Committee Co‑chairs Helm and Owens described a package of fee bills and companion general‑fund proposals intended to reduce proposed fee increases and shore up staffing at the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD).

Co‑chairs said the pairing concept would use a $1.7 million general‑fund appropriation (proposed in HB 3,484 dash‑9) to buy back seven full‑time equivalent positions for OWRD so that the committee could reduce a proposed water‑rights transaction fee increase in HB 2,803. Co‑chairs described prior work group spreadsheets showing alternative fee‑and‑funding scenarios and said the $1.7 million figure was the department’s estimate to restore capacity removed in earlier biennia.

Representative Sharf and others pressed for clarity about the consequences if the general‑fund offset failed to secure funding in Ways and Means. Co‑chairs said the department had told them that without the appropriation staff reductions would lead to slower transaction processing and a larger backlog. Representative Sharf also questioned the scale of proposed fee increases compared with inflation and said agency employee costs had outpaced CPI; co‑chairs and OWRD staff explained state employee cost growth and step increases as drivers of personnel cost increases.

Committee members expressed broader unease about recurring one‑time general‑fund patches across multiple agencies. Representative Marsh described the situation as a “systemic problem” in state government budgeting and asked whether repeated one‑time allocations postpone structural solutions.

The committee opened a public hearing on HB 3,484 (dash‑9) and received testimony and questioning about agency budgets and priorities. After discussion the co‑chairs held over several bills to the committee’s April 9 agenda for additional work; those held over included HB 2,808 (well program fee bill), HB 2,165 (general‑fund companion), HB 2,803 (water right/transfer and dam safety fee bill) and HB 3,484 (the $1.7 million proposed appropriation). The committee announced a planned follow‑up on Wednesday and requested additional LFO and agency information.