The Natural Resources Subcommittee on Nov. 18 approved a Legislative Fiscal Office recommendation allowing the Oregon Department of Forestry to expend excess insurance settlement proceeds to rebuild two administrative facilities destroyed in the 2020 and 2021 wildfires.

Interim State Forester Kate Skinner told members the department received earlier bond authorization and insurance proceeds but that updated professional cost estimates raised projected needs. Skinner said the Klamath facility was destroyed in 2021 and that the agency had received about $6.5 million in combined bond authorization and insurance funds; subsequent cost estimates raised the total to about $7.5 million, and the agency sought authority to expend additional excess carrier settlement funds for the Klamath Fire Cash Replacement Project. Skinner also said ODF requested an additional $5 million other‑funds capital construction expenditure limitation for phase 1 of the Santiam administrative unit replacement, which was destroyed in the 2020 Labor Day fires and is slated to start construction in 2026.

DAS CFO analyst Sione Filimoniala recommended approval. The Legislative Fiscal Office recommended the Joint Interim Committee on Ways and Means include an increase of $1,000,000 in other funds for the Klamath replacement and $5,000,000 for the Santiam facility replacement in a budget reconciliation bill during the 2026 session.

Co‑chair Emerson Levy moved the LFO recommendation; with no objections voiced the committee adopted it by voice vote. Representative Owens volunteered to carry the item to the full committee.

Why it matters: the vote clears the way for ODF to spend newly received insurance funds on reconstruction work the agency says is necessary to restore operations lost to recent wildfire damage. The LFO’s recommended approach places the limitation authority in a 2026 reconciliation vehicle so the appropriation can be finalized in the short session.

Next steps: the subcommittee assigned a floor carrier to carry the recommendation to the full committee and will consider the limitation in the budget reconciliation process in the 2026 session.