Oregon Governor Calls Special Session and Releases Budget

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced that she will call a session on Dec. 12 in order for lawmakers to send $218 million to state agencies grappling with the costs of fires that touched a record 1.9 million acres. “The unprecedented 2024 wildfire season required all of us to work together to protect life, land, and property, and that spirit of cooperation must continue,” Kotek said in a statement. “I am grateful to legislative leaders for coming to consensus that our best course of action is to ensure the state’s fire season costs are addressed and bills paid by the end of the calendar year.”

Governor’s Proposed Budget

And, yesterday, the Governor unveiled her 2025-2027 recommended budget entitled Building on Progress. “The December revenue forecast projects stability for Oregon, and I am pleased to share that my budget does not lay off people or cut services, and instead strategically deepens our commitment to building progress on Oregonians’ top priorities while remaining disciplined when it comes to new programs.  It is no surprise that Housing and Homelessness takes a top priority in this budget with proposed funding that includes:

Homelessness: Infrastructure to stabilize, partnerships to forge ahead
Her 2025-2027 budget shows continuing progress on addressing homelessness by committing more than $700 million, including:

  • $217.9 million to maintain Oregon’s statewide system of shelters. The Oregonians who are still spending the night on our streets are relying on statewide support and we cannot afford to allow our progress to stall.
  • $188.2 million to maintain current efforts to transition Oregonians out of homelessness and into housing. The Oregon Rehousing Initiative gets Oregon families into safe, stable housing, and keeps them there.
  • $173.2 million to maintain services to prevent Oregonians from becoming homeless in the first place. The most cost effective strategy to combat our homelessness crisis is to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.

Housing Supply: Building the Oregon that’s possible
Oregon has a housing supply problem. Progress takes persistence, and her 2025-2027 recommended budget continues to focus on increasing Oregon’s housing supply in every part of the state by committing more than $1.4 billion including:

  • $880 million new bond authority to build more affordable housing and homeownership pathways. The recommended budget reflects a dogged commitment to meet the state’s housing production goals and includes $780 million to build affordable rental homes and $100.9 million for new homeownership units.
  • $100 million to establish a new housing infrastructure program. These new funds will establish a new housing infrastructure program to fund water, sewer, stormwater, and transportation infrastructure linked to new housing development to unlock thousands of new affordable and market rate rental and homeownership units.
  • $57.6 million to continue efforts for supporting first-time home buyers and Oregonians looking to buy an affordable home. Homeownership is out of reach for many working families, keeping Oregonians from building wealth over the long term. This investment supports homeownership development and homebuyer assistance.

 

Final Oregon House Seat Decided

Oregon Democrats appear to have successfully won a supermajority in both the state House and Senate, with a narrow win confirmed in a rural Woodburn-based House. Last week, was the deadline for voters to fix missing or mismatched signatures on their ballot envelopes. Campaign staff and volunteers for Rep. Tracy Cramer, R-Gervais, and Democratic challenger Lesly Muñoz have spent days tracking down voters to make sure their ballots were counted in the closest race for an Oregon House seat. Muñoz, a labor organizer from Woodburn, appears to have prevailed by just 161 votes out of more than 20,800 cast in the 22nd House District in northern Marion County. Her victory doesn’t just mean Democrats regain the seat they lost two years ago — it gives House Democrats the three-fifths majority needed to increase taxes or pass new taxes without Republican support.

 

Oregon Business Summit Meeting next Monday!

Last call to register for the Oregon Business Summit meeting on Monday, December 9th at the Oregon Convention Center.  You can register at oregonbusinessplan.org

 

 

 

Posted in Advocacy on the Move.