End of 2024 Legislative Short Session Summary
Hello Friends,
The 2024 Legislative Short Session came to a close three days early on the evening of Thursday, March 7th. Coming into the Legislative Short Session, I had two Top Priorities: Repeal/Reform Measure 110 and secure the states match of $35 million dollars to move forward the third Oregon Veterans' Home to be built in Roseburg. I am humbled to say, we accomplished both of these critically important issues!
We were also able to pass legislation I sponsored, our Wildfire Victims Relief Package, to assist our residents who lost their homes due to wildfires.
SB 1520 - Creates Oregon tax subtraction for amounts received in resolution of a civil action arising from wildfire. Creates an Oregon tax subtraction for wildfire-related legal fees paid by plaintiffs. Allows taxpayer to amend return to claim refund for earliest tax year in which subtraction is allowed. Applies to declarations and executive orders issued on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2026, and to amounts received, losses incurred and legal fees paid in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.
SB 1545 - Authorizes a county to allow a homestead rebuilt by the same owner on the same lot to replace the homestead destroyed by the September 2020 wildfires to have a specially assessed value equal to the destroyed homestead's real market value for the 2020-2021 property tax year, to the extent of the square footage of the destroyed homestead. Provides that the specially assessed value continues until the earliest of the date on which the rebuilt homestead is no longer the owner's principal dwelling, is rented to another person for any duration or is transferred to new ownership.
These two pieces of legislation will never begin to erase the devastation to those who lost everything to wildfires, however it is a small start to assist in their ability to rebuild.
As you know, I have long pushed for more active forest management from our federal agencies on their federal managed lands.
I worked on drafting and passing HB 4118 that: Expresses state policy regarding pursuit of projects under Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. Instructs signatory state agencies to work with federal land management agencies to prioritize projects. Requires Governor and Federal Forest Working Group to jointly develop recommendations for goals of Good Neighbor Authority Agreement. Establishes deadline for Governor or designee agency to report recommendations for goals to Legislative Assembly. Appropriates moneys to State Forestry Department for supporting development, planning or implementation of priority projects on federal forestland under Good Neighbor Authority Agreement.
I then worked on drafting and passing SB 872 that: Instructs State Forestry Department to endeavor to partner with federal agencies to undertake certain activities in federal forests related to fire prevention and request that federal agencies fund portions of those activities.
SECTION 1. (1) The State Forestry Department shall:
(a) In collaboration with any forest protective association or agency that is under contract or agreement with the State Board of Forestry for the protection of forestland against
fire, and whose protection area is or may be affected by a fire on nearby federal lands, and
with a focus on protecting lands and rural communities within the wildland-urban interface,
as defined pursuant to ORS 477.027, from fire on federal lands, endeavor to further shared
stewardship to decrease wildfire risk across Oregon through increased partnership with
federal agencies to expand activities under the Good Neighbor Authority Agreement described in ORS 526.275 in federal forests through:
(A) Increasing forest thinning.
(B) Reducing ladder fuels and other hazardous fuel loading.
(C) Restoring meadowland.
(D) Increasing biomass utilization.
(E) Increasing post-disturbance recovery and restoration activities.
(b) Request that the federal agencies fund portions of the activities described in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(2) Activities undertaken pursuant to subsection (1) of this section must be executed in
a manner that protects and enhances the long-term ecological health of a landscape, in
conformance with the most broadly accepted scientific principles of forestry.
These two pieces of legislation were critical steps in moving forward with a cohesive western states strategy on more active forest management on federally managed lands to increase production, economic development and family wage jobs while reducing fire risk to our rural communities. More to come in a future newsletter.
2024 SESSION RECAP: Senate Republicans Prioritized Emergencies Like Measure 110 and Housing Supply; Lowered Costs for Oregonians, Protected the Kicker
From the Senate Republican Office
More from the Senate Republican Office
Sponsored Legislation that Passed this Session
We of course were successful in the Repeal/Reform of Measure 110 that is not included in the list of bills below. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a couple of amendments into the bill that would have engaged our U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and bolstered our public defense services.
SB 1520 - Creates Oregon tax subtraction for amounts received in resolution of a civil action arising from wildfire. Creates an Oregon tax subtraction for wildfire-related legal fees paid by plaintiffs. Allows taxpayer to amend return to claim refund for earliest tax year in which subtraction is allowed. Applies to declarations and executive orders issued on or after January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2026, and to amounts received, losses incurred and legal fees paid in tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2018.
SB 1545 - Authorizes a county to allow a homestead rebuilt by the same owner on the same lot to replace the homestead destroyed by the September 2020 wildfires to have a specially assessed value equal to the destroyed homestead's real market value for the 2020-2021 property tax year, to the extent of the square footage of the destroyed homestead. Provides that the specially assessed value continues until the earliest of the date on which the rebuilt homestead is no longer the owner's principal dwelling, is rented to another person for any duration or is transferred to new ownership.
SB 1553 - Modifies the crime of interfering with public transportation to include the use of an unlawfully possessed controlled substance while in or on a public transit vehicle. Punishes by a maximum of 364 days' imprisonment, a $6,250 fine, or both. Provides that the new manner of committing interfering with public transportation is a designated drug-related misdemeanor for purposes of supervision duty and funding.
