Rep. Mark Owens

Instructs the State Department of Fish and Wildlife to identify certain areas as wildlife management units or herd ranges and undertake predator control in the wildlife management units or herd ranges until certain criteria are met. Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the department for predator control. Declares an emergency, effective on passage.

Establishes the Task Force on Rangeland Wildfire Resilience and Risk Reduction. Sunsets the task force on December 31, 2026. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Appropriates moneys to the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct activities related to ballast water to prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species. Declares an emergency, effective July 1, 2025.

Provides that an irrigation district that receives a request from a user for delivery of a lower rate or duty of water during an irrigation season may not deliver to the user a higher rate or duty of water during the irrigation season than was requested. Creates an exception. Provides that the irrigation district may temporarily transfer the use of the water.

Directs the Water Resources Department to study water management issues. Directs the department to report to committees or interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to natural resources no later than September 15, 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 3501 modifies Oregon water law to streamline transfers of water rights by removing a requirement for agencies to evaluate whether transfers might impair public interest. It directly affects water right holders, transfer applicants, and the Water Resources Department by prohibiting consideration of public interest impacts during transfer reviews, as specified in amended ORS 540.510(6)(d). Key provisions require the Water Resources Director to approve transfers without assessing public interest harm - unless the transfer would injure existing rights - speeding up the process. This change aims to reduce delays and costs in water right transfers while maintaining existing protections against injury to other rights.

Maddy summaryOregon's joint memorial (HJM 11) urges federal agencies and Congress to remove regulatory barriers slowing forest management on federal lands. It specifically requests reforms to speed up practices like prescribed burns by updating outdated laws (e.g., NEPA, ESA) that currently delay wildfire prevention work. The memorial directly addresses the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Interior Department, and Congress, citing that over 100 million acres of federal land face high wildfire risk due to overgrown forests. It does not create new law but seeks to improve federal processes for proactive wildfire mitigation.

] Directs the Emergency Medical Services Program to develop a state emergency medical services 10-year strategic plan. Sunsets on January 2, 2037. Directs the program to provide loan repayment subsidies to certain licensed emergency medical services providers. Directs the program to subsidize the cost of obtaining an emergency medical services provider license for which an individual must have earned at least an associate degree . [ Enacts the EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact. Permits the Oregon Health Authority to disclose specified information to the Interstate Commission for EMS Personnel Practice. Exempts individuals authorized to work as emergency medical services providers from the requirement to obtain a license from the authority. Allows the authority to use moneys to meet the financial obligations imposed on the State of Oregon as a result of participation in the compact. Requires an entity to provide a labor peace agreement prior to engaging certain individuals authorized under compact privilege to practice as emergency medical services providers. Sunsets on January 2, 2030. ] Allows the program to award funding to each regional emergency medical services advisory board for innovation proposals to improve emergency medical services within the emergency medical services regions. Accepts specified emergency medical services training programs and apprenticeships as sufficient for meeting certain emergency medical services provider education requirements for licensure. Allows the Governor to assign and make available for use any emergency medical services resources and equipment in response to an emergency for which emergency medical services are required. Establishes the Emergency Medical Services Mobilization Advisory Board to advise the Governor on the mobilization of emergency medical services in this state. Changes the "Pediatric Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee" to the "Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Committee." Directs the Legislative Assembly to allocate moneys from the Criminal Fine Account to the Emergency Medical Services Program Fund. Takes effect on the 91st day following adjournment sine die.

Maddy summaryHB 2946 requires Oregon's Secretary of State to conduct a fiscal audit of the Department of Transportation (DOT) and complete it by June 30, 2027. The bill mandates a financial review of the DOT's operations but does not alter the department's existing responsibilities or funding. This procedural measure directly affects the DOT through oversight by the Secretary of State's office, with no changes to DOT's day-to-day functions.

Appropriates moneys from the General Fund to the Oregon Health Authority for the purpose of screening newborns for five specific diseases under the Northwest Regional Newborn Bloodspot Screening Program.