OREGON
A8 — THE OBSERVER
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2021
Lawmakers OK rent, drought relief in one-day session
Oregon tenants
waiting for state aid
with past-due rent will
remain safe from
eviction until Sept. 30
By PETER WONG
sion, though not the rental
assistance, which they said
could have been approved by
the 20-member Emergency
Board. Majority Democrats
said only the full Legislature
could extend the grace period
for evictions. The E-Board
cannot pass legislation.
Oregon Capital Bureau
Impetus for session
SALEM — Oregon law-
makers cleared the way in a
scripted special session for
$100 million more in state
rental assistance and $100 mil-
lion more for local eff orts to
prevent evictions.
During the one-day spe-
cial session on Monday, Dec.
13, lawmakers also approved
$25 million for enforce-
ment against illegal can-
nabis-growing in Southern
Oregon and $18 million for
resettlement of up to 1,200
refugees who fl ed after the
Taliban takeover of Afghani-
stan. They also released $100
million already set aside for
relief from the continuing
drought in outlying areas of
Oregon.
Portland, Gresham, Hill-
sboro and Beaverton are
among the 14 cities that will
receive $1 million each to
deal with homelessness.
Gov. Kate Brown called
the special session, the year’s
second, to approve more
rental assistance and extend
the grace period for evictions
stemming from the corona-
virus pandemic. But the fi nal
agenda came together just a
few days beforehand, when
Brown and legislative leaders
from both parties agreed to
include a few other items.
“There was no plan. No
agreement. Success was not
guaranteed. Your Legisla-
ture worked hard since that
day,” Senate President Peter
Courtney, the veteran Salem
Democrat, said. “Oregonians
can be proud of their legis-
lators today, Democrat and
Republican. We came together
to send relief — hope — to
Oregonians in crisis.”
Minority Republicans
had resisted a special ses-
Although some cities and
counties are still accepting
them, the Oregon Department
of Housing and Community
Services stopped new applica-
tions for rental assistance after
Dec. 1. Agency offi cials said
that pending applications were
likely to consume the rest of
the $289 million available
from federal funds — $180
million has been paid out to
landlords as of Dec. 11 — and
the state still would not have
enough to cover all pending
requests.
House Speaker Tina Kotek,
D-Portland, called for a spe-
cial session months ago.
“Today, we kept our
promise and protected thou-
sands from losing their homes
this winter,” she said, along
with other priority items. “I’m
appreciative of the bipartisan
work that led to this successful
emergency special session to
provide relief for every part of
the state.”
The $200 million that law-
makers drew from the state
budget a year ago for rental
assistance has been spent.
Oregon has applied for $200
million more in federal aid
from the U.S. Treasury, but
that money is unlikely to come
until spring — and even if
it comes, it will be the last
installment.
Meanwhile, more than
10,000 applications, many
of them in the three Portland
metro counties, are past the
grace periods established by
state law and county actions.
State law allows 60 days from
when a tenant has informed a
landlord about an application
being fi led; in Multnomah and
Washington counties and the
city of Beaverton, it is 90 days.
“During wintertime, we
want to make sure Orego-
nians are kept whole,” said
Sen. Kayse Jama, D-Port-
land, who leads the Senate
housing panel. “We also want
to make sure that landlords
who are struggling get the
resources they need.”
Senate Republican Leader
Tim Knopp, of Bend, helped
broker the deal after Repub-
licans resisted the initial call
for a special session.
“We do have people
with the possibility of being
evicted,” he said. “We do
have landlords who still have
to be made whole. There
have been several hundred
million dollars already spent.
In order to protect them
and protect landlords, the
only option we have today
in this emergency session is
to provide these funds and
that certainty to tenants in a
defi ned period.”
Dissent is voiced
A companion bill (Senate
Bill 891) extends the grace
period for tenants against
evictions for nonpayment
of rent from Feb. 28 to June
30, 2022. The grace period
goes back to April 1, 2020,
at the start of the pandemic.
The grace period for tenants
who have shown landlords
proof of application for assis-
tance is now set at Sept. 30,
2022, or whenever the land-
lord receives the assistance
payment.
That bill passed the
Senate, 22-6, and the House,
37-18.
At least 10 House Repub-
licans spoke against that
bill and called on Brown to
replace Margaret Salazar as
leader of the state housing
agency.
“House Republicans urge
signifi cant changes to these
Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle
State Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, encourages her colleagues to vote
for a bill to extend Oregon’s safe harbor protections from eviction
during a special legislative session on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021.
agencies under Democrat con-
trol,” GOP Leader Vikki Bre-
ese-Iverson, of Prineville, said.
“We call on the governor to
dramatically increase over-
sight to ensure this money
gets to real people in need.”
Brown said she is aware
that the agency, plus com-
munity action agencies in
the counties, must reduce the
huge backlog of applications.
“While we have made
signifi cant progress in
improving the delivery of
rental assistance in the last
several weeks, we know that
renters and their landlords
are counting on these addi-
tional state resources and
that we must move quickly,”
Brown said in a statement.
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