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Dear friends,
It's been a rainy and blustery start to November as folks start preparing for the holiday season. Earlier this week, the Legislature held its second set of Legislative Days in advance of the 2024 "short" session. Committees met for informational hearings and to preview concepts of possible bills for 2024. Agendas, meeting recordings and materials are available for review on the Legislature's website.
Veterans Day is this Saturday, November 11. More than 325,000 veterans call Oregon home. I believe we have a responsibility to support our service men and women. Details on local Veterans Day events are included below.
On October 5, I joined my colleagues Representatives John Lively and Charlie Conrad in speaking with Springfield City Club about the 2023 Legislative Session. The Chronicle published a summary of our discussion, here.
Below you will find information on:
- Statewide Veterans Day Ceremony at Oregon State Capitol Park
- 2023 Session Accomplishments: Homelessness & Affordable Housing
- Scam Alert: Remote Access
I hope this information is helpful and informative for you or someone you know. As always, feel free to share your comments, questions or concerns with me by phone, mail or e-mail.
Statewide Veterans Day Ceremony at Oregon State Capitol Park
The Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA) will honor all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., during its statewide Veterans Day Ceremony this year in view of the Oregon State Capitol Building.
This event will feature remarks by Doug Grafe, Office of Governor Tina Kotek, who will serve as the keynote speaker. Also speaking at the ceremony will be Colonel Russell Gibson, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas, and Oregon State Senator James Manning.
Other ceremonial elements will include a flyover, color guard, singing of the national anthem, laying of the wreath, and the playing of "Taps." Serving as the emcee for the ceremony will be ODVA Appeals & Special Advocacy Division Director Joseph Glover.
The celebration will honor Oregon veterans of all eras and will be hosted at the Oregon State Capitol Park located on Court Street Northeast in downtown Salem — directly in front of the Oregon State Capitol Building. This event is open to the public and uncovered seating will be provided for attendees. Accessible pathways and seating areas for those needing accommodations will also be provided. Attendees are reminded to plan accordingly for Oregon weather.
For anyone unable to attend, the event will also be live-streamed on ODVA's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/odvavet. If you have any questions about this event, please contact ODVA at (800) 692-9666 or visit www.oregon.gov/odva.
2023 Session Accomplishments: Homelessness & Affordable Housing
Following the 2023 Legislative Session, I'm sharing in-depth summaries of bills passed by subject area. Below is a comprehensive listing of accomplishments related to homelessness & affordable housing — by Senate/House bill and in numerical order:
Senate Bills
SB 611 - Rent Inflation Stabilization: Oregon has experienced a sharp increase in rent due to inflation, which has caused a large uptick in eviction rates. This legislation will stabilize rent increases by capping the amount a landlord can increase at 10 percent plus CPI.
SB 702 - Appraiser Training on Implicit Bias: In 2022, the Joint Task Force on Homelessness & Addressing Racial Disparities (HARD) in Home Ownership created recommendations to address disparities in our housing system. SB 702 requires educational requirements about fair housing law and implicit bias that are adopted by the Board for Appraisers and Appraiser Assistants.
SB 893 - Task Force on Homelessness and Racial Disparities Recommendations: This legislation is a recommendation from HARD. SB 893 provides authority to the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department to support or develop programs and systems intended to prevent and end homelessness. The bill allows the creation of committees for consideration of rules and designing of policy frameworks for programs by federally recognized tribes within Oregon, community action agencies, continuum of care, and culturally specific organizations.
SB 919 - Primary Residence Middle Housing Five-year Property Tax Exemption: Currently, any property that constructs an accessory dwelling unit must face a reassessment of the whole property, which often leads to higher property taxes and creates a disincentive to constructing more middle housing. This bill allows a property tax exemption up to five years for newly constructed accessory dwelling units or converted duplexes, triplexes, or quadplexes if used as a primary residence.
SB 937 - Task Force on Homelessness and Racial Disparities Recommendations: SB 937 is another recommendation from HARD. This bill provides $7.5 million in state funding, matched by federal funds, to the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department to provide grants to Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH) to establish a revolving loan fund to allow for first-time home-buyers to establish equity at a faster rate.
SB 5019 - Homelessness and Housing Budget Package: On January 10, 2023, Governor Kotek issued Executive Order 23-02 declaring a state of emergency to expand the state's low barrier shelter capacity rapidly, rehouse people who are unsheltered, and prevent further homelessness. This legislation appropriates $149.6 million of new General Funds and an offset of $30.6 million for a total of $180,224,152. Funds will go to support the emergency response to homelessness, expand programs and services for youth experiencing homelessness, and funding for the Balance of State Continuum of Care.
