Eugene and Lane County received help from the Oregon Legislature. Here's what comes next
By the time Oregon's 2024 legislative short session closed earlier this month, state lawmakers had partially granted most of the priorities outlined by Eugene and Lane County's elected officials, including a response to the University District hospital closing, liability protection for mobile crisis units like CAHOOTS and funding for unhoused shelter, infrastructure along Crow Road, parole and probation and emergency communications equipment.
In even-numbered years, Oregon's legislative session lasts five weeks, and lawmakers direct their attention to budget bills and a few high priority items.
"They actually did quite a bit of work, as well as unfortunately leaving several things on the table," Lane County's lobbyist Alex Cuyler told county commissioners March 12. "The legislature did appropriate a significant amount of new money in their end-of-session budget reconciliation bill," he said.
Wholly granted requests
A response to Eugene's hospital closing
Introduced by Rep. Nancy Nathanson, D-Eugene, and listed as Eugene city council's number 1 priority as well as a priority for Lane County commissioners, House Bill 4136 passed and contains three main parts that aim to reduce hospital wait times, with a focus on Eugene. The bill includes:
$1.3 million to fund an additional Eugene-Springfield fire ambulance crew.
A path for out-of-state nurses to be granted temporary licenses while their Oregon licenses process.
A $3.2 million "innovation fund" that will pay for pilot programs designed to reduce ambulance and emergency room usage in Lane County, that other communities will later look to replicate.
Emergency communications funding
Included in the budget bill Senate Bill 5701, state lawmakers granted Lane County $900,000 to replace the emergency telecommunications tower on Bear Mountain.
Partially granted requests
Lane County's planned mental health stabilization center
Going into the session, Lane County commissioners requested the legislature "Establish explicit authority for a first responder to transport a person to a stabilization center and define stabilization center in statute" and provide them operational funding. While Eugene Council said it supports increased funding for "mental and behavioral health systems, … specifically, Lane County’s Crisis Stabilization Center."
While lawmakers didn't grant these specific requests, House Bill 4002, the legislature's Measure 110 reform bill, does provide legal immunity to mobile crisis units like CAHOOTS for taking people to treatment facilities. The lobbyists representing Eugene and Lane County also praised the funding aspects of the bill, including $4 million for Willamette Family Treatment for inpatient detox.
Unhoused response
While the legislature did not grant, "long term direct funding to cities for unhoused emergency response" as Eugene city councilors requested, Senate Bill 1530, part of Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek's housing package, allotted $65 million statewide for homeless shelter statewide.
Ethan Nelson, Eugene's lobbyist, said he unsuccessfully tried to get alternative shelters, such as Rest Stops and 310 Garfield, eligible for that funding, but that city staff will still work to get that money to Eugene's eligible programs.
Housing infrastructure
SB 1530 also granted Eugene $6 million for water and sewer infrastructure along Crow Road to support housing development there. The legislature did not grant Eugene's $8.5 million request for similar investment on Clear Lake Road, but approved housing infrastructure for additional Lane County cities including:
$3 million to Springfield for Glenwood sewer infrastructure.
$3 million to Cottage Grove for water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure for housing development on "a 35-acre parcel the city owns."
$1.9 million to Florence for water and sewer infrastructure for "four blocks of city-owned property to be developed."
$1 million to Creswell for wastewater upgrades and connection to the regional wastewater treatment facility.
Community Corrections funding
While lawmakers did not commit to ongoing money, HB 5204, the companion funding bill to HB 4002, increased the statewide allotment to the Community Corrections fund, which funds Parole & Probation and related services, by $16 million statewide for the 2023-25 biennium.
Rejected request
Emergency Management funding
House Bill 4075, suggested by Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, aimed to begin a process to create a dedicated agency and funding source for emergency management focused on wildfire fighting by creating a new state-wide property tax. Lane County submitted testimony in favor, but many more people and organizations were opposed to the idea of a new tax, and the bill did not leave committee.
Unaddressed requests
Lane County commissioners' priorities that did not get addressed in the short session include:
A new funding source for County Assessor offices.
Funding for the Coleman, proposed re-entry housing on the county's Parole & Probation campus at the corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and Highway 99.
Changing election rules so that local ballot measures include the language and fiscal impact statements required of state ballot measures, and to change the election dates of recall elections.
A dedicated funding source for Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams such as CAHOOTS.
A bill to cap "claim timeframes and excess value distributions" in response to Tyler v Hennepin County, a 2023 Supreme Court Case barring counties from profiting off of selling tax-foreclosed properties.
A dedicated funding source for maintaining covered bridges taken out of highway use.
Weapons restrictions in public healthcare settings.
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Eugene and Lane County received some help from the Oregon Legislature
