Senate passes bipartisan boost-housing plan

Senate Passes Bipartisan Package to Increase Housing Production in Communities Across Oregon
By SENATOR DICK ANDERSON
and SENATOR TIM KNOPP

SALEM, Ore. – Today, the Oregon Senate overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan package of housing bills aimed at boosting housing production, funding critical infrastructure in communities across the state, developing an innovative revolving loan fund, and focusing on workforce housing levels.

“Oregon’s housing crisis demands quick and effective action from the Legislature. The Governor has laid out an aggressive goal on housing production. This suite of bills will help us begin chipping away at these production targets in my district and in communities across the state,” said Senator Dick Anderson (R-Lincoln City), vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development. “The work doesn’t stop here. I look forward to spirited debate on how we can build on our forward momentum next session.”

“I am pleased to see dollars flowing to rural Oregon to help our aging and at-capacity infrastructure. Our rural communities struggle to balance their sparse population with the ability to maintain and upgrade the systems which would allow desperately needed growth. This funding will give many communities the ability to move forward,” said Representative Vikki Breese-Iverson (R-Prineville), vice-chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness and a realtor for over 20 years. “I appreciate the ability to examine our land use system as part of this process and look forward to continued conversations about land use, UGB expansions, and preserving the rural-urban interface.”

“As cities across the state work urgently to address Oregon’s housing crisis, infrastructure costs remain the largest barrier to housing development and housing affordability. Infrastructure costs are an incredible challenge for cities of all sizes across the state, whether urban, rural, suburban, or frontier. Additionally, local capacity and financing constraints mean existing state and federal infrastructure programs are out of reach for too many small and rural cities. The most powerful tool the state can deploy is to make focused infrastructure investments to support needed housing development,” said Senate Republican Leader Knopp Tim Knopp (R-Bend), who has more than 20 years of experience in the homebuilding industry. “This investment will not solve all the needs but will help us get closer to our goal of addressing the housing crisis.”

“As Vice Chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness during the 2023 long session, I was proud that we passed a package to address some of the homeless issues in Oregon,” said House Republican Leader Jeff Helfrich (R-Hood River). “Republicans returned to Salem in 2024 with two jobs; fix Measure 110 and get our housing crisis under control. Today the House moved on Measure 110 while the Senate tackled housing. We’re doing the work Oregonians elected us to do.”

SB 1530 B, and SB 1537 B now head to the House for consideration.