Bill would consolidate state volunteer lists into ORVIN, require training; agencies flag staffing and liability questions

House Bill 37 54, heard April 1 by the House Committee on Emergency Management, General Government and Veterans, would direct the Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) to develop a registry of volunteers willing and able to provide emergency response services, require training for volunteers listed in the registry, and seek legislative dedication of unexpected funds to volunteer purposes. The bill’s dash‑1 amendment clarifies that the effort will build on, not replace, the existing Oregon Volunteer Registry and Incident Database (ORVIN), currently administered by the state service commission.

Sponsor Rep. Thuy Tran told the committee that ORVIN would be the natural system to integrate multiple agency volunteer lists and speed volunteer deployment in disasters. "In the aftermath of a disaster, our communities depend significantly on volunteers," Tran said, and the bill aims to consolidate multiple volunteer databases into one cohesive system to reduce confusion at staging areas.

Sage Sheratore from the Oregon Department of Emergency Management thanked the sponsor for working with OEM on the dash‑1 amendment and said the change helps avoid duplication. Sheratore warned that continuing the ORVIN IT system and expanding staffing will incur fiscal impacts for ongoing maintenance and training administration.

Carrie Bauer, director of Oregon Serves (the state service commission and current ORVIN administrator), explained ORVIN’s operations: volunteer managers and volunteers both use the system; local emergency managers typically mark volunteers active or inactive; Oregon Serves runs reports to identify inactive profiles but relies on jurisdictions to keep availability updated. Bauer said Oregon Serves lacks staffing capacity to continue administering the system beyond the end of the fiscal year and supported aligning ORVIN administration with OEM for emergency response.

Agency witnesses said liability protections for volunteers deployed under a governor’s declaration of emergency (including tort claims liability and workers’ compensation) are provided by statute for certain deployments. OHA staff noted their registry historically focused on licensed health care providers and said non‑licensed volunteers are often needed for shelters, heating/cooling centers and support roles in public health emergencies.

Testimony from the Department of Human Services’ volunteer program manager described operational benefits of a single registry during the 2020 wildfires and said closer statewide coordination would be beneficial. Committee members asked clarifying questions about how the registry will be kept current, who will deliver training and how liability coverage will operate; agencies said training and liability need further specification and that additional staffing and IT costs should be accounted for in subsequent budget actions.

The committee did not vote on the bill during the hearing; witnesses and the sponsor asked agencies to continue interagency work to refine liability, training and staffing details.