Excerpt from Rep. Fahey’s (D-HD-14) 6-29-21 newsletter on the some of the bills that passed and failed in the 2020-21 session:
Housing and Shelter
P | Shelter siting and funding (HB 2004, HB 2006, HB 5042) | Breaking down barriers to siting homeless shelters; funding for navigation centers and Project Turnkey. |
P | Affordable housing siting (SB 8, HB 2008) | Breaking down barriers to siting affordable housing owned by public bodies, nonprofits, and religious congregations. |
P | Racial disparities in homeownership (HB 2007, HB 2550, HB 2703, SB 79, budget investments) | Helping more Oregonians of color become homeowners through grants, loans, training, and protections. |
P | Help for homeless youth (HB 2163, HB 2544) | Fund services and rental assistance for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness. |
P | Opportunity to purchase (HB 2364) | (Chief Sponsor) Strengthens protections for manufactured housing residents who want to buy their park and operate it as a co-op. |
F | Manufactured home rent hikes (HB 2580) | (Chief Sponsor) Would have limited manufactured housing rent hikes that harm residents’ investments in their homes. [died in committee] |
P | Occupancy limits based on familial relationships (HB 2583) | (Chief Sponsor) Prohibits outdated local occupancy limits that are based on familial or non-familial relationships. |
Responding to COVID and Wildfires
P | Homeowner protections (HB 2009) | Extends temporary moratorium on foreclosures and protections for homeowners. |
P | Tenant/landlord protections (SB 282, SB 278) | Give tenants more time to get assistance and pay back rent after the eviction moratorium; increased support to landlords. |
P | Unemployment tax relief (HB 3389) | Unemployment insurance tax relief for small businesses impacted by the COVID recession. |
P | Unemployment overpayment relief (SB 172) | Limits punitive collections on Oregonians who were overpaid unemployment benefits through no fault of their own. |
P | Rebuilding homes in wildfire areas (HB 2341, HB 2607, HB 2289) | Provide tax relief and expedited permitting for Oregonians whose homes were destroyed by fire. |
P | Rebuilding manufactured housing (HB 3218) | Provides grants and loans to help manufactured housing residents rebuild from wildfire. |
P | Wildfire management and mitigation (SB 762) | Prepares Oregon for future wildfire seasons through risk reduction, mitigation, planning, and investments in frontline communities. |
P | Emergency response systems (HB 2927) | Creates Oregon Department of Emergency Management to streamline emergency response systems. |
Justice and Public Safety
P | Common-sense gun regulation (SB 554) | Requires safe storage of firearms, bans guns in the Capitol, and allows schools/universities to decide if guns are allowed on campus. |
P | Policing reform package | Bipartisan package of accountability measures, including changes to the misconduct reporting process, background checks, booking photos, the use of tear gas, and crowd control. |
P | Military surplus in policing (HB 2481) | (Chief Sponsor) Prohibits local law enforcement agencies from receiving some military surplus equipment; increases transparency. |
F | Transforming Justice (HB 2002) | Comprehensive criminal justice reform [died in Joint Ways and Means, but SB 620 and HB 2204 contain pieces of this legislation]. |
P | Sanctuary Promise Act (HB 3265) | Strengthens prohibition on local agencies assisting in immigration enforcement. |
F | Universal Representation (HB 3230) | Would have provided legal representation to Oregonians facing deportation. [died in Joint Ways and Means] |
Elections and Public Involvement
P | Voter disinformation (HB 2323) | (Chief Sponsor) Prohibits purposefully sharing false information about how to participate in elections. |
F | Campaign finance limits (HB 2680, SB 336, HB 3343) | Would have set campaign finance limits for Oregon. [died in committee] |
F | Automatic Voter Registration expansion (HB 2499) | (Chief Sponsor) Would have expanded Oregon’s Automatic Voter Registration system beyond the DMV. [died in Joint Ways and Means] |
P | Postmarked ballot returns (HB 3291) | Allows Oregonians to return ballots by mail up until election day. |
P | Voter language access (HB 3021) | Makes election materials available in the five most common languages other than English. |
| Remote public participation (HB 2560) | Requires public meetings to be open to remote testimony from the public. | |
P | Equitable participation (HB 2992, HB 2993) | Increases access to boards and commissions; requires equitable input in rulemaking processes. |
Education and Childcare
P | Childcare affordability and access (HB 3073) | Increases access to daycare subsidies; establishes Department of Early Learning and Care. |
P | Diverse teacher retention (HB 2001) | Gives school districts tools to retain diverse teachers in case of layoffs. |
P | Class size collective bargaining (SB 580) | Makes classes sizes a subject of collective bargaining for teachers. |
