Section 541.942 - Natural Resources Subaccount(1) Of the moneys deposited into the Parks and Natural Resources Fund created under ORS 541.940 from the Oregon State Lottery, 50 percent shall be deposited into a Natural Resources Subaccount for the public purpose of financing the restoration and protection of native fish and wildlife, watersheds and water quality in Oregon. The State Treasurer may invest and reinvest the moneys in the Natural Resources Subaccount as provided in ORS 293.701 to 293.857.(2) Moneys in the Natural Resources Subaccount shall be used to accomplish each of the following: (a) Protecting and improving water quality in the rivers, lakes and streams of this state by restoring natural watershed functions or stream flows;(b) Securing long-term protection for lands and waters that provide significant habitats for native fish and wildlife;(c) Restoring and maintaining habitat needed to sustain healthy and resilient populations of native fish and wildlife;(d) Maintaining the diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems in this state;(e) Involving people in voluntary actions to protect, restore and maintain the ecological health of lands and waters in this state; and(f) Remedying the conditions that limit the health of fish and wildlife, fish and wildlife habitats and watershed functions that are in the greatest need of conservation.(3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this section, of the moneys deposited into the Natural Resources Subaccount from the Oregon State Lottery: (a) Sixty-five percent of the moneys shall be deposited into the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund established under ORS 541.947 to be used by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board for the purposes set forth in ORS 541.956; and(b) Thirty-five percent of the moneys shall be deposited into the Watershed Conservation Operating Fund established under ORS 541.945.(4) If the amount transferred from the Oregon State Lottery to the Parks and Natural Resources Fund during a biennium is more than 150 percent of the amount that was transferred during the 2009-2011 biennium, except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, the State Treasurer shall, during the next following biennium, deposit from the Natural Resources Subaccount to the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund the amount described in subsection (3)(a) of this section plus an amount equal to the difference between the amount deposited from the subaccount to the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund during the preceding biennium and 70 percent of the moneys received by the subaccount from the Oregon State Lottery during the preceding biennium.(5) The requirements in subsections (3) and (4) of this section apply only for biennia in which the Legislative Assembly does not require a greater percentage of the Natural Resources Subaccount moneys to be deposited into the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund. The Legislative Assembly may not authorize the percentage of Natural Resources Subaccount moneys deposited into the Watershed Conservation Grant Fund in a biennium to be less than the percentage required to be deposited under subsections (3) and (4) of this section. See note under 541.890.
Section 9, chapter 603, Oregon Laws 2023, provides:
Sec. 9. (1) The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board shall establish by rule a process for allocating on a quarterly basis available moneys in the Natural Resources Subaccount of the Parks and Natural Resources Fund, established under ORS 541.942, to fulfill the biennial allocations made in this 2023 Act. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, all quarterly allocations shall be set at one-eighth of the biennial allocations.
(2) If, in any quarter, the moneys transferred from the Oregon State Lottery Fund to the Parks and Natural Resources Fund are insufficient to pay for the quarterly allocations established under subsection (1) of this section, the allocations shall be reduced proportionately by amounts sufficient to accommodate the revenue shortfall. [2023 c. 603, § 9]