O&C Safety Net Funding Extension
Four-Year Extension with 10% Reduction Each Year
The one-year extension to the O&C Safety Net funding expired on September 30, 2008, and we have received our final payment from the federal government. There is currently legislation proposed in Congress to extend the funding through September of 2012, with a 10% reduction each year. If this bill passes, in the fiscal year ending in September of 2009, Josephine County would receive 90% of it's current level of funding, in 2010, it would be reduced to 80%, in 2011, it would be reduced to 70%, and in 2012, we would receive 60% of our current funding. After that, there will be no possibility of any further funding from Congress.
The purpose of this bill is to wean the O&C counties off of federal funding while we seek alternative sources of revenue to replace it. This bill is not a permanent solution, but it would soften the fall as we seek and implement other means of permanent reliable funding for our basic public services.
Even if the BLM's Western Oregon Plan Revision (WOPR) does designate more of the O&C lands for timber management, it will take a number of years to re-establish timber production in the O&C counties and there will inevitably be lawsuits blocking the timber harvests. During that time, it's essential that we maintain critical services for our county. This legislation will help us through the transition.
This is House Bill 3058, the Public Land Communities Transition Assistance Act of 2007. The House approved this bill on Wednesday, October 2. The next step is to get it approved in the Senate. The corresponding legislation in the Senate is Senate Amendment 709.
Links to Relevant Legislation
What You Can Do
The link has a sample letter that you can use as a template to e-mail your U.S. Senators requesting approval of this legislation. At the bottom of the page, there are links to the e-mail contact forms for each senator. You can cut and paste the content of the templates directly into the contact forms, or use the information in them as the basis to write a more personalized e-mail. If composing your own e-mail, please review these helpful
Tips for E-Mailing Legislators.