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| Dear OSWA Member,
It is finally here! Tomorrow (Tuesday) is OSWA's Legislative Day at the Capitol.
YES, you can still sign up or just show up if you decide at the last minute to be part of this year's event.
A full day of meetings with legislative leaders, floor
sessions and a variety of relevant committee hearings are
available. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
To register and view the day's agenda, please visit the OSWA website. The event is FREE and we will buy your lunch if you pre-register!
For those attending, please be at the OSWA office no later than
7:30 a.m. to catch the FREE bus (provided by Starker Forest
Products). Otherwise, meet at the Capitol (Room 50 - Capitol
basement) at 8:00 a.m. |
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Budget Meetings in Bend, Ashland and Eugene
The
Ways & Means Committee, the legislature's budget writers, continue
their second week of public meetings outside Salem. The purpose
of the meetings is to give the public the opportunity to express their
opinion on the significant budget cuts the legislature is facing in
response to the continually growing revenue shortfall.
Agencies
were directed to prepare 30% Cut Lists that represented how the agency
would respond should their budget be reduced by 30%. Lists of
proposed cuts can be found at: http://www.leg.state.or.us/comm/lfo/home.htm
IF
YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FUNDING FOR THE DEPARTMENT
OF FORESTRY'S FIRE AND PRIVATE FORESTRY PROGRAMS, the
Agricultural Experiment Station, OSU Extension Service and the Forest
Research Laboratory, IT IS URGENT THAT YOU ATTEND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
MEETINGS TO EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS.
OSWA has prepared talking points for your use at the hearings which can be found on OSWA's website homepage.
SCHEDULED MEETINGS
Wednesday, April 29
Central Oregon Community College, Bend
Cascades Hall Room 117
5:30 to 8 p.m.
Thursday, April 30
Southern Oregon University, Ashland
Rogue River Room
Stevenson Union
1250 Siskiyou Boulevard
5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday, May 1
University of Oregon, Eugene
Prince Lucien Campbell Hall (PLC 180)
1415 Kincaid Street
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Last Week
Changes continued to SB 80,
originally Governor Kulongoski's Cap & Trade proposal. The
latest version would direct agencies to develop plans for meeting the
aspirational greenhouse goals the legislature adopted in 2007.
State Forest Debate Aired
The
House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development held a
hearing on HB 3072, legislation counties have sought for the past 6
years. The bill would restore timber primacy to the multiple use
management of the Northwest Oregon State Forests.
Several
timber companies and loggers joined Tillamook County Commissioner Tim
Josi in supporting the bill. Josi also spoke on behalf of the
Council of Forest Land Trust Counties. Public testimony continued
for two hours.
Board of Forestry Chair John Blackwell
testified in opposition to the bill following a special BOF conference
call for the sole purpose of taking a position on HB 3072. Rather
than their normal process to achieve consensus, the BOF took a rare
vote on the motion to oppose HB 3072. Southern Oregon's Jennifer
Phillipi was the only vote in opposition to the motion.
At
the hearing, the Chair of the committee, Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem,
directed Blackwell to address increasing timber harvests by July
2009. The BOF met in Grants Pass later in the week to give
direction to the Forestry Department to prepare a slight timber harvest
increase that the BOF could adopt in June.
Rep. Clem also
said that he was not going to move forward on a resolution in support
of the BLM's WOPR. Governor Kulongoski has withdrawn the state's
administrative appeal after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
announced they will withdraw the Spotted Owl Recovery Plan prepared by
the Bush Administration.
The
recovery plan will be revised and the WOPR will also be changed to
reflect a new Spotted Owl plan. O & C Counties
are now faced with a new strategic decision regarding the WOPR in the
face of the Spotted Owl Recovery plan delay and the recent introduction
of federal forest legislation by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden.
This Week
In
addition to OSWA's Legislative Day, see above, this week also brings a
so-called hard deadline for all bills to have been approved by their
originating House. In other words, to continue moving through the
legislative process Senate bills must be approved by the Senate and
House bills have to pass the House.
The
good news with the approaching deadline is that some bills that would
have been harmful to family forestland owners are dead. These
include HB 2675, the tree cutting moratorium, and SB 382, log haul rate
setting. The bad news is that several of OSWA's second tier
priorities, pole buildings, second dwellings and farm plates for
forestry operations are also off the table for this session, as the
legislature is focused on dealing with the huge state budget
deficits.
For the report on OSWA legislation, click on:
OSWA Bill Tracker
Login: OSWA; Password: session09
For more legislative information, click on:
Conkling Fiskum & McCormick Insider Online. |
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Thank you for reading OSWA's Legislative
Update. Please pass this email on to others that may be
interested in legislative news and information. Your comments and
suggestions are always welcome. |
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Sincerely,
David Ford
Executive Director
Oregon Small Woodlands Association
Ralph Saperstein
OSWA Lobbyist
Conkling Fiskum & McCormick
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