Oregon governor proposes using $160M from state's 'rainy day' fund for wildfires
Desperate for money to get through the next two wildfire seasons and with few proposals on the table that could meet costs and get passed by the Oregon Legislature, Gov. Tina Kotek is proposing to skim some money off of the state’s “rainy day” fund.
Kotek at a news conference Monday proposed taking $161 million of interest income from the state’s nearly $1.9 billion budget reserve fund — meant to help the state smooth out revenue or expense fluctuations in times of economic downturn or recession — to provide funding for wildfire response and mitigation for the 2025-27 biennium to mitigation readiness.
“We have only just weeks left in the session — days — without an immediate path for an ongoing funding mechanism. I urge the Legislature to identify as much one-time funding as they can,” she said. “I see no reason why they can’t get that at least done.”
The 2025 fire season has already started, and Kotek last week declared a conflagration for the Rowena Fire near The Dalles, which has burned more than 3,500 acres and destroyed 56 homes. And federal aid for fires remains in doubt, as the Trump administration has pushed for states to shoulder more of the costs of responding to natural disasters.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/oregon-governor-proposes-using-160m-from-states-rainy-day-fund-for-wildfires/
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