Special session deals with the cost of wildfires in Salem

By on Wednesday, December 11th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

SALEM โ€“ Oregon lawmakers gathered in the capitol this week for a final series of interim legislative hearings prior to Thursdayโ€™s 2024 Special Session called by Gov. Tina Kotek to deal with an estimated $220 million debt accrued during the most recent wildfire season.

Sen. Bill Hansell (R-Athena) retires at the end of the year, but he has one more job to do. Heโ€™s been named to the Senate Interim Committee on Wildfire Funding. Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo) is on the House of Representativeโ€™s committee with the same goal.

Hansell said that heโ€™s glad Kotek decided to call for a special session to cover the cost as quickly as possible. His committee consists of six senators from each party.

โ€œI think itโ€™s wise that theyโ€™re doing it now instead of waiting for the 2025 session to begin,โ€ Hansell said. โ€œWe need to take care of this yearโ€™s season before we find ourselves in the middle of wildfires in 2025.โ€

The senate president agreed.

โ€œWe have a responsibility to pay our bills to the brave individuals who helped protect our homes and property during this terrible wildfire season,โ€ Sen. Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) said.

Meanwhile, Hansell said that while he will no longer be in office in 2025, he will be watching and hoping the Oregon Legislature works on a permanent way of funding the cost of fighting wildfires.

โ€œSen. Elizabeth Steiner brokered a bill last year that deals with that, but the leadership did not move it forward,โ€ he said. โ€œI hope they revisit that.โ€ Steiner wonโ€™t be around to push it through. She has been elected state treasurer.