CASE HISTORY ON THE OREGON GO BOND TASK FORCE: PROMOTING EARTHQUAKE SAFETY IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND EMERGENCY FACILITIES

Promoting earthquake safety is neither a short nor easy task. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens of Oregon have joined forces the past three legislative sessions to develop long-term programs designed to increase seismic safety for schools and emergency facilities. Two key components in establishing these programs are the Oregon State Senator Peter Courtney, who championed legislation requiring all public schools and emergency facilities to have life safety standards and the citizens of Oregon, who voted to change the Oregon Constitution Articles, which now allow state general obligation (GO) bonds to pay for earthquake rehabilitation of schools and emergency facilities. Scientific advances in understanding that a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake is imminent in geologic time have prompted the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) and the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission (OSSPAC) to develop sound public policies to forward the goal of mitigation of statewide risks. Funding from FEMA (both NEHRP and Pre- Disaster Mitigation program) was used to create the Oregon GO Bond Task Force and facilitate a dialog among a wide diversity of stakeholders in late 2004. Three concepts were developed: 1) Performing a statewide needs assessment for all schools and emergency facilities, 2) Formation of a temporary committee to establish a new state grant program to distribute earthquake rehabilitation grants using state bond funds, and 3) Issue of state bond funds through the newly established grant program to state and local communities for the rehabilitation of fire stations, police stations and hospitals and high occupancy school buildings.