SB 1579 - Establishes the Children's Advocacy Center Fund. Provides that the Legislative Assembly shall appropriate sufficient moneys to the fund that are necessary to fully fund the existing grant program to establish, maintain and support children's advocacy centers and regional children's advocacy centers, and to support county child abuse multidisciplinary teams. Directs the Department of Justice to develop and administer a one-time grant program to expand access to services and supports provided by children's advocacy centers and regional children's advocacy centers. Appropriates moneys to the Department of Justice out of the General Fund for the grant program.
SB 1581 - Requires an investor-owned utility that sells more than two million megawatt hours of electricity in a calendar year to report to and inform the Legislative Assembly of activities that the investor-owned utility has taken or is taking toward participating in a regional energy market.
SCR 204 - In memoriam: Bill Bradbury, 1949-2023.
SB 1561 - Establishes the Environmental Restoration Council. Directs the council to establish programs to distribute moneys from the Monsanto settlement. Establishes the Oregon Environmental Restoration Fund. Establishes the State Agency Program Fund. Establishes the Disproportionately Impacted Community Fund. Establishes the Tribal Nation Natural Resource Program Fund.
SB 1562 - Increases the cap on amounts held in the Oregon Rainy Day Fund.
SB 1564 - Requires the Land Conservation and Development Commission to adopt model ordinances for cities of different sizes to implement housing and urbanization requirements. Appropriates moneys to the Department of Land Conservation and Development for the purpose of adopting model ordinances.
SCR 209 - In memoriam: Joanne Russell Verger, 1930-2023.
SCR 213 - Recognizes and honors Specialist Ken "Kenny" Leisten (1984-2004) for his service to his country.
HB 4003 - Directs the Department of State Police to study the causes of and ways to address the medical examiner shortage, and to provide the results of the study to the appropriate interim committees of the Legislative Assembly no later than October 1, 2024. Sunsets on January 2, 2025.
HB 4058 - Creates a residential property wholesaler registration. Prohibits residential property wholesaling without a registration. Provides exceptions. Punishes a violation by a maximum of 364 days' imprisonment, a $6,250 fine, or both. Creates civil penalties. Requires real estate licensees acting as buyer's agents to use a written buyer's representation agreement. Requires real estate licensees acting as seller's agents to use a written listing agreement. Requires real estate licensees to disclose shared compensation. Prohibits real estate licensees from entering into long-term agreements that require buyers or sellers to use their services in the future.
HB 4084 - Directs the Department of Education to establish and administer a pilot program for students who are foster children. Sunsets the plan June 30, 2027.
HB 4111 - Removes the requirement that farm machinery and equipment be tangible personal property for the purposes of exemption from ad valorem property taxation.
HB 4115 - Modifies the definition of "supervisory employee" to include certain employees and exclude certain strike-prohibited public employees. Limits the permissible composition of bargaining units regarding the inclusion of certain guards and police officers who serve in a rank that is equivalent to the rank of sergeant and subordinate employees.
HB 4132 - Requires the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the State Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Department of State Lands to implement the Ocean Policy Advisory Council recommendations to develop an adaptive management and social monitoring program to support marine reserves. Appropriates moneys to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for the program.
HB 4134 - Oregon Business Development Department to provide grants to cities for specified infrastructure projects that will benefit housing developments that will make at least 30 percent of the dwelling units affordable to workforce income households. Requires cities receiving grants to provide reports to the Oregon Business Development Department. Appropriates moneys to the Oregon Business Development Department.
HB 4137 - Directs the State Board of Education to adopt rules by which a student who has completed an International Baccalaureate program may satisfy certain requirements for a high school diploma in this state.
HB 4140 - Directs the Department of Justice to include in future budget requests amounts necessary to fund children's advocacy centers, the Survivor Housing Funds grant program and the Oregon Domestic and Sexual Violence Services Fund. Directs children's advocacy center directors to biennially submit to the department projected costs and estimates of other funding sources for the center.
HB 4146 - Provides that a petition for a Family Abuse Prevention Act order, Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act order or sexual abuse restraining order may be filed in the county in which the abuse occurred. Removes the requirement that a disclosed image be identifiable for purposes of the crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image.
HB 4160 - Modifies the length of time by which a person is considered a student for purposes of determining if conduct is prohibited sexual conduct.
HCR 203 - Reaffirms the State of Oregon's commitment to its relationship with Taiwan.
It was a sprint of a 32 day 2024 Legislative Short Session. Stay tuned for my next newsletter for other positives and negatives out of this Short Session and for more information on our coalition building for federal forest management investments for our communities.
Thank you again for your advocacy in assisting me and my colleagues in securing the $35 million dollars for the third Oregon Veterans' Home to be built in Roseburg. I am incredibly grateful for the service of our Veterans and I am honored to be able to serve them to the best of my ability, building the coalition to bring home this funding. As ODVA Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels stated, “Oregon Veterans' Homes play a crucial role in providing essential long-term skilled nursing, memory and rehabilitative care for our aging veterans and families. The required state funding for a Veterans’ Home in Roseburg marks a pivotal and necessary step forward in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs funding process to ensure that all veterans receive the care and support they deserve in the “place where honor lives.””
As always, thank you for the privilege and honor to work for you in the Oregon State Senate. Be safe and God Bless you, your family and your neighbor.
Yours Truly,
 Senator David Brock Smith
Together, We Will Build a Better Oregon
 Senate District 1
Curry, Coos, and Douglas Counties
Southwest Oregon’s Fish, Farm, and Forestry District.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1701
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-316, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.DavidBrockSmith@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd
| 
