About three dozen Oregonians whose wells have run dry, Southern Oregon University and state courthouses with little security are among the greatest beneficiaries of millions of dollars in emergency funding approved by Oregon lawmakers.
The 20 members of the Legislature’s Emergency Board on Wednesday mostly unanimously agreed to approve 33 requests from state agencies and programs for more funding or to move around previously allocated funding or existing federal funding to pay for staff, new and ongoing projects and to cover budget holes.
Legislative leaders said their immediate focus is public safety, including responding to drought issues and preparedness for wildfires and natural disasters.
“The Emergency Board focused this week on critical time-sensitive issues facing Oregonians, from wildfire evacuation notification, to stabilizing funding for Southern Oregon University, to expanding anti-trust enforcement that protects consumers and small businesses,” said Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and co-chair of the board. “At the same time, we’re holding a healthy reserve to respond to another challenging fire season.”
Many requests were for state investments in the millions of dollars required to access hundreds of millions in federal grants.
The board, which manages appropriated emergency funds outside of official legislative sessions, is also chaired by House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, and membership is split equally between lawmakers from the House and Senate. There are 12 Democrats on the committee and eight Republicans, and the members will next meet in September to consider any new emergency costs that arise during the summer.
Water
Emergency Board members approved $1 million for 35 households who urgently need to replace or repair wells that have dried up. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who has issued drought declarations for nearly half the state’s counties, urged the Legislature to approve the funds which will provide the low- to moderate-income households up to $40,000 each for well work.
The move effectively doubles the biennial budget of the state’s Well Abandonment, Repair and Replacement Fund established in 2021, but it is not enough to meet overall demand, Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, told his colleagues on the board.
Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, voted to approve the funding but raised concerns that since 2021, the Well Repair and Replacement fund has disproportionately served specific areas of central and southern Oregon, despite well issues throughout the state.
“My county has regularly declared droughts. My county has experienced fires. But since 2021, not one of these wells has appeared in my county,” he said. “I see one well since 2021 along the entire length of the Columbia River, and as I look at these maps, it appears to me that there are roughly the same number of wells we’ve supported in Lane County, as in Malheur, Baker, Wallowa, Union, Umatilla and Morrow counties combined.
Gomberg recommended that the Legislature come back in 2027 with a plan to get “better bang for the buck” through the program, including focusing on funding community wells that can support multiple families over private household wells.
Lawmakers also approved allocating $50,000 of Oregon Water Resources Department funding to unlock a $2 million federal grant that will be used to test and monitor water quality and study the hydrology in the Lower Umatilla Groundwater Management Area, where high levels of nitrate from farm fertilizers and food processors have made well-water undrinkable for many.
“I am hoping that this results in a data set that facilitates real, actionable steps,” said Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland. “We have thousands of people just in a world of hurt out there year, after year, after year, after year, and hopefully this is a step towards a solution.”
Public safety and emergency response
The board approved roughly $1.1 million for security measures at state courthouses, where officials have received a growing number of threats, according to lawmakers. This year, 12 courts in Oregon were slated to have either no security screening or only partial screening. The board also allocated $300,000 to help pay for data privacy measures for court officials.
A key tool for alerting Oregonians via phone and email of evacuation orders and extreme weather will also get funding. The Oregon Health Authority signed a five-year contract in 2024 with the emergency notice software provider, which is used for evacuation zone mapping and sending out public alerts via the OR-Alert program, but did not have a dedicated source of funding.
The state used one-time Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement funds in its first year, but it needs $720,000 annually to keep up with the payments. Lawmakers agreed it is money well spent and agreed to fund it through 2027 until the full Legislature can meet to appropriate regular funding.
“In 2020, it took as long as 45 to 55 minutes for notifications to get to people during the wildfires. There wasn’t a system. This (Genasys software) can reduce that down between one and five minutes” Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, told the board.
SOU funding
Lawmakers voted to send $7.5 million to Southern Oregon University in Ashland amid the school’s ongoing budget woes but warned higher education funding and structures will need major changes in the coming years.
In February, university officials projected that they could fail to meet financing obligations by spring of 2027 given 15 years of declining revenues. The Legislature in the most recent session approved putting $15 million aside for the university, contingent on officials submitting to lawmakers an operational plan through June of 2027 and a long-term plan for staying solvent. The university delivered its short-term plan, unlocking the first $7.5 million, and will bring its long-term plan to the Emergency Board in September to receive the other half of the $15 million.
Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, suggested having the University of Oregon take over Southern Oregon University could help. Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, voted to approve the funds but said the state needs to revisit funding for higher education and how state and community colleges are structured in the near future.
“Eastern Oregon University’s enrollment is less than Hermiston High School. Blue Mountain Community College’s enrollment is less than Hermiston High School. Treasure Valley is right in the same arena,” he explained. “The notion that we need three payroll clerks for 3,000 to 4000 students makes no sense to me. With a little bit of forethought, and a little bit of consolidation, we can save these universities and we can provide excellent education to our youth, but some hard decisions are going to have to be made.”
Wagner agreed, calling Southern Oregon University a “canary in the coal mine.”
“We are not in a moment where it’s just ‘Give us more money, get out of our way,’” he said of the state’s universities. “The legislature is going to need to step in. We’re going to have to have some exceedingly brave conversations about the condition of postsecondary education and workforce training in this state.”
DOJ antitrust team
Board members approved a request from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and the state’s Department of Justice to use $2.7 million of its own funds to more than double the capacity of the agency’s antitrust team tasked with stopping illegal mergers and corporate monopolies. None of the funding will come from taxpayers, but from the money the state collects when it wins antitrust awards and settlements. Those get deposited in the agency’s Protection and Education Account, which currently sits at around $50 million.
The agency currently has eight antitrust officials for “resource-heavy cases,” but agency leaders say they need the Oregon Legislature to approve a budget to hire 16 instead more in light of what officials have said is an enforcement vacuum left by the federal government under President Donald Trump.
The state Justice Department has been successful in blocking the merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, and an anti-trust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticket Master. Rayfield and 33 other state attorneys general will push for the companies’ full separation in the damages part of their trial, expected to take place early next year.
Rayfield is suing to stop the merger of broadcast companies Tegna and Nexstar to prevent the further consolidation of local TV news stations in Portland and across the country.
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