Committee advances sudden oak death funding bill, changes task force convenor to nonprofit

Senate Bill 339, as amended, would appropriate $3,100,000 from the general fund to the State Forestry Department to carry out an integrated pest management program to combat the plant disease sudden oak death, the committee heard on March 19.

The dash-1 amendment sets aside $50,000 as a block grant for a task force on integrated pest management (IPM) programs to combat sudden oak death and replaces the Association of Oregon Counties with a nonprofit, EyeSource Solutions, as the entity responsible for establishing and operating the task force.

Senator Brock Smith explained the reason for the change: when the sudden oak death task force was created in 2017 he and former U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley had the Association of Oregon Counties serve as convener; the association “no longer care[s] to facilitate because they don't have county solutions anymore,” he said. “Former county solutions director Greg Wolf has a nonprofit called EyeSource Solutions, who was the facilitator of the sudden oak death task force back then. And so ... he is willing to take on the facilitation of the task force that's critically important to the work that is occurring.”

Senator Smith and other sponsors emphasized the economic stakes: he cited the disease’s damage in southwest Oregon and said the potential impact “is in the ultimate billions of dollars,” language he used in committee remarks.

There was no recorded objection to adoption of the dash-1 amendment and the committee moved the bill, as amended, to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a due‑pass recommendation.

Committee remarks included discussion about the timing and process for appropriations bills; one senator expressed concern that funding items routed through policy committees rather than budget subcommittees can complicate Ways and Means planning but said he would support the measure.

The committee recorded the motion and indicated the amendment “carried.”