Tillamook County v. State ex rel. State Board of Forestry

Plaintiff counties brought this declaratory judgment action seeking, through their first claim, a declaration that the “costs” they are required to reimburse to the state1 under ORS 530.115(2) do not include an interest component. In their second and third claims they sought a declaration that ORS 530.010 to 530.170 and their predecessors, pursuant to which the counties had transferred forest lands to the state, establish contractual and trust relationships between the state and the counties. Plaintiffs argue that those relationships preclude the state from making “unilateral” changes in the…