2025 Regular Session HB 3262

• Bill Title: Relating to wildfire recovery; providing for revenue raising that requires approval by a three-fifths majority.

Catchline/Summary

Digest: Creates a fund that three state agencies may use to help protect from, recover from and restore property damaged by wildfires. Specifies what the agencies may use the moneys in the fund to do. Tells the State Fire Marshal to send some of the money to a fund that makes grants to rural fire protection districts. Tells insurers to pay a fee to a state agency for each property insurance policy the insurer issues in this state. Lets insurers get the money they pay back from policy holders. Tells the state agency to put the money from the fee into the fund that the other three state agencies use. Sets a filing fee for property taxes and sets aside part of the fee for the wildfire protection fund. Sunsets the Act on July 1, 2033. (Flesch Readability Score: 67.0).

Establishes the Oregon Wildfire Preparedness and Community Protection Fund and directs the State Fire Marshal, the State Forestry Department and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to make expenditures from the fund for various activities related to restoration, protection and recovery from wildfires. Requires the State Fire Marshal to reserve and transfer to a revolving fund a certain percentage of moneys from the Oregon Wildfire Preparedness and Community Protection Fund for grants to rural fire protection districts.

Requires an insurer each year to remit to Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services a surcharge for each policy of insurance that is property insurance. Permits an insurer each year to recoup from insureds the amount the insurer remitted to the director. Requires the director to deposit the proceeds of the surcharge into the Oregon Wildfire Preparedness and Community Protection Fund.

Imposes a filing fee for property taxes and requires remission of the proceeds of the fee, less a specified percentage for administrative costs, to the Oregon Wildfire Preparedness and Community Protection Fund.

Sunsets July 1, 2033.

• Fiscal Impact: May Have Fiscal Impact, But No Statement Yet Issued
• Revenue Impact: May Have Revenue Impact, But No Statement Yet Issued
• Current Location: In House Committee
• Current Committee: House Committee On Climate, Energy, and Environment

Subsequent Referral(s)

• Joint Committee On Ways and Means