NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Taxing Wildfire Recovery

By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10

8/5/2024
Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Friday morning, I sat down with a small group of local leaders and US Senator Jeff Merkley. There were many subjects on our minds – housing, water and sewer, roads, and mental health. But the first issue I wanted to raise was wildfire recovery and taxes.

Senator Jeff Merkley (plaid shirt on right) meets with local leaders before a Town Hall in Newport Friday.

A bipartisan bill in Congress that would exempt wildfire settlements from federal taxation is now mired in election-year politics that could leave hundreds of Oregonians facing massive tax bills on the settlements they’ve received from PacifiCorp after the devastating 2020 wildfires. I was one of the chief sponsors of a similar bill in Oregon earlier this year, SB 1520, exempting settlements from Oregon taxes. You can watch my committee testimony here.

The issue is emotional and consequential:

Many Oregonians affected by the 2020 Labor Day fires have joined lawsuits or sought settlements from PacifiCorp. That includes hundreds of Otis residents. While I don’t yet have local numbers, the average settlement in the Archie Creek fire was over $600k.

Checks are beginning to arrive and fire survivors are quickly understanding the larger consequences. First, they pay their attorneys a contracted commission of 25% to 40% of the total. Then they also pay the federal government income tax on the total.

The median household income in Otis is under $50,000. A one-time check for half a million dollars would suddenly place a family in the highest federal tax bracket of 37%.

A third of the total to lawyers and a third of the total in taxes means a survivor receiving $600,000 walks away with only $200,000.

I argued in Salem that taxing people who lost their home on the money they receive to rebuild that home just isn’t right. We passed an exemption in Oregon and I have now met with Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden’s office asking to expedite the change at the national level. BTW – attorneys pay taxes on commissions they receive so those dollars are actually taxed twice.

Residents ask questions at Town Hall. Lincoln City Homepage photo.

After meeting with the Senator on Friday, I talked with a dozen Echo Mountain Fire survivors about our efforts to support recovery. In my own neighborhood, half the families that lost homes have either not rebuilt yet or sold the property and moved away.

I went to Salem two months after the fires with a new understanding of how fires affect families. I was determined to find money to help house people. I was astounded to learn our statutes would tax you on a house that was no longer there. We needed to change that. We needed to make zoning more flexible for temporary RV living after a disaster. We needed to make insurance companies more accountable. We needed to be better prepared. And we needed to create statewide policy that fairly and responsibly reduces the risk of this happening again.

The Oregon Legislature is working to support families that lost their homes in 2020 or may lose homes in the many fires we face in 2024.

HB 2607: If your home is destroyed in a wildfire or natural disaster, you should not have to pay local construction taxes when you replace or rebuild it. This measure provides an exemption from construction excise taxes on property rebuilt after wildfire destruction, making it easier for those impacted to recover. (Gomberg sponsored)
SB 464 and HB 2341: You shouldn’t have to pay property taxes on a home that burned down. This bill authorizes counties impacted by the September 2020 wildfires to prorate or cancel property taxes imposed on taxable properties that suffered losses in real market value. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 2247: Fire survivors face a myriad of financial challenges. This bill allows counties to waive penalties and interest on late property tax payments for Oregonians impacted by the 2020 wildfires for the 2020-21 property tax year.
HB 4026: What happens when school districts lose tax revenue because taxable property has been destroyed or students move away following a fire? This measure provides grants to wildfire-impacted school districts to cover those losses. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 3272: When a community is impacted by fires, it is often impossible to find contractors or materials and start rebuilding. But insurance companies only give you a year. We fixed that with a bill that says you now have two years to rebuild when an emergency has been declared, with the option to request two 6-month extensions. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 2289: Regulations make building anything harder. To make construction easier after a wildfire, we relaxed construction regulations so that those who are rebuilding can return to their homes more quickly while making changes that improve resiliency. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 3219: Sometimes local zoning prohibits the building of new manufactured dwelling parks. We changed the law and required local governments to approve the rebuilding of parks destroyed or impacted by wildfires. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 2927: Emergency management is handled by a number of state agencies which may not be the best way to manage disasters. To consolidate, streamline, and strengthen Oregon’s emergency response systems, we created the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. (Gomberg sponsored)
HB 5006: In addition to homes, the fires destroyed water systems, sewers, septics, and roads. The budgeting committee where I am vice-chair allocated $16.8 million for water and sewer repairs in the Echo Mountain fire zone and $500,000 more for roads.
SB 762: The legislature passed Oregon’s first comprehensive wildfire preparedness and resiliency bill. It dedicated $220 million to forest management practices, $6 million for Oregon fire districts to hire more firefighters, coordinates a statewide response to plan for and mitigate wildfires with a focus on community preparedness and public health, and requires statewide mapping of wildfire risks.

