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Gov. Tina Kotek said today she’s calling the Legislature into a special session Dec. 12 to deal with a stack of unpaid bills that accumulated at the Oregon Department of Forestry this summer.
“The unprecedented 2024 wildfire season required all of us to work together to protect life, land, and property, and that spirit of cooperation must continue in order to meet our fiscal responsibilities,” Kotek said.
The governor’s move comes after the Oregon State Treasury rejected the ODF’s request for a $60 million loan. At that time, the agency told WW it would instead seek funding from the Legislature’s Emergency Board in December. But that plan changed, Kotek spokeswoman Roxy Mayer says, because the Emergency Board didn’t have enough money to cover the arrears.
Related: State Treasury Rejects Oregon Department of Forestry’s Request for $60 Million Loan
In a statement, the governor’s office said she would ask lawmakers for $218 million for ODF and the Oregon State Fire Marshal to cover charges incurred from fighting fires on 1.9 million acres. ODF says its total fire season costs this year were $317 million, of which the agency considers $133 million uncompensated, meaning it doesn’t expect reimbursement from federal agencies or other sources.
Kotek said she looks forward to taking care of the unpaid bills next month.
“I am grateful to legislative leaders for coming to consensus that our best course of action is to ensure the state’s fire season costs are addressed and bills paid by the end of the calendar year.”
But one legislative leader—newly elected House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) sprinkled water on the unity Kotek’s statement implies.
“The governor has responded to closed-door calls for a special session with her announcement today,” said Drazan, who lost to Kotek in the 2022 governor’s race.
“Good for her. While we have had zero communications from the governor on this monumental challenge, we are glad to hear she is willing to allow the Legislature to work cooperatively to fix her insolvent agency’s problems, for the first time in the press. Evidently, the governor will be communicating via press release rather than a phone call. That is her prerogative.”