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2023-121-Minutes for Meeting March 24,2023 Recorded 4/12/202301 E S COG2� BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon (541) 388-6571 Fz1flaimv Recorded in Deschutes County CJ2023-121 Steve Dennison, County Clerk Commissioners' Journal 04/12/2023 8:31 :52 AM 2023-121 FOR RECORDING STAMP ONLY FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023 VIA ZOOM CONFERENCE CALL A virtual legislative update meeting was held on Friday, March 24, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. via Zoom Virtual Meeting Platform, for a weekly scheduled event during this 2023 Legislative Session. Deschutes County Attendance: x Commissioner Anthony DeBone x Nick Lelack, County Administrator x Commissioner Patti Adair x Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator x Commissioner Phil Chang x Whitney Hale, Deputy County Administrator Dave Doyle, Legal Counsel Kim Riley, Assistant Legal Counsel David Givans, Internal Auditor Robert Tintle, Chief Financial Officer Chris Doty, Road Department Director x Janice Garceau, Health Services Director Kristie Bollinger, Property Manager Stephen Gunnels, District Attorney x Peter Gutowsky, Community Development Director x Kathleen Hinman, Human Resources Director Keith MacNamara, Veterans' Services Manager Deevy Holcomb, Community Justice Director x Lee Randall, Facilities Director x Kevin Moriarty, Forester x Chad Centola, Solid Waste Director x Tim Brownell, Incoming Solid Waste Director Shane Nelson, Sheriff x Sara Crosswhite, 9-1-1 Director x Steve Dennison, Clerk x Cheyenne Purrington, Houseless Strategies and Solutions Director x Geoff Hinds, Fair & Expo Director Scot Langton, Assessor Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace x Tania Mahood, IT Director Holly Harris, Behavioral Health Director Will Groves, Planning Manager 2023 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 24, 2023 PAGE 1 OF 5 x Tom Kuhn, Public Health Program Manager x Angie Powers, BOCC Administrative Assistant x Jen Patterson, Strategic Initiatives Manager Legislators Present: Senator Lynn Findley Senator Tim Knopp X Representative Emerson Levy Senator Dennis Linthicum Representative Vickki Breese Iverson Representative Werner Reschke x Representative Jason Kropf x Andy Smith, Rep. Kropf's office x Bryan Iverson, on behalf of Representative Vikki Breese Iverson Others Present: x Doug Riggs, NW Policy Advocates President Gabriel Velasquez, NW Policy Advocates Legislative Coordinator X Jack Farley, Community Member x Angie Brewer, Community Member X Sherrie Grieef, Community Member 1. Introductions Commissioner DeBone called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Whitney Hale clarified that this is an externally -focused meeting, with legislators joining the meeting at 8:30 a.m. Doug Riggs reported that HB 3009, a behavioral health bill, was pulled from the calendar. Steve Dennison discussed HB 2004 and HB 3509, related to election reform and Rank Choice Voting (RCV). OACC (Oregon Association of County Clerks) is closely following each one. County Clerks across the state have two main concerns with these bills, the first of which is that fiscal impact is missing from these bills. There is no indication of how RCV would be paid for up -front, nor the ongoing maintenance costs associated. Secondly, the short timeline for implementation has an associated risk of failure. The effective date is January 1, 2025, and this is much too short of a timeframe for implementation. Mr. Dennison asked the Board to join OACC and County Clerks to oppose these bills. Commissioner Chang said that Rank Choice Voting is an interesting choice, but it needs to be appropriately implemented. Commissioner Adair was in agreement. The Board maintained a Priority 1 opposition to these bills. Erik Kropp and Jen Patterson followed up on a draft letter to our legislators, related to a potential amendment to HB 2006 relative to Safe Parking. Commissioner DeBone summarized the text of the draft letter referencing Section 6 of HB 2006, allowing counties to site Safe Parking sites on rural lands and resource lands outside of the UGB. Nick Lelack will draft a secondary letter to DLCD (Oregon Department of 2023 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 24, 2023 PAGE 2 OF 5 Land Conservation and Development) and LCDC (Land Conservation and Development Commission) related to emergency interim housing and temporary sheltering for those displaced by wildfires to also apply to those displaced by a housing shortage. Commissioner Chang noted that discussions related to Safe Parking put neighbors on high alert, and cause anxiety about concerns about their neighborhood. He'd like to see some consistency with the letter the Board recently sent to the Governor. Commissioners DeBone, Chang and Adair supported adding language in the letter referencing "at the perimeter of the existing UGB." Commissioner Adair shared that she just took a tour of the 17-acre facility operated by Helping Hands in Portland. They are doing a phenomenal job, and are currently struggling with public funding for operation. They provide addiction services and access to treatment, and they have a great relationship with the community. She's open to exploring other opportunities to tackle homelessness in our community. 