Chapter 780 Oregon Laws 2003

AN ACT

HB 3582

Relating to distribution of moneys to counties; and declaring an emergency.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. (1) The Association of Oregon Counties shall establish a work group that consists of county officials to study the basis used to allocate the county portion of state highway funds to each county in this state.

(2) The association may appoint persons who are not county officials to the work group.

(3) The purpose of the work group is to study methods within the formula that allocates state highway funds to counties in order to address the following issues:

(a) The financial support that high-growth counties require due to the unique needs of those counties;

(b) The financial support that sparsely populated counties require for basic road programs;

(c) The effect on county road programs of large bridges including, but not limited to, bridges across the Willamette River;

(d) The effect on county road programs of vehicles, including heavy truck tractors and truck trailers, that are registered in a county but are not operated in the county; and

(e) Other issues relating to the allocation of state highway funds to counties.

(4) The work group shall develop and present a report on the results of its study to the appropriate committees of the Seventy-third Legislative Assembly on or before February 1, 2005.

(5) Funds made available to counties under ORS 366.524 may be used to pay the expenses of the work group. The association may enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the Department of Transportation to obtain the funds.

(6) All agencies of state government, as defined in ORS 174.111, and the League of Oregon Cities are directed to assist the work group in the performance of its duties and, to the extent permitted by laws relating to confidentiality, to furnish the information and advice that members of the work group consider necessary to perform their duties.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of this 2003 Act is repealed on January 2, 2006.

SECTION 3. This 2003 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2003 Act takes effect on its passage.

Approved by the Governor September 17, 2003

Filed in the office of Secretary of State September 18, 2003

Effective date September 17, 2003

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