Jeff Golden
Golden represents District 3, which includes a large portion of the Rogue Valley, as a Democratic state senator. The Senate Wildfire and Natural Resources Committee is chaired by him.
If you were presented with the opportunity to make a one-time payment on a sliding scale, ranging from a few dollars for the lowest-income taxpayers to six figures for the wealthiest Oregonians, how would you respond? In exchange, the state will offer you excellent protection against devastating wildfires for the remainder of your life and perhaps much longer. Would you accept the offer if it were made?
It is, in a very true sense.
It is no longer necessary to reiterate how destructive, expensive, and likely catastrophic wildfires are in Oregon. Every year, we experience them, and seeing fire rage over large areas of Los Angeles makes us more conscious. Mega-fires have been moving northward consistently this century, which suggests that Southern California might be giving us a sneak peek at what Oregon will face in the coming years.
In 2021, the Legislature passed Senate package 762, the historic omnibus package that allocated $200 million to a wide range of wildfire programs, in response to this depressing trend line. Less than half of total, or roughly $87 million, was allocated to wildfire by the General support two years later amid intense competition to support many essential services. Ninety percent fewer communities were protected through preventative interventions. The simple fact is that our General Fund, which essentially consists of our total personal and company income tax contributions, is completely unable to finance wildfire programs to the extent that they are required due to our full plate of service demand.
For this reason, Governor Tina Kotek requested that a three-dozen stakeholder committee discuss other funding options for wildfires. The panel has whittled down a lengthy number of possibilities to roughly six, which it will soon recommend to lawmakers. All face difficult political obstacles and intense rivalry in the upcoming session from a variety of sectors, including water systems, K–12 and higher education, behavioral health, transportation, and housing.
Among the ideas, one sticks out. A $1.8 billion personal income tax kicker, which would typically be given to taxpayers as a credit on their 2025 tax return, was recently projected by state economists. When tax collections are more than 2% higher than what state economists predicted two years ago, the kicker—which is exclusive to Oregon—is effectively a refund. Crucially, I frequently hear people claim that the kicker is activated when revenues above the state government’s stated requirements. That’s not right. It is the surplus over the amount of money that analysts predicted the economy would bring in two years ago.
The only way to significantly fund wildfire for good is to establish a special Wildfire Programs Fund, in which the treasurer would make prudent investments, rather than returning the $1.8 billion that has already been collected to the general public. Our programs would be funded by the investment interest it generates rather than the $1.8 billion principal that would be kept. According to the Treasury’s investment history, a 5% annual return would be a reasonable estimate. This would mean that the fund would earn $90 million to $180 million for wildfire initiatives every two years. Even though that won’t be sufficient to meet all of our needs, it does look good in comparison to the $87 million allocated for the current two-year cycle.
Some others question whether those interest dollars will eventually simply melt into the General Fund. We might ask Oregonians to ratify a constitutional amendment that would prohibit their usage for purposes other than wildfire in order to stop that. To present that measure to voters, a new bill is being drafted.
That’s the point. a one-time payment proportionate to the taxpayer’s income that is made from money already in state coffers. For as long as the government can, hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent every two years to defend against wildfires. With a two-thirds majority of 40 out of 60 reps and 20 out of 30 senators, we can do this in Salem. It’s not an easy task because some lawmakers claim they have no interest in touching the kicker.
The facts from recent events on the ground, along with the future Oregon holds, speak for themselves. Kindly share your thoughts on this deal with your lawmakers.