2. Legislator Updates Rep. Kropf provided a legislative update. The deadline for work sessions is approaching, and has trimmed down the list of bills. The budget framework came out on Friday, and provides a continued commitment to reinvestments in schools, behavioral health and housing issues. There is an upcoming hearing about how we pay for courthouses, and the potential for bonding, and this could impact Deschutes County. New cost estimates for infrastructure investment projects due to inflatioi � is a topic of consideration. They plan to elevate their prioritized budget requests to the Chair next month, and it would be helpful to receive input as soon as possible. After the April 4 deadline, there will be renewed focus on bills. Mr. Riggs said that a key priority is ensuring that projects that are already in the pipeline are adequately funded. Bryan Iverson, attended and provided a legislative update on behalf of Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson. Mr. Iverson reported that Rep. Iverson is working on the CHIPS bill in Ways and Means today. Rep. Iverson cautions that early spending may come back and bite us when the May forecast comes out. She is committed to the courthouse and the juniper funding, relative to the potential for biomass energy. Commissioner DeBone added that juniper encroachment is removing important deer and elk browsing area and must also be considered. There has been a flurry of activity at the Capitol this week, and there is bipartisan support for funding in education. Discussion took place relative to the drought relief package. Mr. Riggs said that legislators may be willing to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss the package in 2023 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 24, 2023 PAGE 3 OF 5 detail. Commissioner DeBone suggested they have a roundtable discussion with experts on the topic, on Wednesday, with Zoom capabilities. Rep. Levy shared that she's been working on Alyssa's Law and has an upcoming meeting with Deschutes County 9-1-1's Sara Crosswhite. The costs associated with the CAD requirements are lower than anticipated. She testified on the state of sport as it relates to bringing the sports economy to Deschutes County. A new bill bringing heat pump manufacturing to the area has been brought forward, and all funding requests have been sent out. On the housing front, one of her goals is to make sure that DLCD is working with the County and the legislative intent is clear to increase housing production. Cities need help increasing the housing supply. Mr. Riggs shared that HB 3414 holds cities accountable for the housing crisis, and has generated a lot of passionate testimony. Commissioner DeBone pointed out that the increased housing costs can also be attributed to higher level infrastructure (e.g. roads, water, and sewer) that our society has come to expect. Commissioner Adair shared that she received a text from Sen. Bonham recently, stating that there is no money for anything other than current service level. Rep. Kropf said that this budget process is indeed tighter, and there is a focus on keeping essential services intact leaving little left -over for anything beyond current service level. He stressed that we must live within our budget and prioritize accordingly, and set expectations at reasonable levels due to more competition for fewer dollars. 3. Commissioner Updates Commissioner DeBone reported that the Governor signed a drought declaration for Deschutes County. Commissioner Chang is interested in seeing key components of the drought package being funded, and asked the delegation if they should be lobbying in this regard. He asked where it will be processed in Ways and Means. Rep. Levy responded that it would likely come through Natural Resources, and will get back to Commissioner Chang with updates. Mr. Iverson shared that HJR 23, attached to the drought package, is scheduled for a hearing on April 4th in the Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water Committee. This is Rep. Helms' funding mechanism for the drought package. This may be a good starting point for drought -related items. 4. Updates from NW Policy Advocates Along the lines of what Rep. Kropf discussed, Mr. Riggs said that the deadline for scheduling bill work sessions is in two weeks. SIB 644, the ADU wildfire fix will be on the senate floor this week and will then move to the house. HB 2001, the housing 2023 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 24, 2023 PAGE 4 OF 5 and homeless package, has passed the house and the senate and has been signed by the Governor. The Ballot Measure 110 comprehensive work group has not made any changes to the penalties section. The County provided testimony at a hearing yesterday for Ways and Means related to the public health budget. The juniper management bills (HB 3142 and HB 3003) have both moved out of committee unanimously. The Co -Chair's budget for the Ways and Means committee is currently in draft form. 5. Other Items • Mr. Riggs provided a brief update for the Board and Department Heads: • Many behavioral health bills are beginning to move to Ways and Means. The Governor has proposed a comprehensive behavioral health package, but he is unclear about how this dovetails with all of the other packages. • Workforce Training packages for public health and healthcare professionals are beginning to move. • A self -serve gas bill may make it through this session. Last session, it was vetoed by Gov. Brown. • Peter Gutowsky spoke about H113 3197, which would limit the requirement that housing regulations be clear and objective within the UGB. This will be a topic for further discussion. A proposal for clear and objective areas to also apply to rural areas would be daunting for counties be required to modify their codes, as many any of their other regulations are without clear and objective criteria. Next Meeting: The next virtual legislative update meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 31, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. Adjourn: Chair DeBone adjourned the meeting at 9:05 a.m. Respectfully Submitted by: biigie Polders, 19OCC Administrative Assistant 2023 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 24, 2023 PAGE 5 OF 5