Last week I wrote about the fires that continue to challenge Oregon. This summer is once again proving hotter and drier with increased risk.

Since the last update, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) reports that Oregon has passed the million mark for acres burned. But it’s about far more than just loss of private and public lands. Nearly 18,500 Oregonians are currently facing some level of evacuation.

For everything you need to know about the status of current wildfires, how to stay safe, and how to prevent fires, please visit ODF’s Fire page.

If you are planning on traveling, Trip Check has road closures and current travel conditions in relation to wildfires.

Campers and beachgoers can finally return to Beverly Beach State Park after an 11-month closure.

Park officials closed Beverly Beach last September so crews could install underground power lines and replace waterlines – part of a $50 million upgrade across the state park system, utilizing funds from a 2021 bond approved by the state legislature. That closure was later extended to August 1, after aging infrastructure “presented unexpected challenges and delays.” They also had to remove about 200 hazard trees, which has increased the amount of sunshine in the park.

Beverly Beach, between Newport and Depoe Bay, is home to 257 year-round campsites and 21 yurts, which tend to book up during the summer. Last year, the state park attracted 126,404 campers, making it one of the most popular campgrounds on the Oregon coast. It also drew 176,514 day-use visitors.

Spencer Creek Bridge separates Beverly Beach State Park from the beach and ocean.

Tiny bits of broken-down plastic are turning up everywhere. These microplastics—which are too small to see and too small for our wastewater systems to fully remove—end up in our environment, our food, and ultimately, our bodies.

They enter the environment in many ways. Some slough off of car tires and wash into streams — and eventually the ocean during rainstorms. Others detach from fleeces and spandex clothing in washing machines and are mixed in with the soiled water that drains from the machine. Some come from abandoned fishing gear, and still more are the result of the eventual breakdown of the millions of straws, cups, water bottles, plastic bags, and other single-use plastics thrown out each day.

A study published last year by Portland State University found an average of 11 micro-plastic pieces per oyster and nine per razor clam in the samples taken from the Oregon coast. Nearly all were from microfibers from fleece or other synthetic clothing or from abandoned fishing gear.

The research project — titled “Beyond the drain: Tackling anthropogenic particle pollution sources to wastewater and biosolids across communities” or Beyond TAPPS — includes partners at Oregon State University, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and the Surfrider Foundation.

Researchers will develop three different filtration systems that will be installed on washing machines, dishwashers, and clothes dryers in an attempt to reduce the amount of microplastics that are spread throughout the coast. According to the PSU researchers, these filters could mitigate the tourism and hotel industry’s impacts on marine pollution.

If you live in Depoe Bay, you can participate in a separate, but related, study by researchers at PSU and receive a filter at no cost.

Participants in this study will receive filters for their washing machines (valued at $170). Over 12 months, participants will collect lint from the filters and complete 3 short online surveys. Installation assistance is available.

Participants must be hooked up to Depoe Bay’s municipal wastewater system, so if you’re using a septic tank, you will not be eligible.

Several communities on the coast are being tested. If you are in Depoe Bay and would like to participate, please follow this link to complete the online interest form.

Senator Merkley spoke to microplastic pollution at his Town Hall and mentioned the factoid I often quote – that we each consume about ten grams of plastic a week – roughly the amount of plastic in a typical credit card. Merkley and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, last week introduced bipartisan legislation to establish a pilot research program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study how to curb the “crisis” of microplastic pollution.

On June 29, 2024, Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative hosted an anniversary celebration at the Cascade Head Experimental Forest Headquarters to commemorate federal designation for the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area in 1974.

I was pleased to be at the celebration and spoke about the vision and commitment of those who had worked to preserve this remarkable space fifty years ago. And I spoke about our obligation to continue that commitment.

Please take a few minutes to watch this Voices of CHSRA video for more on this very special effort.

Tuesday night, communities throughout the district will be observing National Night Out. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. I’ll be stopping by Toledo, Newport, and Lincoln City.

That’s the news this week. I’m taking a few days off for some personal time but will be back next week.