Sampling of what the legislators did in the 2021 Session.

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(Chief Sponsor) Prohibits outdated local occupancy limits that are based on familial or non-familial relationships.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 packageBipartisan 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 fundingRecord $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 fundingFully funded public university and community colleges, plus a nearly $30 million increase in Oregon Opportunity Grant funds.

P

Economic recovery investmentsInvestments 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.
PLocal American Rescue Plan investmentsEugene/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.

This information is provided so you can engage the principles of Oregon Citizen’s Lobby. We do not endorse any candidate.  OCL is the only Oregon lobby working 100% for and by CITIZENS of Oregon; we are truly the voices of Oregonians, not special interests. Sign-up here to see how you can volunteer right from your own home to help spread the word and enhance the effectiveness of OCL. Want to help but don’t have time to volunteer? Help support OCL with a donation of any amount here!

Date: 2021-06-30 08:22

No tags for this post.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Receive Email Notifications?