A8
OREGON
East Oregonian
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Brown sets special session on rental aid, protection for tenants
State stopped taking
applications for rental
assistance as of Dec. 1
By PETER WONG
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown
has called a special session of the
Oregon Legislature to extend tempo-
rary protections against eviction for
tenants awaiting rental assistance.
She also said she wants lawmak-
ers at the Dec. 13 session to approve
up to $190 million to replenish rental
assistance, until more federal money
comes in, and to help tenants make
the transition once that rental assis-
tance ends next year.
More than 10,000 households
have passed the 60-day grace period
that lawmakers set during the 2021
session to prevent evictions if they
have applied for rental assistance.
(The “safe harbor” was set at 90 days
by action of boards in Multnomah
and Washington counties, and the
Beaverton City Council.)
The Oregon Department of Hous-
ing and Community Services stopped
accepting new applications for rental
assistance as of 11:59 p.m. Wednes-
day, Dec. 1. The agency announced
weeks ago that pending applications
— an estimated 20,000 await review
— would exhaust Oregon’s $289
million allocation from the U.S. Trea-
sury for assistance. It has paid appli-
cations for about 22,000 households
with the help of extra staff, an outside
vendor and community action agen-
cies in Oregon counties.
Lawmakers set aside a total of
$200 million in state funds for rental
assistance during a special session
nearly one year ago. But all of that
money was spent by June.
“I am continuing to work with
federal officials at U.S. Treasury and
the White House to secure additional
federal emergency rental assistance
funding for Oregon, but it is clear that
a state solution is needed to address
the urgent and immediate needs of
Oregon renters,” Brown said Tuesday
in her announcement of the special
session.
“And, we must begin laying the
groundwork now for the transition
to local eviction prevention services
after federal pandemic emergency
programs draw to an end.”
Senate President Peter Courtney,
the Legislature’s senior member, has
gone through 26 of the 46 special
sessions in Oregon history — count-
ing the Dec. 13 meeting — and has
presided over 11 of them. He has
seen runaway special sessions with
no apparent ending, though he was
not in charge of them.
“Special sessions are the most
difficult of all sessions,” the veteran
Salem Democrat said. “Everything
must be carefully planned. We have
a lot of work to do. I hope we will be
ready.”
The Democratic leaders of the
housing committees in both cham-
bers say they have been working for
months to craft a plan that can win
legislative approval. The statement
by Rep. Julie Fahey of Eugene and
Sen. Kayse Jama of Portland said
this:
“After months of work, we have
developed a proposal to extend the
state’s bipartisan safe harbor protec-
tions and provide additional funds for
direct rent assistance that will benefit
both tenants and housing providers.
As we head into the holiday season
and the coldest winter months, this
special session package will prevent
heartbreaking evictions and support
small housing providers who have
made major sacrifices throughout
the pandemic.”
Representatives of Stable Homes
for Oregon Families have taken part
in the talks, as well as previous legis-
lative efforts. Their statement:
“We also appreciate all the state
lawmakers who have been working
together on a solution. Tenants are
counting on the legislature to ensure
no one loses their home while their
applications are pending and also to
provide additional funding to help
keep people safe and stable during
this time of ongoing economic
upheaval.”
The Democratic majority lead-
ers in both chambers, Sen. Rob
Wagner of Lake Oswego and Rep.
Barbara Smith Warner of Portland,
are responsible for rounding up votes.
Their statement:
“From the start of the pandemic,
Oregon has committed to protect-
ing individuals and families at risk
of eviction. We can take action in a
special session to ensure this doesn’t
happen and that we keep our promise
to Oregonians. No one should lose
their housing because of administra-
tive delays.”
Republican leaders in either
chamber did not issue statements.
Commission mandates production of cleaner trucks
By SIERRA DAWN
MCCLAIN
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon’s Envi-
ronmental Quality Commis-
sion, a governor-appointed
panel, has approved the Clean
Trucks Rule, a mandate aimed
at cutting emissions by requir-
ing production of cleaner
trucks.
Advocates say the rule will
benefit the environment and
public health; critics say it will
hurt truck manufacturers and
raise prices on trucks, which
farmers and ranchers rely on
for shipping.
The commission approved
the rule at its meeting Nov. 17.
The rule has two parts. First,
it mandates manufacturers
boost production of electric
trucks. Second, it requires
new medium- and heavy-duty
said Rachel Sakata, senior
air quality planner for the
Oregon Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality. “We’re
on a path to zero emissions.”
Critics say the rule will
raise the price of new trucks,
will rapidly push a fleet of
electric vehicles on a state that
doesn’t have sufficient infra-
structure set up yet and will
unfairly penalize truck manu-
facturers.
“It is never the right deci-
sion to increase the cost of
goods, which these rules
will do,” said Shelly Boshart
Davis, a state representative
whose family runs a trucking
business.
Trucking industry leaders
estimate the price of a new
heavy-duty electric truck
will be $58,000 more than a
comparable diesel unit.
Sa k at a , of DEQ,
WASHINGTON OKs CLEAN TRUCKS RULE
Washington has now joined Oregon in adopting Califor-
nia’s clean trucks mandate. Washington State Department of
Ecology announced late Nov. 30 that the agency approved
California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule Nov. 29.
diesel trucks sold in Oregon to
meet stricter emissions stan-
dards.
The first rule requires up
to half of the new medium-
and heavy-duty trucks, buses
and vans sold in Oregon by
2030 have no emissions, and
up to 75% be electric by 2035.
The second requires all new
heavy-duty diesel vehicles
sold in Oregon to emit 75%
less nitrogen dioxide than
current levels starting in 2025
and 90% less by 2027.
The rule only applies to
manufacturers and does not
require anyone to buy the
trucks.
After California, Oregon is
the second state to adopt the
rule, which will go into effect
in 2024 and apply to 2025 or
later models.
Advocates say the rule
will decrease tailpipe pollu-
tion contributing to smog and
ozone formation, promote
cleaner air for disadvantaged
communities and reduce
diesel exhaust that may cause
cancer, lung disease and other
health problems.
“T he t ranspor t ation
sector alone is the largest
source of greenhouse gas
emissions in Oregon, so this
moves us toward cleaner air,”
Don Jenkins/Capital Press, File
Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission, a small reg-
ulatory body, on Nov. 17, 2021, approved the Clean Trucks
Rule, a mandate aimed at cutting emissions by requiring
production of cleaner trucks.
confirmed the $58,000 esti-
mate is reasonable but said
that cost would be defrayed
by long-term savings on fuel
and maintenance.
Mary Anne Cooper, vice
president of government
affairs at the Oregon Farm
Bureau, said because many
businesses can’t afford the
higher price tag, she expects
the rule will have the oppo-
site of its intended effect,
prompting businesses to buy
trucks out-of-state or keep
older trucks.
“You’re gonna have folks
holding onto vehicles for a lot
longer than they would have,”
said Cooper. “Farm and ranch
families and local Oregon
businesses will actually be
disincentivized from purchas-
ing new trucks.”
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