The 2022 Legislative Session runs from February 1 - March 7. Each state rep and state senator is allowed to introduce 2 bills, and each committee is allowed to introduce 3 more bills. Click here for the OLIS website for details on all bills.
The 2022 Legislative Session has ended. COIN-endorsed bills were fairly successful. Many thanks to all who researched and tracked these bills, and also to those who advocated for them with their legislators! Your work paid off. Scroll down to see what happened to the bills we were rooting for.
TOPIC: CLIMATE, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
HB 4115 COIN has endorsed this bill. The "Treasury Transparency" bill would ensure that the Oregon Treasury publicly releases its asset holdings annually, along with any climate risk investment assessments. Click here for COIN worksheet. Passed the House; Senate President Peter Courtney refused to bring this to the Senate for a vote. It was on his desk upon adjournment.
SB 1518 COIN has endorsed this bill. The "Reach Codes" bill has been completely transformed after an amendment that replaces the previous language with new text establishing in interim Resilient Efficiency Buildings Task Force. The bill, now known as the REBuilding Task Force bill, has passed out of committee on a bipartisan, unanimous vote, and is now before the Joint Ways and Means Committee. Click here for a more complete summary of the changes. Click here for a press release about the changes. Governor signed.
SB1536C COIN has endorsed this bill. "Right to Access to Cooling, Emergency Heat Relief for Renters" This bill establishes a right to cooling for renters, and creates a fund to provide loans or rebates for upgrades for air conditioning and heat pumps. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - This bill has been amended to include HB 4058, It passed the House and Senate, Governor signed.
HB4058 COIN has endorsed this bill. "Emergency Heat Relief for Communities" provides funds for OHA to distribute emergency cooling systems, and for local community groups to incentivize efficient heat pump installation. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - This bill has been combined with SB1536, which has passed the House and Senate and was signed by the governor.
SB1534 COIN has endorsed this bill. "Supporting Carbon Sequestration on Natural and Working Lands" provides for full implementation and funding of the OGWC recommendations to increase carbon sequestration on natural and working lands. This bill has been amended to SB1534-2 and sent with a "do pass" recommendation by the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Recovery Committee to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means. Click here for updated COIN worksheet. Click here for a fact sheet from OGWC. Status as of 3/15 - This bill did not pass this session.
SB1567 COIN has endorsed this bill. "Requiring Seismic Vulnerability Assessment and Risk Mitigation Plan for a Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub on the Willamette River" Requires owners of fossil fuel storage farms located on liquefaction zones to undertake self-assessments and produce emergency response plans under DEQ oversight. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed the House, Governor signed.
HB4077B COIN has endorsed this bill. "Environmental Justice for All" increases funding and influence of the Environmental Justice Task Force. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed the House, Passed the Senate, Governor signed.
SB 1546-B COIN has endorsed this bill. "Protecting Elliott State Forest as a Research Forest" proposes that the Elliott State Forest be used for research by Oregon State University. Click here for COIN worksheet. Oregonian Editorial Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed the House, Governor signed.
SB1501B - COIN has endorsed this bill. The Small Woodland Tax Credit and Private Forest Accord (PFA) would allow for private landholdings to be regulated by the PFA (est. 2020) for forest protection. The forest industry and environmental groups developed the PFA and this bill will codify the agreement with protections for riparian and other areas as outlined in the Habitat Conservation Plan. Click here for the COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed the Senate, Passed the House, Governor signed.
HB4055 COIN has endorsed this bill. Provides funding for administering the PFA (see SB1501 above) by an increased Harvest Tax. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed House, Passed Senate, Governor signed.
HB4145 COIN opposes this bill due to negative impacts on wild salmon. "Establishing Salmon Incubation Facilities on Streams Near Southern Oregon Coast" requires ODFW to establish and operate fish incubation box program for rearing of salmonids. COIN opposed this bill as it would have had negative impacts on wild salmon. Click here for COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/3 - This bill is dead. It never made it out of the House Environment and Natural Resource Committee.
SB1533 COIN has endorsed this bill. It would make federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon eligible for grants related to clean air shelters and smoke filtration systems. The bill does several other things related to fires and fire prevention. Click here for the COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed House but referred back to Senate because of an amendment. Repassed Senate. Governor signed.
SB1502 COIN has endorsed this bill. It would establish eligibility and restrictions for small forest owners (under 500 acres) to claim a tax credit. This is a companion bill to SB1501 that supports the Private Forest Accord (PFA). Click here for the COIN worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed House, Governor signed.
TOPIC: CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Update on the status of Campaign Finance Reform as of 2-18-22 - Bad news! Per Senators Golden and Wagner, both SB1561 and SB1526 are dead. They will not be acted on in the short session! Six Initiative Petitions (IPs) were filed with the Secretary of State’s office as potential ballot measures. However, five of those IPs were declared invalid by Secretary of State, Shemia Fagan. An appeal has been filed and is awaiting a hearing with the Oregon Supreme Court. If we are going to get CFR this year, which more than 70% of Oregonians voted for, it will have to be through one of the ballot initiatives mentioned above. Here’s hoping for good news from the Supreme Court.
