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Commissioners recap Eastern Oregon legislative session, flag wolf funding and mental-health cut
Summary
At the Jan. 28 work session commissioners summarized Eastern Oregon legislative discussions including a Senator's proposal to add 1.25% to transient lodging taxes to fund wolf-depredation compensation and other programs, a county letter supporting wolf delisting, concerns about a $500,000 reduction in mental-health funding, and local participation in the point-in-time homeless count.
Commissioners reported on the Eastern Oregon legislative session during the Jan. 28 Crook County work session, highlighting proposals that could affect county wildlife management, public services and local budgets.
A commissioner said Senator Nash proposed adding 1.25 percentage points to transient lodging taxes to fund wolf-depredation compensation and other conservation programs. The presenter noted the county previously needed about $4.5 million for compensation and observed that revenue from the proposed transient tax might not fully close that gap.
Commissioners also said several Eastern Oregon counties signed a letter urging federal delisting of the wolf to return management authority to state and local actors. "We signed on to the Eastern Oregon to delist the wolf," one commissioner said; commissioners asked legislators to pursue policy changes addressing predator control and compensation.
A separate budget concern raised at the session, and repeated by a commissioner during the work session, was an anticipated $500,000 loss in mental-health funding that could affect sheriff's office and emergency-room services.
Commissioners discussed other legislative items including housing proposals with a 2034 sunset, estate-tax adjustments, and a request by Representative Levy for $9 million in general-fund support to finish wildfire funding. One commissioner also noted an invitation to study nuclear energy.
Separately, a commissioner said they will participate in the point-in-time homeless count and noted organizers will offer $10 gift cards to respondents; commissioners discussed concerns about incentives potentially altering results.
No formal county-level policy was adopted during the work session; commissioners reported the items as legislative developments and flagged the wolf-compensation revenue proposal and mental-health cut as issues for further attention.
