Governor Kotek Signs Legislation to Strengthen State’s Wildfire Response

Beaverton, OR — Today, Governor Tina Kotek signed House Bill 3940 into law, bipartisan legislation that funds more tools for wildfire suppression, mitigation, and prevention work in Oregon.

“Oregonians are paying the price of delayed action in smoke-choked summers, forest loss, and displacement,” Governor Kotek said. “Fire suppression is not enough. To protect our forests, homes and public health for the long-term, we must build more resilient, fire-adapted communities across our state. I want to share my gratitude to the Fire 35 Wildfire Funding Working Group who spent hundreds of hours pulling a slate of proposals together that shaped this key legislation.”

“The passage of HB 3940 is the result of over a year of tireless, collaborative work from every corner of Oregon,” Representative Bobby Levy (R-Echo) said. “This wasn’t a partisan effort—it was a people-first solution that brought together legislators, industry leaders, landowners, and advocates around one shared goal: protecting our state from devastating wildfires. We couldn’t have done this without the constant engagement, feedback, and determination of those who rolled up their sleeves and stayed at the table. This is what good governance looks like—and I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished together.”

“House Bill 3940 is an important first step toward Oregon’s long-term strategy to reduce the risk of extreme wildfires to our iconic landscapes and protect communities that depend on them, " Derek Johnson, The Nature Conservancy Oregon State Director said. “By creating durable funding to invest in landscape resilience and fire-adapted communities, the state is better positioned to prepare for and mitigate the worst impacts of wildfire. We thank Oregon lawmakers and Governor Kotek for championing this important bipartisan legislation."

The Governor strongly advocated to fill critical gaps to protect Oregon lives and property, avoid payment delays to firefighters, and make sure Oregon is ready for fire seasons.

House Bill 3940, along with investments in House Bill 5006 and the budget bills for the Oregon Department of Forestry (Senate Bill 5521) and Oregon State Fire Marshal (Senate Bill 5538), secures $150 million over the next two years for responding to wildfire disasters and $117 million in new dedicated money for community prevention and resilience.

The bill creates a dedicated State Forestry Department Large Wildfire Fund, ensuring resources are available when – not just after – catastrophic fires strike. This reduces reliance on ad-hoc borrowing and delayed reimbursements to third party vendors of the state.

HB 3940 includes ongoing dollars from interest generated by the state's Rainy Day Fund and taxes on oral nicotine products. While this progress is a powerful step forward, much of the funding is one time. The wildfire threat will remain into the future, and as such, Governor Kotek will continue to work to ensure adequate and ongoing wildfire funding.

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