STATE/NATION
8A — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
Legislature OKs bill extending grace period for past-due rent
own and are still strug-
gling to catch up. As
Oregon continues to face
a statewide housing crisis
By PETER WONG
instead of June 30 — to
and our communities are
Oregon Capital Bureau
pay past-due rent going
suff ering, SB 282 is going
SALEM — Gov. Kate
back to April 1, 2020. It
to be a lifeline to protect
Brown’s signature awaits
does not forgive any rent,
us from eviction.”
a bill that gives tenants
and it requires renters
Rep. Julie Fahey, a
more time to pay past-due to be current on pay-
Democrat from Eugene
rent stemming from the
ments after July 1. But it
and chairwoman of the
coronavirus pandemic
would extend until Feb.
House Committee on
and protects their future
28, 2022, a moratorium
Housing, said the bill
ability to rent.
on evictions for nonpay-
banks on millions coming
The Oregon House
ment of rent during the
in state and federal aid to
sent Senate Bill 282 to the pandemic.
tenants and landlords.
governor on a 39-17 vote
“This is a huge weight
“It is a reasonable com-
on Tuesday,
promise bill
May 11.
that sets
Tosha
the stage
Morgan-Platt
for a more
— who lives
equitable
in Portland
recovery,”
with three
Fahey, the
children,
bill’s fl oor
one of them
manager and
with disabil-
chief sponsor
ities — was
in the House,
among the
said. “By
— Rep. Julie Fahey, a Democrat from Eugene and
tenants who
passing this
chairwoman of the House Committee on Housing
submitted
bill, we can
testimony
ensure that
in favor of
Oregon ten-
off my shoulders and
the bill. She lost her job
ants and landlords can get
will give me or my land-
during the economic
the full benefi t of rental
lord enough time to apply assistance coming to our
downturn that resulted
for rental assistance to
from the pandemic more
state and help prevent the
cover the back rent,” Mor- fallout from the pandemic
than a year ago, and sub-
gan-Platt said in a state-
sequent work has not
following the most vul-
ment furnished by Stable
helped her earn enough
nerable Oregonians for
Homes for Oregon Fami-
to eliminate $3,000 in
years to come.”
lies. “There are so many
past-due rent.
A Dec. 21 special ses-
The bill allows Mor-
Oregonians in similar sit-
sion of the Legislature
gan-Platt and others an
uations who lost jobs or
extended the evictions
extended grace period
income during COVID
moratorium from Dec. 30
until Feb. 28, 2022 —
through no fault of our
to June 30, and also set
Oregon in line for $222.5 million from
President Biden’s pandemic recovery plan
“The policies we passed last
year have likely prevented
many thousands of people from
being evicted from their homes
during the pandemic.”
Younger adolescents get ready
to receive COVID-19 vaccine
aside a total of $200 mil-
lion for assistance — $150
million for landlords and
$50 million for tenants.
The Oregon Department
of Housing and Commu-
nity Services reported to
the House committee on
May 4 that $40 million
was paid from the land-
lord compensation fund in
the fi rst round in March.
Congress also passed
two rounds of federal
assistance for renters, the
latest round approved in
March. Oregon’s sena-
tors announced May 10
the state will be in line
for $222.5 million from
President Joe Biden’s
pandemic recovery plan,
which became law in
March. The state would
get $156.5 million, Port-
land, $15.5 million; Mult-
nomah County, $3.8 mil-
lion, Washington County,
$14.2 million, and Clack-
amas County, $9.9 mil-
lion. Other amounts will
go to the counties that
include Eugene, Salem
and Medford.
“The policies we
passed last year have
likely prevented many
thousands of people from
being evicted from their
homes during the pan-
demic,” Fahey said.
“Because we know that
public health research has
shown that eviction mor-
atoriums helped prevent
the spread of COVID-19,
we know that in addition
to keeping people stably
housed, those policies
have saved lives.”
Other provisions
Among other provi-
sions of SB 282, which
was brokered by Sen.
Kayse Jama, D-Portland,
with tenant and landlord
advocates:
• Potential landlords
would be barred from
screening out applicants
based on COVID-era
evictions. The bill would
allow sealing of evictions
during COVID from a
tenant’s record.
• Credit history reports
would be barred on any
late payments during the
moratorium. Landlords
would be barred from
screening out tenants
based on nonpayment of
past-due rents during the
eviction moratorium and
grace period.
