” which relates to groundwater protection and Goal 11 exception opportunities, had been modified in ways that may improve its chances.

- Capital construction and cuts: Riggs reported broad cuts in requested funding: a governor request of $117,000,000 for rental assistance was described as reduced to $33,000,000 in the package under consideration; early learning and childhood programs were described as cut by about 5% and homeless youth programs by about 20% in the materials the liaison reviewed. Staff said capital projects in the bonding bill (capital construction) were likely to be reduced or eliminated in some cases.

Commissioners and staff emphasized uncertainty and contingency. Holly (a county department head) said the Ways and Means leadership had signaled a preference for funding current staffing and existing programs rather than new initiatives, and she described ongoing efforts to explore compromise language on behavioral-health agreements that might reduce county exposure. Commissioner Chang noted modifications to the groundwater protection measure and said those changes were a reason the county might consider supporting it, while also noting other elements in the bill that remain to be reviewed.

The briefing also flagged fiscal risk tied to federal actions: the update referenced an outstanding federal Medicaid exposure reported as up to about $1.5 billion tied to state use of general fund dollars for certain Medicaid-eligible services; county staff said Ways and Means leaders were reserving funds to guard against that potential reduction.

Votes at a glance

- House Revenue Finance Committee vote on lodging-tax change: advanced out of committee, 4-3 (party-line). Committee-level vote only; floor action and final enactment not reported in this briefing.

- Bill cited as “SBA 9 16”: reported as passed by the House and on its way to the governor with a reported 10-week unemployment insurance availability (status reported by staff during the briefing). No formal county motion or vote.

- Senate Bill 1153 (water): reported as moved out of rules committee; further action pending in Ways and Means.

- Senate Bill 1154 (groundwater/water quality): reported as modified and under active consideration; status described as improved but not final.

- Senate Bill 83 and Senate Bill 75 (wildfire): described as being held by leadership and not moving at time of briefing.

What commissioners noted

Commissioners discussed constituent and regional impacts: Representative Mark Owens was reported to have indicated support for an unspecified measure, while Representative Emerson Levy was reported to be advocating for specific local requests, including a capital-construction request for a sanitation system and co-sponsorship of wildfire-related requests. County officials said layoffs in other counties and recent wildfire activity underscore the local stakes of the session’s outcome.

County next steps

Staff and commissioners said they will monitor Ways and Means, Rules and Revenue Finance committee actions over the coming days and reconvene in two weeks for a recap of end-of-session outcomes. No formal county positions or votes were taken during the June 13 briefing.

Ending note: County leaders urged residents to prepare for wildfire season and property maintenance, noting recent lightning strikes and local fires cited during the meeting.