Governor Kotek Signs Bills to Expand Housing Options for Seniors and Working Families

Woodburn, OR - Today, at the ceremonial bill signing event held at Woodburn City Hall, Governor Tina Kotek signed six bills that will make it easier for Oregon cities to add housing for middle-income Oregonians, seniors, and farmworkers, helping to improve housing affordability and supply across the state.

"Housing affordability is a top priority for Oregonians, and it's directly related to housing supply," Governor Kotek said. "The reforms we've advanced are helping turn the corner on this crisis, and these new bills will keep expanding access to homes for Oregonians at all income levels."

The signing ceremony included the following bills:

• House Bill 4082: Speeds development of affordable housing for seniors and manufactured home communities by allowing cities to designate land for individuals 55 and over and/or manufactured housing, aiding communities statewide to add hundreds of affordable homes while easing pressure on the broader housing market.
• House Bill 4035: Expands Governor Kotek's urban growth boundary housing site addition tool to more cities. Since the passage of Senate Bill 1537 (2024), at least 1,400 future housing units have been added to the production pipeline, and this bill extends those opportunities to additional cities and projects.
• House Bill 4036: Establishes a new affordable housing preservation program - Housing Opportunity, Longevity and Durability Fund - to prevent the loss of thousands of affordable units and protect Oregonians from displacement.
• House Bill 4037: Cuts red tape for new housing units by expanding self-certification of plans and reducing notice and hearings for projects meeting clear and objective standards. The bill also increases state and local government flexibility on designating land for new housing and modifies a housing construction loan program to increase use by cities and counties statewide.
• House Bill 4128: Prohibits private equity firms from purchasing, acquiring, or offering to purchase a single-family residence unless it has been listed for sale to the general public for at least 90 days.
• Senate Bill 1567: Authorizes the Housing and Community Services Department to fund mixed-income housing and establishes a new mixed-income housing construction loan program.

The event featured remarks from Rep. Pam Marsh (D - Ashland), Senator Khanh Pham (D - Portland), Laura Golino de Lovato of Northwest Pilot Project, Alexandra Ring of the League of Oregon Cities, and a community resident. Video of the signing ceremony will be available on Governor Kotek's YouTube page.

"The bills signed today reflect the breadth of work we continue to do to get more housing on the ground," Representative Marsh said. "If there is one thing we've learned over the last half dozen years, it's that no one single solution is going to get the housing we need produced. Instead, we need to look at every stop on the continuum of development."

"While communities big and small across Oregon are facing different housing affordability challenges, one thing is clear - we need to be building more homes in every community across the state that are affordable and accessible to Oregonians at all ages, wages, and stages of life," Senator Pham said. "Oregon policymakers are committed to working with local community leaders, developers, housing providers, and other stakeholders to ensure we are making it easier, cheaper, and faster to build homes of all sizes and price points. We need more housing for seniors, for first-time homeowners, for immigrant workers, for folks with disabilities, for anyone and everyone who wishes to call Oregon home."

"From our experience, preventing housing loss among older adults is far less costly - and far more humane - than responding after displacement occurs," Laura Galino de Lovato, Executive Director Northwest Pilot Project, a social service organization providing housing placement and retention services to extremely low-income seniors in Multnomah County, said. "Stable housing reduces emergency room visits, reliance on crisis services, and long-term public costs. House Bill 4082 is a practical, targeted solution that will help older Oregonians age with dignity while strengthening housing stability statewide."

"Over the past few years, the State of Oregon and the League of Oregon Cities have worked together to build more housing," Alexandra Ring of the League of Oregon Cities said. "These new bills give cities the tools they need to bring in land, speed up the building process, and get housing to Oregonians faster."

"Thanks to living in Farmworker Housing Development Corporation housing, I have taken many training courses offered at the community center that have benefited my household finances," Victoria Navarro, a resident of FHDC's Nuevo Amanecer development, said in Spanish at the event. "During this time, I have been able to live in a safe place in good condition where I can pay my monthly bills and cover my family's basic needs. I've been able to watch my children grow and see them participate in programs offered for people in agriculture so they can become professionals and work for our community."

Governor Kotek has prioritized housing as one of her administration's core initiatives, focused on making homes more affordable by increasing production at all levels of the market. When she took office, Oregon was producing 16,000 fewer homes per year than required for a healthy housing market. Since then, reforms to legalize and streamline housing have closed that production gap for three consecutive years. Today, Oregon has more land, infrastructure, and financing in place to add more than 50,000 homes to the future pipeline - the equivalent of more than 16,000 units annually.

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