By Diane Linthicum
March 8, 2025
In 2021, Oregon’s Democrat majority passed Senate Bill 762, with a handful of bipartisan supporters, as a comprehensive wildfire management bill, also known as the Fire Maps bill. This bill was introduced to forestall future outcry that might erupt as details about negligence swirled in the news following the devastating Paradise, CA wildfire.
In that tragedy a regional electric utility provider, Pacific Gas and Electric, had neglected maintenance and upgrades to their utility lines. This led to sparks in a heavily forested area and ignited fires during a high-wind event. More than 100 lives were tragically lost, and PG&E was quickly bankrupted.
But SB 762 was a sleight-of-hand ruse.
It was obviously designed to lead the public away from the troubles with Oregon’s forest mismanagement and shift the problem onto the backs of the little guys – the private land owners.
Although the bill started with a nod to the PUC phantom, ELECTRIC SYSTEM PLANS, it demanded little from these public utilities. For grid providers, the legislature’s demands consisted of “periodic workshops” and suggestions, “to develop and share information for the identification, adoption and carrying out of best practices regarding wildfires.”
That’s nice but it sounds like the result of a noon-time therapy session instead of a solution.
SB 762 spent only 2½ pages out of the bill’s total 26 pages on these lackluster suggestions for workshops while the remaining 23+ pages are dedicated to saddling homeowners with economic burdens, diminishing private property rights and burying bureaucratic solutions into Oregon’s rules, regulations and statutes.
The real solution is obvious – Manage the Forests, harvest timber and thin excessive growth and underbrush.
Additionally, Gov. Brown and Sen. Golden’s Fire Maps Bill (SB 762) removed the $25.00 per parcel limit on forest protection district assessments (taxes) as imposed by ORS 477.060.
This was an important protection for property owners because the measure authorizes the State Fire Marshal to administer and enforce the minimum defensible space requirements and apply a graduated fee structure for penalties on property owners for noncompliance.
The sky’s the limit without this enforced tax limit.
This begs the question, was SB 762 a strategic move to transfer the cost of our mismanaged forests onto private property owners? Was this an intended or unintended consequence?
The Fire Maps Bill needs to be repealed in full!
The current repeal bill, SB 678, simply needs one small amendment to reinstate the appropriate reference to ORS 477.060 which would reimpose the $25.00 per parcel limit on forest protection district taxes.
These limits must be put back in place!
SB 762 must be completely repealed!
Support Diane’s Conservative efforts
Diane Linthicum
Oregon State Senate – Elect – District 28
© 2025 Diane Linthicum – All Rights Reserved
E-Mail Diane Linthicum: Diane@Diane4OR.com
