The Housing Alliance

Housing Alliance Update
March 21, 2012

Dear Housing Alliance Friends and Supporters:

The short, February 2012 Legislative Session ended on March 5, shortly before 9 p.m. Overall there is a lot to celebrate as we end this short session!

2012 Agenda

Here is where we ended up on our 2012 agenda:

  • Protecting Basic Services for Oregonians. We were unsuccessful in protecting the Emergency Housing Account (EHA) and the State Homeless Assistance Program (SHAP) from cuts. Both took a 3.5% cut in the revised budget. The General Fund Food program, however, was protected from these cuts.
  • Preserve Existing Affordable Housing. In 2011, we were successful in securing $5 million in Lottery Backed Bonds for preservation. We were allowed to request an additional $5 million, but we did not receive additional funds to help preserve existing affordable housing.
  • Ensure Effective Recordation of Affordable Housing Covenants. SB1535 passed both houses in record time, was signed by the Governor and is now law! This bill allows affordable housing covenants to be recorded in the public record, and referred to in short form at sale or during property transfers. This bill provides greater consistency of property records and protects the long-term affordability of housing.
  • Support the extension of the Farmworker Housing Tax Credit. This bill was also caught up in politics around tax credits and was not passed. This will need to be done in 2013.
  • Protect Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Along with other advocates, members of the Housing Alliance worked hard to protect basic safety net programs from further cuts. While TANF did experience a few cuts, overall the news was much better than anticipated. For details of the additional cuts, please email Alison.
  • Fix problems with the Senior & Disabled Property Tax Deferral Program. The Housing Alliance believed, with other advocates, that a bill passed in 2011 had unintended consequences. In 2012, there was a partial fix through HB 4039 to allow people with reverse mortgages to return to the program for two years (2011 and 2012). We will work in the interim with other advocates to help propose permanent solutions.


Really Great News!

Protect Homeowners Facing Foreclosure. After two long weeks of negotiation between members of the Legislature, there was a compromise struck on foreclosure! On the last day of the short session, the bill was heard by the House Rules Committee with -25 amendments, and it passed out unanimously. Several hours later, the bill came to the House floor, where it passed 59-1. In the time it took advocates to walk from the House to the Senate, it was up again for concurrence, and passed the Senate 27-3.

The final version had amended SB1552 and combined many of the concepts of SB1564. It included mandatory mediation, changes to notification rules, a requirement for authority to negotiate by the banks, an end to dual track foreclosures, and sanctions for financial institutions that do not comply. A huge thanks to everyone who participated in this process!

The Housing Alliance released a media advisory recently
The foreclosure settlement funds from the national Attorney General settlement have been protected so far. The Housing Alliance will continue to monitor implementation of this new legislation and settlement funds. Please email Janet with questions.

Coming Up this Spring

If you have issues you would like to be on the Housing Alliance agenda in 2013, start thinking about that now! We’ll be planning membership meetings for the summer and fall to work on our agenda.

Want more information on the Housing Alliance?  Go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org.
For a full archive of Housing Alliance Weekly Updates, go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/updates_archive.html

For information on the 2007 Legislative Session, click here.
For information on the 2005 Legislative Session, click here.
For information on the 2009 Legislative Session, click here.
For information on the 2010 Interim Session, click here.
For information on the 2011 Legislative Session, click here.

Please email or call us with questions or ideas for how we can best keep you informed. Contact Alison McIntosh.