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2025-142-Minutes for Meeting March 21,2025 Recorded 5/13/2025ES CO BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1300 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon (541) 388-6571 8:00 AM FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 2025 Pecorded in Deschutes County OJ2025-142 Steve Dennison; County Clerk Commissioners' Journal 05/13/2025 10:45:07 AM �,�.: Ilii��ll�ill��{�Illil�l� �i I I� 2025-142 FOR RECORDING STAMP ONLY ZOOM MEETING A legislative work session was held on Friday, March 21, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. via Zoom Virtual Meeting Platform. Deschutes County Attendance: x Commissioner Anthony DeBone, Chair 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 Steve Dennison, County Clerk x Chris Doty, Director Road Department David Doyle, Legal Counsel Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace Janice Garceau, Director Health Services x Stephen Gunnels, District Attorney x Peter Gutowsky, Director Community Development x Holly Harris, Director Behavioral Health x Geoff Hinds, Director Fair & Expo x Deevy Holcomb, Director Community Justice x Heather Kaisner, Director Public Health Sean Kirk, Manager Veteran's Services Bill Kuhn, Treasurer x Tom Kuhn, Public Health Program Manager Scot Langton, Assessor x Tania Mahood, Director Information Technology x Kevin Moriarty, Forester x Elizabeth Pape, Internal Auditor x Jen Patterson, Strategic Initiatives Manager 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 21, 2025 PAGE 1 OF 4 x Angie Powers, BOCC Administrative Assistant x Lee Randall, Director Facilities x Kim Riley, Senior Assistant Legal Counsel x Robert Tintle, Chief Financial Officer Kent van der Kamp, Sheriff Aaron Wells, Undersheriff x Heather Herauf, Procurement Manager Daniel Kieffer, Budget & Financial Planning Analyst x Cody Smith, Assistant Director Road Department Others Present: x Doug Riggs, Director NW Policy Advocates Corey Barber, Outreach Director NW Policy Advocates Emma Innes, Associate NW Policy Advocates x Reagan Knopp, Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson's office 1. Welcome and Introductions Chair DeBone called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. 2. Commissioner Updates 3. Updates from NW Policy Advocates Doug Riggs shared that SB 916 had a large debate on the Senate floor yesterday. The Ways and Means Co -Chairs released their budget framework, which shows Oregon heading in a higher revenue direction. They did not fund the Governor's $800 million housing request. In May the final revenue forecast will come out. The impact of federal budget decisions on the state may not be known by the end of the session. The deadline for bills to come out of committee is April 9. 4. Review Bill Tracker Report by Department Jen Patterson shared that HB 3172 directs the Department of the State Fire Marshall to establish a grant program to facilitate the retrofitting of dwellings and accessory structures to reduce vulnerability to wildfire. Peter Gutowsky spoke about deepening wells and onsite wastewater improvements, noting that this bill could also provide funds towards rebuilding after wildfire. Commissioner Chang asked how this will be paid for, and if this is tied to the wildfire funding package. Riggs said there's an indeterminate fiscal impact to the bill. Kevin Moriarty also expressed concerns for this bill's funding mechanism and needs additional information prior to 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 21, 2025 PAGE 2 OF 4 supporting this bill. Riggs believes that SB 83 will be the vehicle for the wildfire hazard map issue. Board position: priority 2/support. Patterson reported on a trio of three bills related to the wildfire hazard maps, including HB 3944, SB 83-4 and SB 678-4. Riggs said that only SB 83 will move and will be the base bill for the maps. Gutowsky summarized the dash 4 amendment. Responding to Commissioner DeBone's question about potential future amendments to SB 83, Riggs said that Senator Golden noted there will be substantial revisions to the dash 4 amendment. Board position on SB 83: priority 1 / no position. Board position on HB 3944 and SB 678: priority 3 / watch. SB 6 would obligate building officials, including Deschutes County's Community Development Department, to approve and issue, or disapprove and deny any building permit application no later than 45 days after the application is submitted. Peter Gutowsky strongly recommends opposition to this bill. Riggs noted there is testimony on the record from the City of Bend opposing this bill. The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) also oppose this bill. The main issues center around a ticking clock which may have unintended consequences of delaying land use action. Commissioner Chang recommended opposition. Commissioner Adair favors an amendment extending the timeline to 90 days. Responding to Commissioner Chang, Riggs said it is possible that this or related bills may move. Whether surveying procedures are added to the clock is another consideration. Board position: priority 3 / oppose. An update was provided on HB 3556, which extends the permissible use of net revenue from a new or increased Transient Room Tax to include public safety services and certain costs related to community infrastructure. Patterson said that a letter from the Board of Commissioners was submitted to the record this week. Cities and counties suggest this bill should live in the revenue committee. HB 2024 has a public hearing on March 25, and Holly Harris or other Behavioral Health staff will testify. Board position: priority 1 / support. Chris Doty spoke about HB 974 which includes a shot clock provision for surveyors to approve plats. He emphasized that bad survey work can be catastrophic and have long-lasting impacts. The next round of amendments will remove the shot clock provision. Board position: priority 3 / watch. Erik Kropp presented a draft letter from Oregon Living with Fire (OLWF), addressed to the federal delegation and outlining concerns over federal funding freezes and their impact on wildfire mitigation. Commissioner Chang asked for more clarity and specificity on which funds are frozen, including those as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. He'd like to circle back with OLWF and the Deschutes Collaborative 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 21, 2025 PAGE 3 OF 4 Forest Project, then add this information to the letter. Kropp will proceed as directed. Commissioner Adair recently attended a water resources meeting, and attendees were confident that federal funding related to water resources will not be greatly impacted. Commissioner Chang attributed this confidence to advocacy efforts. Doug Riggs said that SB 75, the ADU fix bill, had to be modified to align with SB 83 related to wildland-urban interface definitions. Sen. Golden is working on this amendment. SB 75 is likely to move. Next Friday, Commissioner DeBone will attend the Statewide Interoperability Executive Council biannual update in Salem. Holly Harris testified on HB 2056 on Tuesday and will testify on IMPACTS grant funding on April 3rd Next Meeting: The next virtual legislative update meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 28 at 8:00 a.m. Adjourn: Chair DeBone adjourned the meeting at 8:46 a.m. Respectfully Submitted by: Angie owers, dministrative Assistant 2025 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE MARCH 21, 2025 PAGE 4 OF 4 DESCHUTES COUNTY LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Friday, March 21, 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, March 20th 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.