Oregon Governor Tina Kotek was busy last week signing bills into law. Houselessness is a crisis that the top executive of the state decided to tackle. She signed new laws intended to help the state increase housing options and prevent people from becoming homeless. The list of bills include House Bill 3042 which limits rent increases for three years after a property is withdrawn from publicly supported housing. Senate Bill 611 caps annual rent increases to 10% or inflation plus 7%.
Gov. Kotek promised the state would be aggressive in addressing the homeless crisis. She was sworn in last year ready to get busy on the crisis. Some estimates have shown the state needs as many as 140,000 more housing units to meet demand. The governor signed House Bill 3395 — the legislature’s collection of housing initiatives that makes it easier to build affordable housing properties and provides grants to cities, counties and tribes. She also signed House Bill 5511, which is the budget for Oregon housing and community services.
The bills Kotek signed on July 27th are:
– Senate Bill 611, which will cap the amount landlords can increase rent for tenants. The measure limits annual rent increases to either 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower.
– House Bill 3395 aims to remove bureaucratic hurdles and streamline the approval process for affordable housing construction. It puts in $48.5 million from the general fund and aims to reduce restrictions on housing types, such as duplexes and condominiums.
– House Bill 3042 would give Oregonians who rely on subsidized housing a safe-harbor period of three years as some federal protections start to expire.
– Senate Bill 5511 is the budget bill for the Housing and Community Services Department and it includes more than $2.5 billion and 441 new positions to the state agency. The money includes $55 million for rental assistance, $6 million for eviction prevention services and more than $7 million for down payment assistance.
Gov. Kotek wants legislators to focus on increasing the housing supply and expanding what land is deemed buildable in the state in the 2024 legislative session . “I believe in outcomes. It’s not enough to say we have more resources; you have to actually produce results. With the emergency order – which this money today as well as what we passed earlier in session — stands up new shelter capacity, helps people from becoming homeless in the first place and also rehouses individuals. We are focused on meeting those goals for every community who is receiving those dollars by the end of the year,” said Kotek.
