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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2755
Sponsored by Representative EVANS (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act would set up a task force to plan for a state body to fund public safety. The
Act will take effect only if the Oregon Constitution is amended to create the state body. (Flesch
Readability Score: 70.6).
Establishes a task force to develop a plan for the Legislative Assembly to establish a statewide
public safety funding authority in Oregon in accordance with House Joint Resolution 8 (2025).
Takes effect only if House Joint Resolution 8 (2025) is approved by the people at the next reg-
ular general election. Takes effect on the effective date of the constitutional amendment proposed
by House Joint Resolution 8 (2025).
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to funding public safety; and prescribing an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1.
(1) The Task Force on Funding Public Safety is established. The purpose of
the task force is to develop a plan for the Legislative Assembly to establish a statewide
public safety funding authority in Oregon in accordance with House Joint Resolution 8 (2025).
(2)(a) The task force consists of 17 members appointed in accordance with this sub-
section.
(b) The Governor shall appoint nine voting members as follows:
(A) Four members representing the public safety community, chosen to reflect the di-
versity of such services.
(B) One member representing the Department of the State Fire Marshal.
(C) One member representing the State Forestry Department.
(D) One member representing the Oregon Department of Emergency Management.
(E) One member representing special districts in Oregon.
(F) One member representing the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association.
(c) The Governor shall appoint four nonvoting members as follows:
(A) One member having experience in the operations of public safety in rural areas in
this state.
(B) One member representing the Department of Revenue.
(C) One member representing the Oregon State Association of County Assessors.
(D) One member representing the Oregon Fire Chiefs Association.
(d) Four nonvoting legislative members shall be appointed as follows:
(A) The President of the Senate shall appoint one nonvoting member from among the
members of the Senate from the majority party.
(B) The Senate Minority Leader shall appoint one nonvoting member from among the
members of the Senate from the minority party.
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 2612
HB 2755
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(C) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one nonvoting member
from among the members of the House of Representatives from the majority party.
(D) The House Minority Leader shall appoint one nonvoting member from among the
members of the House of Representatives from the minority party.
(3) The task force shall develop an implementation plan for the Legislative Assembly to
establish a statewide public safety funding authority in accordance with House Joint Resol-
ution 8 (2025) that addresses the following provisions:
(a) The membership of the authority shall consist of seven to nine members, who shall
be elected and may not be currently serving as an Oregon state legislator at the time their
term would begin.
(b) The processes for the state property tax imposed pursuant to House Joint Resolution
8 (2025) shall be established for:
(A) The definition of taxable property;
(B) Granting exemption from the tax;
(C) The annual determination of the tax rate;
(D) Assessing property;
(E) Collecting the taxes;
(F) Creating liens against property;
(G) Appeals related to the tax;
(H) Refunds of the tax;
(I) Delinquency in making tax payments;
(J) The imposition of interest and penalties on delinquent taxes and in other situations;
(K) Foreclosure of tax liens;
(L) The sharing and confidentiality of tax-related information; and
(M) Any other process the task force considers necessary or appropriate for the func-
tioning of the state property tax system.
(c) Revenues from the state property tax shall be deposited in equal amounts in two
funds, one for funding public safety inside the wildland-urban interface and one for funding
public safety outside the wildland-urban interface.
(d) Revenues in each fund shall be distributed as follows:
(A) 80 percent to fund public safety at the local level; and
(B) 20 percent to fund public safety at the state level.
(e) For each local public safety body, a baseline minimum funding level shall be estab-
lished that is adequate to ensure the optimal operational capacity of each body.
(f) A four-year cycle of audits by the Secretary of State of the expenditures of the
statewide public safety funding authority shall be established.
(4) The task force may request documents and testimony from any public or private body
and conduct any research that the task force deems necessary or convenient for the com-
pletion of its duties under this section.
(5) A majority of the voting members of the task force constitutes a quorum for the
transaction of business.
(6) Official action by the task force requires the approval of a majority of the voting
members of the task force.
(7) The task force shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson.
(8) If there is a vacancy for any cause, the appointing authority shall make an appoint-
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HB 2755
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ment to become immediately effective.
(9) The task force shall meet at times and places specified by the call of the chairperson
or of a majority of the voting members of the task force.
(10) The task force may adopt rules necessary for the operation of the task force.
(11) The task force shall submit the implementation plan, including recommendations for
legislation, to the interim committees of the Legislative Assembly related to revenue and to
public safety no later than December 15, 2027.
(12) The Department of Revenue and the Department of State Police shall provide staff
support to the task force.
(13) Members of the task force are not entitled to compensation or reimbursement for
expenses and serve as volunteers on the task force.
(14) All agencies of state government, as defined in ORS 174.111, are directed to assist
the task force in the performance of the duties of the task force and, to the extent permitted
by laws relating to confidentiality, to furnish information and advice the members of the task
force consider necessary to perform their duties.
SECTION 2.
Section 1 of this 2025 Act is repealed on January 2, 2029.
SECTION 3. This 2025 Act does not take effect unless the amendment to the Oregon
Constitution proposed by House Joint Resolution 8 (2025) is approved by the people at the
regular general election held in November 2025. This 2025 Act takes effect on the effective
date of that amendment.
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