P | Early childhood expulsions (HB 2166, SB 236) | Bans expulsions and suspension in early childhood care, establishes programs to support providers. |
Fair Economy and Worker Protections
P | Non-compete agreements (SB 169) | Limit the ability of employers to use non-compete agreements for lower- and middle-wage workers. |
P | Wage theft payments (HB 2818) | (Chief Sponsor) Makes it easier for Oregonians to receive payment when they file a wage claim with BOLI. |
P | Prevailing wage (SB 493) | Establishes stronger prevailing wage for construction workers. |
F | Cannabis Equity and Accountability Act (HB 3112) | (Chief Sponsor) Comprehensive legislation to increase opportunity in the cannabis industry and repair the harm of the War on Drugs. [died in Joint Ways and Means] |
P | Health and safety protections (SB 483) | Increases protections for workers who report health and safety violations. |
P | Leave No Worker Behind (HB 2819) | Expands access to the Earned Income Tax Credit to undocumented and mixed-status families. [passed as part of tax credits package HB 2433] |
F | Farmworker overtime (HB 2358) | Would have given agricultural workers the same overtime pay protections as other workers. [died in Joint Ways and Means] |
P | Taxpayer Advocate Office (HB 3373) | (Chief Sponsor) Establishes Taxpayer Advocate Office in the Department of Revenue. |
P | E-permitting (HB 2415) | (Chief Sponsor) Expands online permitting for building permitting and inspections statewide. |
P | Student loan consumer protections (SB 485) | Establishes oversight over student loan servicers. |
Health Care and Human Services
P | Insulin affordability (HB 2623) | Caps the price of insulin to consumers. |
P | Drug Affordability Board (SB 844) | Establishes Prescription Drug Affordability Board. |
P | Telehealth accessibility (HB 2508) | Increases access to telehealth services. |
P | Cover All People (HB 3352) | Expands Medicaid eligibility to people who would be covered if not for their immigration status. |
P | Long-term care worker health coverage (SB 800) | Establishes Oregon Essential Workforce Health Care Program for long-term care workers. |
P | Long-term care staffing and quality (SB 714, SB 703) | Increased oversight of staffing adequacy and quality metrics for long-term care facilities. |
F | Organ donor check-off (HB 2506) | (Chief Sponsor) Would have allowed a voluntary “check-off” donation at the DMV to fund organ donor outreach. [died in committee] |
P | Mental health workforce (HB 2949) | Strengthens mental health workforce pipeline to increase number of diverse providers. |
P | Mobile crisis intervention teams (HB 2417) | Provides grants to counties to establish behavioral health mobile crisis units. |
Environmental Justice and Natural Resources
P | 100% Clean (HB 2021) | Transitions Oregon to 100% clean energy by 2040. |
P | Healthy Homes (HB 2842) | Helps low-income Oregonians pay for home upgrades and repairs that save energy and increase affordability. |
P | Energy Affordability Act (HB 2475) | Allows the Public Utility Commission to set lower rates for lower-income utility customers. |
P | Recycling reform (HB 582) | Modernizes Oregon’s recycling system; establishes clear guidelines and manufacturer responsibility. |
P | HFC transition (HB 3227) | (Chief Sponsor) Supports national transition away from hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used as refrigerants. |
F | OFRI oversight (HB 2357) | Would have increased oversight of the Oregon Forest Resources Institute (OFRI) in response to concerning reporting last year. [passed House, died in Senate committee] |
Summary of Major Budget Investments
P | Housing and homelessness investment package | $765 million statewide, including funds for affordable housing construction, rebuilding wildfire-impacted communities, healthy home repairs for low-income Oregonians, fair housing enforcement, and more. |
P | Behavioral health investment package | $302 million for substance use treatment and recovery from Measure 110, plus over $350 million for local capacity, the Oregon State Hospital, workforce, and services. |
P | K-12 school funding | Record $9.3 billion K-12 schools budget, in addition to $2 billion this biennium from the Student Success Act and $250 million for summer enrichment. |
P | Higher education funding | Fully funded public university and community colleges, plus a nearly $30 million increase in Oregon Opportunity Grant funds. |
P | Economic recovery investments | Investments in business and economic vitality, including $50 million in grants for theaters and live events businesses; $10 million for loan-loss reserve fund for loans to rural, veteran, and BIPOC business owners; and $5.8 million for anti-hunger programs. |
| P | Local American Rescue Plan investments | Eugene/Springfield legislators dedicated over $8 million in local investments using federal American Rescue Plan stimulus dollars, including about $6 million for affordable housing and homelessness. |
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Date: 2021-06-30 08:22
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