Commissioners reported on the Eastern Oregon legislative session during the Jan. 28 Crook County work session, highlighting proposals that could affect county wildlife management, public services and local budgets.
A commissioner said Senator Nash proposed adding 1.25 percentage points to transient lodging taxes to fund wolf-depredation compensation and other conservation programs. The presenter noted the county previously needed about $4.5 million for compensation and observed that revenue from the proposed transient tax might not fully close that gap.
Commissioners also said several Eastern Oregon counties signed a letter urging federal delisting of the wolf to return management authority to state and local actors. "We signed on to the Eastern Oregon to delist the wolf," one commissioner said; commissioners asked legislators to pursue policy changes addressing predator control and compensation.
A separate budget concern raised at the session, and repeated by a commissioner during the work session, was an anticipated $500,000 loss in mental-health funding that could affect sheriff's office and emergency-room services.
Commissioners discussed other legislative items including housing proposals with a 2034 sunset, estate-tax adjustments, and a request by Representative Levy for $9 million in general-fund support to finish wildfire funding. One commissioner also noted an invitation to study nuclear energy.
Separately, a commissioner said they will participate in the point-in-time homeless count and noted organizers will offer $10 gift cards to respondents; commissioners discussed concerns about incentives potentially altering results.
No formal county-level policy was adopted during the work session; commissioners reported the items as legislative developments and flagged the wolf-compensation revenue proposal and mental-health cut as issues for further attention.