TAKE ACTION: Wildfire Map Repeal Bill Caught in End-Game Politics

In a disappointing move, the Legislature has stalled Senate Bill 83A, sending it to the House Committee on Rules for further discussion instead of allowing it to move forward for a final vote.

This bipartisan bill is a common-sense fix to the flawed Wildfire Hazard Map, which imposed unfair regulations, increased costs, and reduced property values for rural Oregonians. It passed the Senate unanimously, following months of stakeholder input and careful legislative review.

Yet, instead of advancing it, House leadership has chosen to play games with a completely uncontroversial bill in order to force rural legislators into a tough position. As usual, rural Oregonians end up being the victims of Salem politics.   

Why Are They Holding Up the Bill?

Moving SB 83 to rules appears to be a strategic choice to force rural legislators to vote to keep the kicker, the excess money that the state has collected from Oregon taxpayers to pay for wildfire costs. More on this below. 

To be clear, everyone, including us, wants a fully funded wildfire program. Anything less puts countless lives and property at risk. However, the debate lies in how the legislature decides to fund the wildfire program and who should bear that burden.

Wildfire funding is a complicated issue that the Legislature has been debating for decades. This is not a new conversation and one that is notoriously controversial.  In order to have a fully functional wildfire program, it needs to be resolved by the Legislature.

But the wildfire funding debate has nothing to do with the Wildfire Maps – nothing. Holding SB 83A hostage in an effort to force a vote on funding is simply an effort to put rural legislators in a tough spot, all at the expense of their constituents.

Sadly, that’s how things are playing out in our super-majority-controlled Legislature.

The Hang-Up: Wildfire Funding

After the Labor Day 2020 wildfires, it became clear that Oregon needed to do more than just fund wildfire suppression costs each legislative session.  Proactive efforts to reduce wildfire risk to communities and make landscapes more resistant to wildfires have become critical. Not only are they critical, they reduce suppression costs along with damage and disruption to rural Oregonians.

These increased efforts cost money beyond what the legislature typically authorizes for paying state bills to put out wildfires. Legislators recognize this.  That’s where the current funding debate lies.

Lawmakers have proposed several options for funding landscape resilience and community risk reduction efforts this Session. The bill with the most traction is HB 3940, where lawmakers propose a mix of funding options like adding 5 cents onto the state’s 10-cent bottle deposit, pulling money from lottery revenues, changing timber taxes, and even redirecting an obscure tax that’s already imposed on insurance companies.

And now, apparently the Legislature is also considering a ‘cap-and-trade’ style program to fund wildfire prevention and roads.

Each of these options is controversial, but all of them pale in comparison to the other proposal floating through the halls of the Capitol – taking the kicker.

What Is the Kicker and Why Does It Matter?

The “kicker” is a unique piece of tax law that is essentially a rebate of taxes which the state has overcharged Oregon taxpayers. The kicker is triggered when the income taxes collected in a two-year budget cycle are at least 2% higher than the amount lawmakers projected when setting the budget. When that happens, the extra money is given back to taxpayers.

Most Oregonians love the kicker as many families depend on it during challenging financial times. It’s simply a refund of the money you overpaid the state. That is why historically taking the kicker is a non-starter.

The kicker is extremely popular with Oregonians, but there are some legislators who believe that if the state collects more Oregonians’ money than it needs to meet its budget, it should just keep the extra and not send it back to the taxpayers.  Senate Bill 1177, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Golden, proposes to keep the kicker for this biennium to provide permanent wildfire funding. You can read Senator Golden’s remarks on the bill HERE.

Just two days ago Governor Kotek signaled her support for withholding part of next year’s “kicker” to cover wildfire costs in a press conference. Specifically, the Governor mentioned withholding $1 billion of next year’s expected $1.64 billion tax refund in order to fund wildfire suppression and prevention. You can see those remarks HERE. 

How Could Holding SB 83 Hostage Help Get the Kicker?

Again, doing anything other than giving the kicker back to the taxpayer is historically one of the most radioactive and controversial ideas in the Capitol. This is because most Oregonians do not view the kicker as the state’s money to spend, but rather the money they earned and need to pay for gas, groceries, and rent.

To use the kicker for wildfire costs, lawmakers would need a two-thirds majority vote. Given current political numbers in the Capitol, this means they need a certain number of rural Republican legislators to vote for the bill.

In any other situation, getting any Republican legislator to vote to withhold the kicker would be nearly impossible. We don’t think that’s going to change this session, even if SB 83A is held hostage. But the House Democratic leadership is clearly using SB 83A as a powerful bargaining chip in an attempt to get the kicker. 

Yesterday morning, SB 83A was moved to the House Rules Committee instead of the to the floor for a vote. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT SB 83A IS DEAD – it just means it’s been taken hostage.

There was bipartisan support in the committee from the Republican and Democrat legislators who represent property owners who are within Wildfire Hazard Areas to not play this game and to send SB 83 straight to the floor, where it would overwhelmingly pass.

Unfortunately, the committee deadlocked on that vote, and the bill was sent to House Rules. You can watch how this vote went down HERE if you fast forward to 5:30 on the video.

TAKE ACTION

We don’t know which funding mechanism the majority wants to use to pay for the wildfire program. Regardless, whether it is by taking the kicker, passing HB 3940, or finding some other funding mechanism, SB 83A appears to be on hold until the Legislature comes to an agreement. This is ridiculous.

This all makes us very nervous because, too often, good bills die at the hands of end game politics and failed negotiations.

Oregonians need to speak up NOW to help save SB 83A from becoming collateral damage. They shouldn’t have to wait for a funding deal before their concerns are addressed. SB 83A has broad support and should move forward on its own, allowing rural communities to regain control over their properties without unnecessary political delays.

House leadership and the House Committee on Rules need to hear from you today. Please call, email, and deliver the following message:

Every day that Senate Bill 83A is delayed, Oregonians pay the price— losing property values, facing unfair regulations, and struggling under a flawed Wildfire Hazard Map. This bill has strong bipartisan support and passed unanimously out of the Senate. SB 83A deserves to move forward now, without being held hostage to funding negotiations.

Our communities have waited long enough. Stop the games and pass SB 83A— give Oregonians the relief they urgently need!

CONTACTS

• Representative Julie Fahey, Speaker of the House – Democrat, District 14 (West Eugene & Veneta) | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1414 | Email: Rep.JulieFahey@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative David Gomberg, Speaker Pro Tempore – Democrat, District 10 (Lincoln and Western Benton & Lane Counties) | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1410 | Email: Rep.DavidGomberg@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Ben Bowman, Democratic Leader & Chair of House Rules – Democrat, District 25 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1425 | Email: Rep.BenBowman@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Christine Drazan, Republican Leader & Vice-Chair of House Rules – Republican, District 51 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1451 | Email: Rep.ChristineDrazan@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Hai Pham, Vice-Chair of House Rules – Democrat, District 36 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1436 | Email: Rep.HaiPham@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Shelly Boshart Davis, House Rules Committee Member – Republican, District 15 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1415 | Email: Rep.ShellyBoshartDavis@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Lucetta Elmer, House Rules Committee Member – Republican, District 24 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1424 | Email: Rep.LucettaElmer@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Jason Kropf, House Rules Committee Member – Democrat, District 54 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1454 | Email: Rep.JasonKropf@oregonlegislature.gov

• Representative Andrea Valderrama, House Rules Committee Member – Democrat, District 47 | Capitol Phone: 503-986-1447 | Email: Rep.AndreaValderrama@oregonlegislature.gov

The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not represent the opinions or positions of any party represented by the OPOA Legal Center on any particular matter.