Senate committee hears hours of pro and con testimony on bill to raise lodging tax for wildlife funding

The Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue heard hours of testimony on Feb. 25 over House Bill 4134, a proposal to raise the state transient lodging tax by 1.25 percentage points to provide stable funding for wildlife conservation programs, wolf depredation compensation and the Oregon Conservation Corps. The committee took testimony for and against the measure and carried over remaining testimony to the following day; it did not take a vote.

Supporters said the modest increase would provide predictable funds to implement the State Wildlife Action Plan, unlock federal matching grants and sustain programs that underpin the state’s outdoor recreation economy. Representative Ken Helm said a broad coalition backs the bill and pointed to “roughly 90 organizations” and 125 businesses that support the proposal. “We view this as a complement to tourism,” Helm said, urging the committee to pass the bill to the Senate floor.

Senator Todd Nash, who testified in support, described wolf-compensation needs as chronically underfunded and told the committee that his office’s estimate for the current biennium is about $4,300,000 for wolf compensation;…