House legislators voted along party lines Thursday when they struck down a bill that would have continued federal timber payments to rural counties in Oregon and hundreds more around the nation for four more years.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., won a simple majority vote of 218-193, but needed a two-thirds majority to pass from the House floor to the Senate. Because Democrats introduced the measure under rules that did not allow amendments to the bill, it had to receive the super-majority to pass.
Four Oregon representatives voted in favor of the bill, but Oregon Republican Rep. Greg Walden voted against the bill.
The roughly $2 billion the bill would send to counties in 42 states came from closing a loophole in oil and gas leases.
DeFazio blamed the losing vote on Republicans pandering to big oil companies.
The bill was introduced on the House floor Wednesday, but was forced to a Thursday vote because of fierce debate about the source of funding, which comes from collecting back royalties from oil and gas companies. These royalties were lost because a government error in drilling leases dating from former President Bill Clinton’s administration.
Lane County has relied on the timber payments in some form for decades, but had to budget without the funds for the first time this year. The 2008-09 county budget cut hundreds of local jobs and numerous public safety services, forcing county budget committee members to dip into reserves to pay for basic services such as 24-hour sheriff’s patrol.
“This will create ongoing problems with inadequate services, specifically in public safety,” County Administrator Jeff Spartz said.
The current budget will not be affected by the loss of the renewed county timber payments, but it will force local citizens and elected officials to find funding for these basic services in the future, Spartz said.
In an e-mail Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer said the loss of funds that were offered in DeFazio’s bill will deeply affect the county in a year or two.
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