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Dear Friends and Neighbors:
With constitutional sine die approaching, the buzz and business of the Capitol is growing.This week Oregon House Democrats announced budget plans that will address Oregon’s housing crisis, expand access to childcare, and protect Oregonians from extreme weather, wildfire smoke, and other environmental harms. We’ll also continue making investments in affordable housing so working families can become homeowners and build generational wealth.
You can find out more about the cost of living relief package, the climate resilience budget, and the $400 million investment to respond to and prevent homelessness below, along with additional updates and information about my upcoming joint town hall.
Affordable Childcare: The budget will build on the bipartisan early learning and childcare reforms made during the 2021 session, helping to modernize our childcare system and create equitable and affordable access.
To address the shortage of affordable childcare across the state, the funding package will support providers who accept Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) subsidies, leading to more equitable rates and giving more options to parents who utilize ERDC. This support includes recruitment and retention payments to childcare workers; recruiting and training of new childcare providers; direct grants to expand existing childcare facilities; and other investments to make our public childcare system more equitable for parents.
Low-Income Worker Payments: With federal pandemic relief funding expiring, this investment package will also provide one-time $600 payments to support the more than 240,000 Oregonians who claimed the earned income tax credit (EITC) on their 2020 tax returns. Eligible Oregonians will automatically receive payments by direct deposit or check, efficiently delivering stimulus payments to help Oregonians pay for essential needs, like rent and groceries.
An additional budget appropriation will be made to the Oregon Worker Relief Fund for $600 payments to ITIN filers who would otherwise qualify for the EITC if not for their tax ID number.
Earned-Income Tax Credit Outreach: The EITC helps low-income workers and families receive a tax break to reduce their overall tax burden. The budget will strengthen the resources available to help low-income families navigate the tax system and access this credit, with a focus on outreach by culturally responsive organizations, tribal governments, and under-resourced rural community service organizations.
Protecting Oregonians from Future Heat Waves: The budget responds to the emerging crisis of extreme weather events by supporting the installation of air conditioners, air filters and heat pumps to keep Oregonians cool during the summer months, including seniors and people with disabilities. It also assists local governments in establishing cooling centers, warming centers, and air shelters.
Drought Relief: Widespread drought across the state impacts more than 1.8 million Oregonians. This investment package includes additional, targeted funding to make Oregon more resilient to drought conditions. These new funds join $100 million in drought relief passed during the Legislature’s December 2021 special session to aid Oregon’s rural communities severely impacted by drought, heat, or fire.
Improving Home Energy Efficiency: The package includes fresh support for the bipartisan Healthy Homes Repair Fund, helping low-income Oregonians repair and rehabilitate their homes to improve health, safety, and energy efficiency. The program was established by the Legislature in 2021 through House Bill 2842, chief sponsored by Representatives Marsh, Karin Power (D-Milwaukie), and Khanh Pham (D-Portland).
Encouraging Solar Energy: The plan invests in solar and storage rebates for low-income Oregon residents and service providers who install solar energy systems in their homes and businesses. The Legislature established the bipartisan Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program during the 2019 legislative session (House Bill 2618).
Reducing Emissions: In an attempt to lower transportation emissions – the largest source of emissions in the state – key investments will be made in zero-emission vehicles, including charging networks for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and new incentives for Oregonians to drive electric vehicles. The Legislature will also establish the Resilient, Efficient Buildings Task Force to reduce emissions from homes and buildings, the second-largest source of climate pollution in the state.
Seismic Upgrades of Oregon’s Fuel Storage: Oregon’s aging fuel storage infrastructure is extremely vulnerable. A major earthquake would result in the critical failure of these storage systems and a major statewide disaster. Additional funding will support seismic planning at oil and liquid fuel terminals.
More details about this funding package will be available during the final week of the 2022 legislative session.
The package invests in proven programs and policies, and supports local governments who are working to address community needs, with a focus on programs that can deploy funds quickly to help Oregonians.
Addressing homelessness ($165 million): Investments to help Oregonians out of homelessness will address immediate statewide needs, including for more shelter capacity, rapid rehousing, resource referrals and housing stability. Local governments will receive grants for shelter capacity, hygiene needs and outreach. This funding will also go towards innovative solutions, like Project Turnkey 2.0, which acquires and repurposes hotels and other buildings to convert into shelter or housing. Other investments will support unaccompanied homeless youth.
Building and preserving affordable housing ($215 million): A critical piece in addressing homelessness will be investments in affordable housing. This funding will keep housing affordable for families in supported units, prevent displacement, help build new affordable homes to rent and buy, support affordable housing construction projects struggling with market and supply chain disruptions, acquire and produce manufactured housing parks, and support land acquisition for additional projects.
Supporting homeownership ($20 million): Making homeownership attainable for working families and individuals is essential to helping Oregonians climb the economic ladder and build generational wealth. These investments will increase capacity for homeownership centers and other nonprofits to help Oregonians achieve homeownership and navigate mortgages and the homebuying process.
Join me, Representative Pham and Senator Dembrow for our Joint Town Hall Wednesday, March 9 from 5:30PM - 6:45PM. We will provide a recap of the 2022 Short Legislative Session and answer any questions you may have.
We encourage you to share questions or any additional accommodations using the registration link. Please register in advance for this meeting here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkceGqqTkrH9YB5eJqKELGZe0ptg59fn50
We hope to see you there! Please contact my office with any questions you might have, or if you need assistance registering at: Rep.Barbarasmithwarner@oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon will lift mask requirements for indoor public places and Oregon’s schools on March 19, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced today, as hospitalizations drop and are projected to reach levels below those at the start of the Omicron surge.
State officials highly recommend that people in high-risk groups continue to wear masks in indoor public settings even after the restrictions are lifted.
They include people who are at higher risk because they are unvaccinated; immunocompromised; have underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of complications; are 65 or older; or who live with someone in one of those categories.
State officials also continue to strongly recommend universal masking in K-12 settings where children are required to attend. Those settings bring together vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, as well as individuals who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness.
Please reach out to my office if you have any additional questions, or if there’s anything you think I could help with.
Sincerely,
 Representative Barbara Smith Warner
House District 45
email: Rep.BarbaraSmithWarner@oregonlegislature.gov I phone: 503-986-1445
address: 900 Court St NE, H-487, Salem, OR 97301
website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithwarner
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