Co-chair Senator Bridal opened an informational meeting on Senate Bill 5,517 on April 7, 2025, to review the Oregon Department of Emergency Management’s (OEM) budget request for the 2025–27 biennium and discuss program transitions and investments. The committee heard presentations from Legislative Fiscal Office staff, Department of Administrative Services financial staff and multiple OEM officials before agreeing to cancel the committee’s Tuesday meeting and take public testimony on Wednesday as publicly noticed.

The governor’s recommended budget for OEM totals roughly $1.32 billion for 2025–27, of which agency presenters said about $1.098 billion is federal funds, about $186 million is other funds (including the State 9‑1‑1 account), and approximately $36 million is general‑fund support. Allison Daniel of the DAS Chief Financial Office said the recommended budget “maintains current service level for the department, and provides funding to strengthen the state's overall emergency management infrastructure.”

Why it matters: OEM administers large federal disaster grants, the statewide 9‑1‑1 enterprise, mitigation and recovery programs, and systems used by local governments and tribes. Committee members pressed agency officials on the stability of federal funding and on the department’s plans to assume programs that have been transferred from other agencies.

Key investments and program moves

Agency leaders described several targeted investments included in the governor’s recommendation. Director Erin McMahon said the budget supports “the first steps in the organizational change needed to support the future of Oregon’s emergency management.” Specific, itemized investments cited during the meeting include:

- $3.9 million to transfer the Statewide Interoperability Program (SWIC) and related positions from Department of Administrative Services Enterprise Information Services to OEM (three positions were described in the presentation).

- $2.0 million to replace the department’s crisis management system and better integrate state data systems.

- $1.6 million for two positions and equipment tied to the Oregon Emergency Response System (OARS) transition.

- $700,000 to develop an internal accounting and budget team (converting three limited‑duration positions to permanent and adding two positions).

- Smaller items including roughly $12,000 to support translation of emergency alerts into Oregon’s major languages and American Sign Language/Braille access, and roughly $50,000 to reclassify two positions tied to FEMA hazard mitigation assistance work.

Officials said these investments reflect OEM’s assumption of programs previously housed in other entities and the need for internal finance, IT and administrative capacity as the department operates independently.

Federal funding risk and grant administration

Several lawmakers asked whether federal funds that constitute the bulk of OEM’s budget are at risk. Director McMahon said “All of our federal funding is currently under review,” and explained that litigation and federal review processes have affected the timing and execution of some awards. She said some awards were not yet executed and therefore were not included in the figures presented to the committee.

Amy Mettler, OEM chief financial officer, told the committee that much of the federal funding OEM spends is pass‑through reimbursement to local and tribal governments and nonprofit subrecipients. The department reported reimbursing about $1.3 billion in disaster recovery costs in the prior year and managing more than 2,800 open projects across 10 active disaster declarations, supporting roughly 855 subrecipients.

Mitigation and hazard grants

OEM described recent mitigation funding successes and continuing barriers for local governments. Officials said Oregon secured about $120.8 million in mitigation funding in federal fiscal years 2022–24, including BRIC, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), post‑fire mitigation and other allocations. The department emphasized that local cost‑share requirements — commonly 25% — remain the primary barrier for smaller jurisdictions pursuing FEMA funds and pointed to the state’s prior use of one‑time state funds to cover local cost shares after the 2020 wildfires.

Operational and IT modernization

OEM presented program option packages (POPs) to strengthen grant accounting and incident coordination software. Presenters said the department will transition away from DASH shared financial services and build a permanent in‑house finance unit to reduce payment processing times and improve oversight. A $2 million POP was described to advance planning and procurement for a modern crisis management, cloud‑based common operating picture. The department also described ongoing projects for grant management, next‑generation 9‑1‑1 modernization, GIS, and other IT investments.

State 9‑1‑1 program and SPIRE

Officials said the State 9‑1‑1 program administers an $80 million annual revenue stream from the 9‑1‑1 tax, supports 40 public safety answering points (PSAPs), and funds statewide infrastructure and modernization efforts. The SPIRE (State Preparedness and Incident Response Equipment) grant program — a bond‑financed OEM grant program that provides equipment to local governments and nonprofits — was described as heavily oversubscribed in prior rounds (roughly three applicants for each award) and approaching a new round pending legislative authority for continued bond financing.

Program transitions and policy language

OEM staff described scheduled transfers of program authority into the department. Presenters noted statutory and budget language enacted previously under bills including House Bill 2927 (agency establishment/transfer language) and other session bills; staff cited policy language in pending bills tied to these transfers. Sage Charitori, legislative coordinator and strategic communications manager at OEM, summarized a planned transfer of $5 million in stockpile planning funds and discussed coordination with the Department of Human Services, Oregon Health Authority, Oregon Department of Agriculture and tribal partners regarding short‑term spending tied to an emergency board appropriation.

Search and rescue, emergency support and recovery functions

OEM briefed the committee on operational demands: 1,099 statewide search‑and‑rescue missions in 2024, high demand in counties including Clackamas, Jackson, Deschutes, Lane and Douglas, and activation of 61 Air Force Rescue Coordination Center missions responding to distress beacons. The department also described updates to its Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP), the State Emergency Coordination Center (ECC), State Recovery Functions and participation metrics for exercises (the department reported 39% exercise participation among agencies listed in the CEMP).

Committee scheduling and next steps

At the close of the session, staff said public testimony on SB 5517 will be heard on Wednesday per public notice requirements and that the committee canceled its Tuesday informational meeting. The co‑chairs and agency staff indicated additional follow‑up by staff on specific questions (for example, whether certain IT projects encompassed other legislation) and offered to provide written answers when needed.

Ending

Committee members praised the department’s presentation and signaled further scrutiny of federal grant risks and the timing of program transfers during upcoming hearings. The informational meeting concluded with the committee set to reconvene for public testimony on SB 5517 on Wednesday as posted.