• Landlords could not
evict tenants for dou-
bling-up/occupancy
limits that are narrower
than current law, during
the COVID period when
people have had to share
housing due to the pan-
demic and wildfi res.
• Increased damages
would remain in eff ect
temporarily for retalia-
tion violations by land-
lords during the COVID
era.
All of the votes against
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By HEATHER
HOLLINGSWORTH, KATHLEEN
FOODY and SOPHIA TAREEN
Associated Press
MISSION, Kan. — Par-
ents, schools and vaccine
clinics rushed to begin
inoculating younger ado-
lescents Tuesday, May
11, after U.S. regula-
tors endorsed Pfi zer’s
COVID-19 vaccine for chil-
dren as young as 12, a deci-
sion seen as a breakthrough
in allowing classroom
instruction to resume safely
around the country.
A handful of cities
started off ering shots to
children ages 12 to 15 less
than a day after the Food
and Drug Administration
gave the vaccine emergency
use authorization for that
age group. Most communi-
ties were waiting for a fed-
eral advisory committee
that meets Wednesday to
sign off on the move, while
anxious families called
clinics and pharmacies
to ask about the soonest
appointments.
In Atlanta, 12-year-old
Jane Ellen Norman got her
fi rst dose of the Pfi zer vac-
cine at Mercedes-Benz Sta-
dium on Tuesday morning.
The girl said she looked for-
ward to having “a little bit
more freedom.”
Her mother, English
Norman, said she also
booked an appointment for
her 14-year-old son imme-
diately after learning that
the FDA on Monday had
declared the vaccine safe
for the nearly 17 million
12- to 15-year-olds in the
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Matt Slocum/Associated Press
Olivia Edwards, left, 13, of Flourtown, Pennsylvania, gets a bandage from
registered nurse Philene Moore on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, after getting
a Pfi zer COVID-19 vaccination at the King of Prussia Mall, Pennsylvania.
U.S. Now, the entire family
— including Norman’s
husband, a physician, and
their 17-year-old son —
has begun the vaccination
process.
“We’re fi ve for fi ve,” the
52-year-old artist said.
Most COVID-19 vac-
cines worldwide have been
authorized for adults. Pfi z-
er’s vaccine is being used
in multiple countries for
teens as young as 16, and
Canada recently became the
fi rst to expand use to chil-
dren 12 and up. Parents,
school administrators and
public health offi cials else-
where have eagerly awaited
approval for the shot to be
made available to more
young people.
The offi cial sign-off
on the vaccine’s use in
the 12-15 age group will
not occur until at least
Wednesday, when the Cen-
ters for Disease Control
and Prevention committee
meets. Local governments
that began off ering shots
right away viewed the FDA
decision on Monday as
enough of a green light to
start the process.
“Under all relevant legal
authority, once the FDA
gives approval, a prescriber
is permitted to prescribe
the vaccine,” Kelly Cof-
rancisco, a spokesperson
for Pennsylvania’s Mont-
gomery County, said as
shots for residents 12 and
up started Tuesday.
In Kansas City, Chil-
dren’s Mercy Hospital has
run vaccine clinics for 16- to
21-year-olds since last month
and plans to expand them to
cover younger ages soon.
Dr. Ryan McDonough,
a pediatrician who over-
sees the COVID-19 vac-
cine clinics, said he has been
deluged with calls from
patients, friends and rel-
atives wanting to sign up
their kids.
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the fi nal version were cast
by Republicans, although
three Republicans joined
Democrats to vote for it.
“This bill has another
side that has not been
given any consider-
ation,” Rep. Kim Wallan,
R-Medford, said.
A move by Republi-
cans to send the bill back
to committee failed on a
party-line vote.
Rep. Jack Zika of Red-
mond said he sought an
amendment that would
have allowed landlords to
check some tenant records
unrelated to fi nances. He
said his intent was not to
block the bill itself, and
that he felt an agreement
was close.
“Nobody wants to see
anybody evicted,” he said.
Rep. Wlnsvey
Campos, D-Aloha, says
that as a case manager,
she works with prospec-
tive tenants to help them
apply for rental housing.
“I know there are
backstops in place for
checking on the past
rental history of tenants,”
she said.
‘What I do know, from
doing the work I do, is
that if we do not pass
this, it will cause harm
to our communities. We
all know that bad actors
exist, but I also know that
folks want to be able to
pay their rent so they can
stay in housing.”
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