February 10, 2023, marked Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s one month in office making good on her pledge to tackle the state’s housing and homelessness crisis, she signed three executive orders the first day. Governor Kotek appealed to the legislature to invest $130 million as soon as possible to reduce the number of unsheltered Oregonians by the end of the year.

February 2, Governor Kotek was handed $9.5 million in federal funding to address Portland’s housing and homelessness from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Northwest Regional Administrator Margaret Salazar. The Portland-Multnomah County Continuum of Care (COC) is receiving $8.3 million, and the State Balance of Care COC is receiving $1.1 million.

“Oregonians are demanding bold action to reduce homelessness and build more housing,” Governor Kotek said. “I’m urging the legislature to act now on this urgent homelessness package. But we can’t stop there. As I laid out in my recommended budget, we need to make ongoing investments to take on this crisis at the scale needed to solve it, and I will work with legislators from both parties and leaders from all over the state to get the job done.”

Bills working their way through the legislature that could impact housing and homelessness include:

• SB 434 has a public hearing February 15 to create eviction mediation program.
• SB 131 has a work session on February 15 to extend the tax credit for affordable housing lenders.
• SB 147 has a work session on February 15 to extend tax exemptions granted by cities for certain rehabilitated or newly constructed single unit housing.
• HB 2001 has a public hearing on February 13 for Housing and Community Services Department to study housing.
• HB 2889 has a public hearing on February 16 to establish Oregon Housing Needs Analysis within Housing and Community Services Department.
• Ways and Means has not yet scheduled the budget hearing for Housing and Community Services Department.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The three executive orders Governor Kotek signed on her first day set an ambitious state target to increase home construction; declaring a homelessness state of emergency; and directing state agencies to prioritize reducing homelessness in all areas of the state.

Executive Order No. 23-02 declares a state of emergency due to homelessness in regions of the state that have experienced an increase in unsheltered homelessness of 50% or more from 2017 to 2022.

Executive Order No. 23-03 directs state agencies to prioritize reducing both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness in all areas of the state—not solely those in which a state of emergency has been declared—using their existing statutory authorities.

Executive Order No. 23-04 establishes a statewide housing production goal of 36,000 per year and creates the Housing Production Advisory Council to develop comprehensive budget and policy recommendations to meet that goal.

Governor Kotek has since announced she is accepting applications for the statewide Housing Production Advisory Council, which will be composed of 25 members, including the Governor or her designee, bipartisan members of the Oregon House and Senate, relevant state agency directors, and a Tribal member. The largest share of members (18) will be appointed by the Governor. Oregonians interested in applying for the Council are encouraged to submit an application, found here. Applications are due February 15, 2023. The Council will begin work in early March.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2023-02-12 08:15:13

Last Update: 2023-02-11 19:20:21