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2025-77-Minutes for Meeting February 14,2025 Recorded 4/2/2025\\v-� E S Cc) G2A BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon (541) 388-6571 Recorded in Deschutes County OJ2025-77 Steve Dennison, County Clerk Commissioners' Journal 04/01 /2025 4:13:34 PM n 2o2b-77 • 8:00 AM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025 ZOOM MEETING A legislative work session was held on Friday, February 14, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. via Zoom Virtual Meeting Platform. Deschutes County Attendance: x Commissioner Anthony DeBone, Chair x Nick Lelack, County Administrator x Commissioner Patti Adair, Vice Chair x Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator x Commissioner Phil Chang Whitney Hale, Deputy County Administrator Kristie Bollinger, Property Manager x Tim Brownell, Director Solid Waste x Sara Crosswhite, Director 9-1-1 x Steve Dennison, County Clerk x Chris Doty, Director Road Department x David Doyle, Legal Counsel Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace x Janice Garceau, Director Health Services x Stephen Gunnels, District Attorney Peter Gutowsky, Director Community Development x Holly Harris, Director Behavioral Health Geoff Hinds, Director Fair & Expo x Deevy Holcomb, Director Community Justice Heather Kaisner, Director Public Health Sean Kirk, Manager Veteran's Services x Bill Kuhn, Treasurer x Tom Kuhn, Public Health Program Manager Scot Langton, Assessor x Tania Mahood, Director Information Technology x Kevin Moriarty, Forester Elizabeth Pape, Internal Auditor x Jen Patterson, Strategic Initiatives Manager 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2025 PAGE 1 OF 5 x Angie Powers, BOCC Administrative Assistant x Lee Randall, Director Facilities Kim Riley, Senior Assistant Legal Counsel x Robert Tintle, Chief Financial Officer Kent van der Kamp, Sheriff Aaron Wells, Undersheriff Heather Herauf, Procurement Manager Daniel Kieffer, Budget & Financial Planning Analyst Cody Smith, Assistant Director Road Department Others Present: x Doug Riggs, Director NW Policy Advocates x Corey Barber, Outreach Director NW Policy Advocates x Emma Innes, Associate NW Policy Advocates 1. Welcome and Introductions Chair DeBone called the meeting to order at 8:01 a.m. 2. Commissioner Updates Commissioner Chang asked to revisit HB 2024 as discussed at the Wednesday BOCC meeting. This bill requires the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to study the Behavioral Health (BH) workforce. Board position: priority 1 /support. Commissioner Adair acknowledged that she voted opposite the Board's position at a recent AOC meeting, however her vote made no difference towards the result. She will endeavor to align her votes with the Board's position moving forward. Patterson noted this bill appears on the bill tracker report under Behavioral Health. Chair DeBone shared that AOC meets weekly, noting that when the County takes a position on a bill or a topic, this is the will of the Board. He wished everyone a happy Valentine's Day. Nick Lelack also acknowledged Oregon's birthday. Janice Garceau thanked the Board for its support of HB 2024. Chair DeBone reported on a recent community discussion related to SB 762, the wildfire hazard map, noting a high level of community engagement. He sent a letter to Sen. Golden, and copied the Governor's Office, urging a more regional mapping approach. The Governor's office has not yet responded. Commissioner Adair said the consequences do not end at the map, and it results in building restrictions on the owners of properties classified as high risk. 3. Updates from NW Policy Advocates 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2025 PAGE 2 OF 5 Doug Riggs reported that the Capitol was closed yesterday due to inclement weather. There has been an expectation of a draft transportation package to be released soon but it has been delayed. The Governor's Project Labor Agreement (PLA) executive order and the release of an audit are two causes of the delay. Public testimony on the Criminal justice Commission (CJC) budget will take place soon, noting this budget leaves out IMPACTS funding. On Wednesday a hearing on HB 3078 related to juniper removal. HB 3135 is anotherjuniper bill. On Thursday there will be a hearing on the CORE3 bill. 4. Review Bill Tracker Report by Department jen Patterson discussed HB 2410, which allows the Energy Facility Siting council to allow small modular reactor energy facilities. Chair DeBone said Umatilla County is an advocate for this bill. Commissioner Chang noted that nuclear waste treatment is an important consideration, adding that he doesn't wish to support without proper consideration for adequate waste management. Board position: priority 3/support. Riggs said that HB 3104 is one of the CORE3 bills and is a proposal to create rural workforce centers. This bill came out of a statewide group, iSector, tasked with working with local jurisdictions on housing and economic development. Responding to Commissioner Chang, Riggs will research and later report on Goal 11 exceptions. Board position: priority 2/watch. HB 3135 is a bill to extern the soil and water conservation district grants forjuniper removal, which were passed last session. Commissioner Chang wished to focus on fuels reduction and the main benefit forjuniper removal. Riggs noted the original bill does list the goal of fuels reduction, along with hydrologic