1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session House Bill 2769 Sponsored by Representative EVANS (Presession filed.) SUMMARY The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability standards. Digest: The Act tells OBDD to give info about emergencies to small businesses. The Act tells OBDD to run a program to give grants to small businesses to prepare for emergencies. (Flesch Readability Score: 61.8). Directs the Oregon Business Development Department to develop a registry of small businesses interested in receiving communications relating to emergency management. Directs the department to use the registry to communicate information relating to emergency management to small busi- nesses. Directs the department to develop and implement a program to provide grants and assistance to small businesses to strengthen emergency resilience. Declares an emergency, effective on passage. A BILL FOR AN ACT Relating to emergency management; and declaring an emergency. Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon: SECTION 1. (1) The Oregon Business Development Department, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, shall develop a registry of small businesses that are interested in re- ceiving communications from the department related to emergency preparedness, response andrecovery. (2) The department, in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Emergency Man- agement and county, city and tribal emergency management agencies, shall use the registry to: (a) Inform small businesses of new or ongoing programs or opportunities related to emergency management and relevant to small businesses, including the Small Business Resilience Program established under section 2 of this 2025 Act; and (b) Regularly communicate with small businesses about emergency planning and preparedness, with the goal of integrating small businesses into the emergency management strategy of the state. (3) The Oregon Business Development Department shall continuously conduct outreach to small businesses across this state to encourage small businesses to join the registry. (4) As used in this section, “small business” means a business having 50 or fewer em- ployees. SECTION 2.(1) The Oregon Business Development Department shall develop and imple- ment a program, known as the Small Business Resilience Program, to provide grants and assistance to small businesses to enhance the emergency resilience of this state. (2) Through the program, the department shall: (a) Issue grants to small businesses to pay for upgrades to equipment, materials or fa- cilities that will strengthen the overall emergency resilience of the small businesses and the NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted. New sections are in boldfaced type. LC 2441 HB2769 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 localities in which the small businesses are located; and (b) Provide technical assistance to small businesses in navigating state and federal pro- grams related to emergency preparedness or emergency response and recovery. (3) The department shall consult with the Oregon Department of Emergency Manage- ment and county, city and tribal emergency management agencies in developing and man- aging the program. (4) The Oregon Business Development Department may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section. (5) As used in this section, “small business” means a business having 50 or fewer em- ployees. SECTION 3. This 2025 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2025 Act takes effect on its passage. [2]