Where we are in the final days of the 2017 legislative session

July 5, 2017

We’re in the very last days of the 2017 legislative session, which must end by July 10—and it will very likely happen sooner. In this last week, we’ve seen some major progress for housing opportunity, along with disappointments around tenant protections.

Resources to meet Oregon’s housing needs

Ending homelessness and keeping families in their homes

The Oregon Legislature made some significant investments with General Fund dollars for housing opportunity:

  • $40 million in funding for emergency rent assistance to prevent homelessness and move people back into housing through Emergency Housing Account (EHA), and the State Homeless Assistance Program (SHAP) to support emergency shelters. $20 million was appropriated in the Oregon Housing and Community Services budget (HB 5012), and an additional $20 million was added in the end-of-session budget rebalance bill (HB 5006), for a total of $40 million. Of these funds, $30 million is considered by the Legislature to be “one time” funding. HB 5012 and HB 5006 have passed both the House and Senate.
  • $1.3 million to continue protecting existing homeowners with foreclosure counseling through the Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance program.

The Housing Alliance believed that a substantial investment in EHA and SHAP was necessary to meet the need for emergency rent assistance and shelter dollars for the upcoming biennium. Today, community action agencies and service providers are only serving one out of ten or fifteen people who needs these services. As a result, the Housing Alliance and partners were advocating for $50 million for EHA and SHAP to try to better meet the need. While we know these resources are not going to meet the need, we are glad the Legislature made a significant investment in a very difficult budget climate.

The Housing Alliance and Oregon Opportunity Network had also advocated for $3.2 million for foreclosure counseling. We will continue to work to ensure people at risk of foreclosure have the counseling resources they need prior to mediation.

Developing and preserving affordable homes

We also saw increases in bonding for the development and preservation of affordable homes:

Both of these bills have passed out of the House and Senate.

The Housing Alliance had supported $100 million for the LIFT program and $100 million for preservation. These allocations from the Legislature will bring us closer to meeting Oregon’s housing needs. We were particularly heartened to hear that the Legislature will allocate $40 million of LIFT resources in the 2017-18 year, and the remainder in 2018-19, which means we can start building more needed affordable housing as soon as possible!

We will continue to explore ideas and strategies to preserve as much existing affordable housing as possible – we know there are huge needs particularly in rural communities and in public housing.

Housing stability for renters

HB 2004 would protect tenants by limiting no-cause evictions and keeping rent increases to once per year. The Stable Homes for Oregon Families coalition has advocated for this bill throughout the session to increase protections for the four in ten Oregonians who rent their homes.  The bill passed out of the Senate Committee on Rules. Senate President Courtney did not act on the bill, and tenants will have to wait for basic protection from no cause evictions.

New revenue for housing opportunity

HB 3357 would have increased the document recording fee to $40, helping to fund development of affordable housing, affordable homeownership opportunities, and emergency rent assistance. The bill passed out of the House Committee on Revenue and then died in the Joint Committee on Ways and Means.

Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit

The Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit (OAHTC) helps fund development and preservation of affordable housing. The current credit is capped at $17 million and is set to expire in 2020. HB 2066, the omnibus tax credit bill, extends the credit until 2026 and increases the cap on the credit to $25 million. The bill has passed out of both the House and Senate.

The Housing Alliance advocated for HB 2852, which would have renewed the credit, increased the cap, and provided new tools to capitalize on the value of the tax credit. That bill passed out of House Human Services and Housing; it did not move out of the Joint Committee on Tax Credits.

Affordable homeownership opportunities

HB 2570 would have established a revolving loan fund that would enable nonprofit developers to create more affordable homes for purchase. The bill has passed out of the House Committee on Human Services and Housing. It did not move out of Ways and Means.

Housing Alliance support agenda items

  • Allow households earning up to 80% of the area median income to be eligible for LIFT homeownership units (HB 3175): Signed into law by the Governor.
  • Building code changes to tiny homes (HB 2737): Signed into law by the Governor.
  • Increasing participation in the Earned Income Tax Credit Program (SB 398): Signed into law by the Governor.
  • Rental Assurance Fund for Tenants (HB 2724): Passed out of the House and Senate.
  • Land acquisition program (HB 2912): Passed out of the House and Senate.
  • New tools for the preservation of existing affordable housing (HB 2002): Passed out of the House and Senate.
  • Funding for 211info, the Oregon Hunger Response Fund, and the General Assistance Program were all included in the Department of Human Services budget (SB 5526). For protection of the Fairview Trust, it was stated on the record that the trust could not be used to fill any gaps created by budget cuts elsewhere. SB 5526 has passed out of the House and Senate.
  • Joint Oregon Housing and Community Services and Department of Land Conservation and Development positions (HB 3373): Passed out of House Human Services and Housing. It did not move out of Ways and Means.
  • Policies to facilitate the creation of new housing (HB 2007): Passed out of House Human Services in Housing. It did not move out of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Natural Resources. SB 1051, a bill which included some of the same concepts as HB 2007, passed both the House and Senate.
  • Authorizing coastal counties to pass a transient lodging tax on residential vacation rentals, with proceeds dedicated to affordable housing (HB 3260): Did not pass out of House Committee on Revenue.
  • Agricultural Workforce Housing Operations Tax Credit (SB 1): Passed out of Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue; referred to Joint Committee on Tax Credits. It was not included in the omnibus tax credit bill.
  • Down payment assistance (HB 3192): Passed out of House Human Services and Housing and House Revenue. It did not move out of Ways and Means.
  • Fund for repair and rehabilitation of existing homes (HB 2961): Passed out of House Human Services and Housing. It did not move out of Ways and Means.
  • HB 2006, mortgage interest deduction reform, did not meet the first chamber deadline.
  • HB 2215, the Right to Rest Act, did not meet the first chamber deadline.
  • HB 2879 creating a capital gains tax exemption for the sale of multifamily housing to nonprofits and housing authorities, had technical issues that resulted in it not moving forward.

The Legislature did not pass any proposals to raise new revenue this session, and many of our bills that were before the Joint Committee on Ways and Means did not move out due to constraints on General Fund dollars.

You can see more information on all of the Housing Alliance lead agenda and support agenda items on our website.