benefits. Patterson said there is a hearing on this next Wednesday at 8 a.m. The Board advocated for sending a letter of support. Board position: priority 2/support. Steve Dennison shared that SB 578 establishes dates by which candidates must file a statement of purpose and portrait to be included in the voters' pamphlet. Currently, there is a very tight timeline, and this bill would allow the Clerk's Office an additional week to finalize their pamphlet for printing. Dennison acknowledged Oregon's 1661h birthday today. Board position: priority 2/support. Deevy Holcomb spoke her support for SB 816, which relates to juvenile diversion plans and juvenile crime prevention services. Board position: priority 2/support. She also supports HB 3375, as it targets substance use/abuse primary prevention programs for youth. Riggs will find out whether this bill is related to a study or action and report back. Board position: priority 2/support. 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2025 PAGE 3 OF 5 Robert Tintle noted that HB 3325 deals with Transient Room/Lodging Tax (TRT or TLT). It proposes an adjustment to the first 5% of TRT, to be used differently than it is now, with a different proportion going towards general government and marketing. Chair DeBone suggested a public work session meeting with TRT partners and local stakeholders, should this bill gain traction. Board position: priority 2/support. Riggs added that HB 3356 is the local government TRT proposal to allow more uses, including public safety, public facilities and housing. HB 3518 is important to the Assessor's Office and deals with taxation and assessment funding. It revamps the current operations model and increases the Clerk's recording fee credited to the County Assessor and Taxation Fund. Tintle said it will provide additional funding to the County as CAFFA funding has decreased drastically over the past several years. Chair DeBone noted that County Assessor Scot Langton is supportive of this bill. Board position: priority 1/support. Tom Kuhn has submitted a letter of support for HB 5025 to the Board, and the Board was supportive of signature to this letter. Board position: priority 1 /support. Kevin Moriarty said that SB 85 directs the State Fire Marshall to establish a neighborhood protection cooperative grant program. This will include voluntary homeowner assessment and certification. Riggs noted that the question of insurance rates is part of the conversation relative to SB 85. Commissioner Adair asked Riggs to please research the Oregon FAIR Plan, an insurance market for property owners. She expressed concern for property owners who have been dropped by their homeowner's insurance carrier or have experienced drastically increasing rates. Moriarty said that a neighborhood only requires 8 homeowners to become a Firewise community, and this program would likely have a higher threshold, noting that it is not linked to the wildfire hazard map. Board position: priority 1/support. Chair DeBone said that SB 678 undoes wildfire protection provisions adopted in 2021's SB 762. Discussion ensued regarding what it means for a property to be classified as high risk for wildfire. Commissioners Adair and Chang debated the issue. Board position: priority 2/watch. Patterson said that HB 2062 relates to a responsibility program for battery producers. It has been supported by the Board and Tim Brownell will testify. 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2025 PAGE 4 OF 5 Patterson spoke of a draft letter for a community -initiated funding request for the Terrebonne Sanitary District. The Board had no requested revisions and were supportive of signing the letter. Patterson discussed a letter of support for the Building Wildfire Resilient Landscapes for the Protection of Indigenous Cultures and Museums grant request. It came from Oregon Living with Fire and is a partnership between Deschutes and Jefferson counties for emergency fire protection systems for High Desert Museum and Museum at Warm Springs. Responding to Commissioner Adair, Patterson will find out the requested amount of the grant and will report back to the Board at their Wednesday meeting. Tom Kuhn shared that PHAB wishes to submit a letter of support for Public Health modernization (HB 5025), and he will send over a letter to the Board today. Chair DeBone and Commissioner Adair were supportive, and Commissioner Chang left the meeting prior to the discussion. Next Meeting: The next virtual legislative update meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 21 at 7:30 a.m. Adjourn: Chair DeBone adjourned the meeting at 9:06 a.m. Respectfully Submitted by: Angie' owers, Administrative Assistant 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FEBRUARY 14, 2025 PAGE 5 OF 5 • Friday, February 14, 2025, 8:00 am This meeting will be held virtually. Members of the public may access the meeting using this link: https://bit.ly/3WDZYOx Or call (253) 205-0468 Webinar ID: 879 4809 6174 Passcode: 156736 1. Welcome -Chair 2. Commissioner Updates 3. Updates from NW Policy Advocates -Doug Riggs 4. Review Bill Tracker Report* by Department *the Bill Tracker Report will be added to the online meeting materials on Thursday, February 13th Deschutes County encourages persons with disabilities to participate in all programs and activities. This event/location is accessible to people with disabilities. If you need accommodations to make participation possible, please call (541) 617-4747.