SB 1013 - RV Siting: Oregon must develop more than 550,000 new housing units to accommodate population growth and underproduction in the next 20 years. This legislation gives counties the ability to allow siting of an RV on rural residential property.
House Bills
HB 2001 - Oregon Housing Policy Package: This legislation creates a grants and loans program for modular housing and pre-development loans for moderate-income housing; makes permanent eviction protection provisions; and supports agricultural workforce housing, and implements provisions in response to the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis.
HB 2761 - Expands OHCS' Ability to Allow Financing of Affordable Residential Units: The Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is responsible for planning, development and management of affordable housing projects. This legislation expands OHCS' ability to finance portions of certain housing developments for households earning at or below 120 percent median area income.
HB 2889 - OHNA and Land Use Requirements for Local Governments for Urbanization: With Oregon's need to develop more than 550,000 new houses in the next 20 years, it is important to take measures that speed up housing production. This legislation clarifies housing production targets, defines “development-ready-lands" and allows the Department of Land Conservation and Development to refer cities to the housing acceleration program based on their progress.
HB 2984 - Converting Commercial Buildings to Housing Within UGB:
To continue expanding Oregon's housing production, this legislation allows local
governments to convert commercial buildings within the urban growth boundaries to residential housing without requiring a zone change or conditional use permit.
HB 3042 - Limits Terminations and Rent for Past Publicly Supported Housing: Many renters experience rent increases when the property they rent is sold to a new owner, which often causes those renters to move out or face eviction with limited available units for them to move into. This legislation prohibits a landlord from raising rent for three years after purchasing a new property and requires them to provide notice of any sale of the property to OHCS prior to selling.
HB 3215 - OHCS Support Recovery of Housing for People Impacted by Disaster: Oregon has lost many homes to wildfires, which are only increasing in frequency and intensity. This legislation establishes the Disaster Housing Recovery Fund with the State Treasury and allows the Oregon Housing and Community Services to allocate loans, grants and assistance to those who have lost housing due to a disaster.
HB 3417 - Expands Landlord Guarantee Program: This legislation expands the landlord guarantee program to incentivize landlords to rent to people on long-term rent assistance. HB 3417 also expands financial assistance for landlords to include mitigation of damages caused by tenants who receive rental assistance.
HB 3462 - Temporary Housing for Oregonians Displaced During an Emergency: When the Governor of Oregon or President of the United States declares an emergency for a community in Oregon, this legislation directs the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, Oregon Housing and Community Services, or Department of Human
Services to ensure temporary housing is provided.
Scam Alert: Remote Access
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is warning Oregonians about an emerging trend in tech support scams called remote access scams. In a remote access scam, a scammer tries to convince you to give them remote control over your personal computer or cell phone.
This scam typically starts on the phone with either a call out of the blue from a fake tech support specialist telling you your computer is infected with malware, or a scary-looking pop-up ad that says there is a problem with your computer and gives you a number to call for help. Scammers may also try to convince you to give them remote access by telling you they have money to give you, but they can only deliver it by connecting to your computer and asking you to display your online bank account.
Once the scammer has convinced you to give them remote access, they will ask you to install a software program like AnyDesk, GoToAssist, LogMeIn, or TeamViewer. These software programs allow someone from another computer to operate your computer as if they were sitting right in front of it. Normally, the software is used for legitimate tech support and worker collaboration purposes, but scammers have figured out how to use them for criminal purposes.
While the scammer has remote access, they will most likely install malware on your device, ask you to login to your bank account, show them your personal passwords, and download your personal files. Even if they say you need to pay them because they supposedly solved a problem you were having, do not trust them. You didn’t ask for their "help."
Instead, follow these two simple rules:
- Never give anyone you don’t know access to your electronic devices. Tech support specialists from companies and governments never cold-call people, so if you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be a support technician, it is a scam. Even if your caller ID says the call is coming from a source, like Apple or Microsoft, that you recognize; it’s easy for scammers to falsify the information sent to your caller ID display to disguise their real identity and location.
Pop-ups or virus warnings on your computer instructing you to call a number are also scams. Legitimate computer companies do not put their phone number on security warnings and ask people to call them. If you receive a pop-up of this nature, your best course of action is to turn your computer off. Once you restart your device, you’ll see the pop-up has disappeared.
- Never share online banking login details or any passwords with anyone. Your bank will never ask for your account number, Social Security number, name, address or password in an email or text message. They will only ask you to provide this information to verify your identity when you call them directly. If someone calls you claiming to be a bank employee and asking you for this information, hang up the phone and call your bank directly to confirm it is a legitimate request.
If you have been a victim of a remote access scam, contact your bank immediately to let them know and then file a complaint with the Oregon Department of Justice online at www.oregonconsumer.gov. For more information on tech scams, click here.
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