Urgent Action Alert… After much back and forth and some good news initially, the Legislature’s budget writing committee co-chairs reversed course and released a budget rebalance plan this afternoon that proposes a $1,000,000 cut to county fairs for the second half of the current biennium. This is roughly $25,000 per fair for the upcoming payment that is due to fairs at the end of this year. See page 13 of the attached Co-Chair Rebalance Plan document.
MANY HORSE EVENTS UTILIZE LOCAL FAIRGROUNDS for horse shows, banquets, rodeos, and other events. Please step up and help save their funding so that they will be available to you in the future.
Please contact legislators in your county today and use talking points from the below letter that JL Wilson is circulating with legislative leaders. Please add your specific stories, impacts to your county, and why the protection of these funds is critical. Keep the communication positive and ask your legislator to support our funding. Please forward your communications to us so we can keep track. If you need your contacts, see below:
- List of Senators with Contact Information: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/senate/Pages/SenatorsAll.aspx
- List of Senators with county listings: https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/state/legislative/house-district.aspx
- List of Representatives with Contact Information: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/house/Pages/RepresentativesAll.aspx
- List of Representatives with county listings: https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/state/legislative/house-district.aspx
Additional hearings and action needed for committee hearings will be announced soon as well.
Above image compliments of the Baker County Fair, Oregon.
The Oregon Horse Council is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit that works to strengthen, connect, and represent Oregon’s equine industry.