Legislative Issues
OSWA actively participates in each legislative session with a full time lobbyist to address issues important to small woodland owners. OSWA's 2012 Legislative Priorities can be found in the Members Only portion of this website. Through collaboration with allied organizations, OSWA has had success in protecting the interests of small woodland owners. Roger Beyer, a small woodland owner from Clackamas County and a past state senator, is OSWA's lobbyist for the 2012 Legislative Session.
The Legislative Update
At the September 30, 2011 OSWA Board meeting, the board approved OSWA's 2012 Legislative Priorities. The short 2012 Legislative Session will be limited to only two bills per legislator, OSWA has chosen the Wildfire Reduction Act as our primary bill this session. This bill would modify how landowners pay for fire costs by changing the 50-50 split between landowners and the general fund in paying for fire protection to a 40-60 split on the Eastside of Oregon. The general fund would pick up 60% of fire costs on the Eastside. The 50-50 split would remain the same on the Westside. It would also change the way landowners and the state allocates money to the emergency fire fund. Instead of landowners paying the first $10,000,000 and the general fund being responsible for the next $10,000,000 in emergency fire funds, landowners and the state would share the costs 50-50 with the first dollar spent. It would allocate more fire protection in areas of the state where fires are of greater risk which should reduce fire costs, overall and over time, due to better opportunities for a rapid response to fires and keeping them smaller. If successful, The Wildfire Reduction Act should reduce the overall cost of fire protection in Oregon which will reduce landowner costs. The 2012 Legislative Session, beginning in early February, will be limited to 35 days and will likely have a focus on the state’s economic challenges. The state’s economic projections show a short fall in projected state revenues that will result in some current state programs being reduced. OSWA will be monitoring this situation and will lobby for the continued state funding for OSU Forestry Extension and the Oregon Department of Forestry. Legislative Updates will be available to OSWA members when the 2012 Legislative Session begins. Contact Jim James jimjamesoswa@yahoo.com for more information.