BY ANDY WALGAMOTT, NORTHWEST SPORTSMAN MAGAZINE
A bill that will use increased lodging tax revenues to fund Oregon fish and wildlife work has passed the state legislature after clearing the Senate on a 20-9 vote today and now heads to Governor Tina Kotek’s desk.
House Bill 4134 will distribute a reported $38 million a year to a wide variety of state accounts, including ones used by ODFW and OSP, among other agencies, for wildlife habitat and recovery efforts, poaching prevention, wolf depredation compensation, wildlife corridors and combatting invasive species when it takes effect on January 1, 2027.
After passing 36-22 in the House late last month, nearly all Democratic senators voted for it today, and they were joined by three Republicans.
HB 4134 was supported by the Oregon Hunters Association, whose lobbyist Amy Patrick pointed out that sportsmen provide from 40 to 55 percent of ODFW’s budget, primarily for game animals, but funding also needs to be secured for non-game species as well as habitats.
“The 1.25% increase in the [transient lodging tax] provides an appropriate vehicle for Oregonians, and those visiting our beautiful state, to contribute to ODFW’s mission. It is an alternative with a direct nexus between tourism, driven in part by the myriad activities related to Oregon’s abundant fish, wildlife, natural landscapes, and investing in the conservation of those same attributes,” she testified last month.
The bill was also supported by the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, and Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association.
“This provides major funding for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s conservation mission,” noted NSIA Policy Director Liz Hamilton. “Oregon anglers and hunters are glad to see conservation costs shared beyond license fees, our industry’s excise taxes, and federal funds. It’s a great day for Oregon’s natural resources. We look forward to building on this momentum to protect fish, wildlife, and habitat for generations.”
Birders and environmental groups also supported the bill. Defenders of Wildlife called it “a model for states across our nation to build upon.”
Meanwhile, a number of hoteliers, chambers of commerce and travel organizations opposed it. The Portland Metro Chamber said it will do “irreversible damage … to the tourism and lodging industries in Portland and Oregon.”
The bill raises the transient lodging tax – basically, for stays at hotels, motels, B&Bs, resorts, inns, lodges, guest ranches, cabins, condos, apartments, houses and in RVs and tents – from 1.5 percent to 2.75 percent.
According to a nonpartisan legislative analysis of the bill, “0.9 percentage points of the increase is to be distributed to the Recovering Oregon’s Wildlife Fund Subaccount. Specifies 0.1 percent of the net revenue to be distributed to the Oregon Conservation Corps Fund, 0.05 percent to the Department of State Police to combat the poaching of wildlife, 0.05 percent to the Wolf Management Compensation and Proactive Trust Fund, 0.05 percent the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund, 0.05 percent to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for wildlife connectivity and 0.02 for wildlife stewardship, 0.015 percent to the Invasive Species Control Account, 0.01 percent to the Department of Justice for anti-poaching and wildlife law enforcement, and 0.005 percent to the Invasive species Council Account.”
