Oregon Senate Bill 1566 proposes new fees for county right of way work
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, February 14th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
NORTHEAST OREGON – A bill within the Oregon legislature may give county leadership a greater degree of control and revenue generation through county right of ways. Senate Bill 1566, currently titled, “Relating to county permitting; declaring an emergency,” would give Oregon County governments the authority to establish and charge a permit fee to construct, relocate, or conduct certain repairs on utility infrastructure within the of county right of ways (the areas immediately surrounding county owned roads).
The full summary of the bill, as written on the Oregon Legislative website, reads as follows:
“Allows a county to charge a permit fee to build, move or change a line, fixture or facility that is in the right of way of a county public road. There are exceptions. Sunsets on January 1, 2031. (Flesch Readability Score: 68.5). Authorizes a county governing body to charge a fee for the administration and issuance of a permit to construct, alter, relocate, maintain or repair a water, gas, electric or communication service line, fixture or facility within the right of way of a public road under the jurisdiction of the county, subject to specified exceptions. Sunsets January 1, 2031. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.”
If established, the permit fee in question, as outlined on lines 9 and 10, page 2, is listed as a maximum of $500. This fee, as outlined on lines 11 through 17, page 2, may be increased annually on July 1 of each year based on a consumer price index.
Some exceptions to the permit fee process do exist, such as for vegetation management, routine maintenance, essential water and wastewater systems, changes required by the county itself, or other “urgent work” as outlined in lines 17 of page 1 through 8 of page 2. Note that this refers to the original text. As of the time of writing, some amendments have been proposed.
Currently, the bill is within the Joint Committee on Transportation and a public hearing was held on February 8. No further action has been scheduled as of the time of writing.
