Committee advances a slate of natural-resources bills to Revenue or Ways and Means; several referred by prior reference

The House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water on March 24 moved a set of bills out of committee for additional fiscal review, sending several measures to the House Committee on Revenue or the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

The measures cover topics including wildlife funding, state university appropriations for agricultural research, hunting and fishing license fee changes, and drinking-water assistance. Committee leaders repeatedly used “no recommendation” referrals to Revenue or prior reference to Ways and Means to allow further fiscal analysis.

Why it matters: Moving these bills to Revenue or Ways and Means signals the committee’s decision to advance policy concepts while leaving budget questions and amendments to the fiscal committees that set state spending. For stakeholders — universities, county governments, water suppliers, hunters and fishers — referral preserves policy momentum but requires further budget work before enactment.

What the committee moved (selected items and outcomes):

- House Bill 2978A: Modifies ODOT’s wildlife-vehicle collision program, creates an advisory group with ODFW, and changes reporting requirements. Vice Chair Fingerh McDonald moved HB 2978A to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation; the committee approved the motion and closed the work session. (Action: motion passed.)

- House Bill 2977: Raises the state transient lodging tax from 1.5% to 2.5% and directs the increase to the Recovering Oregon’s Wildlife subaccount (formerly the Oregon conservation strategy subaccount). The measure was moved to the floor with no recommendation and a prior referral to the House Committee on Revenue. Several members voiced fiscal and policy objections; the motion passed and the bill will go to Revenue. (Action: motion passed; roll-call taken by the clerk in committee.)

- House Bill 3856: Would create a new 0.13% personal income tax dedicated to the state wildlife fund; moved to the floor with no recommendation and prior referral to Revenue and an added sub referral to Joint Ways and Means. Several members spoke against a new income tax; the motion passed. (Action: motion passed.)

- House Bill 3010 (see separate article): Multiple amendments were debated; a smaller $40,000 dash-3 amendment failed and the committee withdrew a larger dash-2 amendment and carried the bill over for more work.

- House Bill 2408 (as amended): Appropriates funds to Oregon State University for the agricultural experiment station, OSU Extension Service and forest research laboratory. The committee adopted a dash-1 amendment that increased the total appropriation and then moved the bill as amended to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation. (Action: amendment passed; bill referred to Ways and Means.)

- House Bill 2342 (as amended): Raises fees for certain wildlife licenses and authorizes ocean endorsement fees; dash-2 amendment clarified ocean endorsement boundaries. The committee moved HB 2342 as amended to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a due-pass recommendation. (Action: amendment passed; bill referred to Ways and Means.)

- House Bill 3314 (as amended): Initial appropriation to mitigate harmful algal blooms at Ross Island Lagoon; dash-1 replaced Oscar allocations and moved $1,020,000 through the Human Access Project. The committee adopted the dash-1 amendment and moved the bill to Ways and Means. (Action: amendment passed; bill referred to Ways and Means.)

- House Bill 3486 (as amended): Changed research-vessel council membership requirements and appropriations; dash-1 made a technical fix and the bill was moved to Ways and Means. (Action: amendment passed; bill referred to Ways and Means.)

- House Bill 3487 (as amended): Authorized county uses of previously allocated ODA funds for grasshopper suppression and capped administration at 8%; the amendment and bill passed and were moved forward. (Action: amendment passed; bill moved to floor with due pass recommendation.)

- House Bill 3527 (as amended): Established a Public Drinking Water and Sewer Ratepayer Assistance Fund and included stormwater in eligible assistance; the committee adopted a dash-1 amendment (clarifying the program) and moved the bill to Ways and Means. Committee discussion included sustainability and whether the program should rely on General Fund dollars or ratepayer-funded mechanisms. (Action: amendment passed; bill referred to Ways and Means.)

Votes and procedure notes: Many of the motions were advanced without roll-call votes; where members requested roll call, the clerk recorded individual yea and nay votes on the record. A few items involved sustained debate about funding source and program design (notably transient lodging tax and the ratepayer assistance fund) but the committee uniformly referred fiscal matters to the appropriate budget committees.

Next steps: Bills with prior reference and Ways and Means referrals will receive fiscal committee review and possible budget amendments. Several items were carried or held for additional work (notably HB 3010), while others proceed to the House floor subject to further fiscal committee action.

Ending note: The committee handled a large agenda in a single session, front-loading referral decisions and leaving budget details for Joint Ways and Means or the House Committee on Revenue.