TOPIC: DEMOCRACY and VOTING
HB 4147 COIN has endorsed this bill. "Voting While Incarcerated" This bill allows persons convicted of crime to register to vote, update voter registration, and vote in elections while incarcerated. Click here for COIN worksheet. Click here to see Talking Points for this bill. Common Cause also supports this bill and has created a webpage to help constituents contact their legislators to urge them to support this bill. Click here to contact your legislator about this bill. No actions taken, this bill is dead for this session.
SB 1543 COIN has endorsed this bill. "Universal Representation" provides for grants to nonprofit organizations to provide services related to immigration matters through a universal representation program. This bill provides funding for the provision of legal representation to non-citizens facing deportation and demonstrates Oregon’s commitment to its immigrant community. Ensuring that noncitizens know their rights and have skilled legal assistance in exercising them dramatically improves their chances of winning their deportation cases, being reunited with family members, and having the ability to continue to work and live safely in Oregon. Click here to view. Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed House, Governor signed.
TOPIC: HOUSELESSNESS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
HB4064B - COIN has endorsed this bill. Allows for fewer restrictions on siting of manufactured homes and prefabricated structures to allow for more affordable housing options. The intent of this bill is to expand availability of affordable housing by allowing manufactured homes in all residential zones (with some exceptions like historic districts). The bill expands eligibility for the manufactured dwelling replacement program. A Senate amendment removed sections of the bill that would have prohibited manufactured home park owners from charging tenants for structural improvements that tenants can't own or take with them (like light posts, etc) and from requiring tenants to construct some improvements not required for safe installation of their own home. Rep. Fahey stated that these sections would be brought forward again as a separate bill next session. Click here for COIN Worksheet. Status as of 3/15 - Passed House, passed in Senate but referred back to House because of an amendment in the Senate. Passed House, Governor signed.
HB4123 COIN has endorsed this bill. Would create and fund 8 pilot sites across Oregon to support cities and a county to work together to address homelessness. Click here for COIN Worksheet. Status as of 3/4 - Passed House, Passed Senate, Governor signed.
HB1557-A COIN has endorsed this bill. Across Oregon, there are dozens of properties whose use restrictions may expire in the coming decade. Some of these properties were financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits and may be converted to market rate rentals upon expiration of the use restrictions. This bill would create a pilot program to provide rental assistance to tenants of housing being withdrawn from publicly supported affordable housing. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/1 - No action
HB4125-A COIN has endorsed this bill. People who rent their homes face many barriers, including paying an application fee for each adult in the household with each application. This bill would create more transparency and strengthen requirements related to returning a screening fee if the applicant is not ultimately screened. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/4 - Passed in House, Session ended without passing in the Senate.
HB4043 COIN did not take a position on this bill. It would create a tax credit to incentivize the sale of a building that meets the definition of publicly supported affordable housing to a preservation-minded buyer, in order to maintain the housing as affordable. This bill saw no action during the 2022 session. It appears this was not addressed - along with other tax credit proposals - because legislators felt it more appropriate to take up all tax credits in a long legislative session when there is time for the full usual process, including joint committees. It may be presented again at the next session. There was also some discussion among housing and and progressive organizations about whether this proposal would be an effective way to address the issue of publicly supported housing units being lost at the end of the owners' 30-year commitments. The title of this bill is somewhat misleading, as the proposed tax credit actually goes to the seller, no the purchaser, of publicly-supported housing units. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. This bill did not pass.
HB5202 COIN did not take a position on this bill because the details weren't clear until the very end of the session. But we are very glad this bill passed! Click here for a summary from the Housing Alliance summarizing the additional $400 million approved to help with the housing crisis in Oregon.
TOPIC: IMMIGRATION
HB4002A - COIN has endorsed this bill. The "Farmworker's Overtime Bill" prohibits employers from permitting or requiring agricultural workers to work in excess of maximum allowable hours unless compensated for overtime hours. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - Passed the House, Passed the Senate, Governor signed. Looking ahead: Although it will take 7 years for agricultural workers to have the same right to overtime pay as all other categories of workers, they will now be paid time-and-a-half after 55 hours for the next two years, 50 for the following two, and 45 for the last two. Oregon now joins a small number of states that pay farmworkers overtime. This law will greatly improve farmworkers’ physical and mental health, give them more time with their families, and help them to live longer. The state will also be reimbursing agricultural employers for a portion of the overtime paid during this 7-year period.
TOPIC: HEALTH CARE
HB4052 - COIN has endorsed this bill. Requires Oregon Health Authority to provide grants to operate two culturally and linguistically specific mobile health units, as pilot program, to serve priority populations with histories of poor health or social outcomes. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. There is a work session scheduled for this bill on Friday Feb 11 at 8 am. Click here for details. Status as of 3/15 - Passed in House, Passed Senate. Governor signed.
TOPIC: SOCIAL and CRIMINAL JUSTICE
SB1510B - COIN has endorsed this bill. This bill would prohibit police officers from initiating traffic stops based solely on minor traffic violations; it would require officers to informed the stopped person of their right to refuse consent to search, and, if voluntary consent is given, a written/video/audio record of the search is required. It also requires parole/probation officers to receive continuing education in trauma-informed care, culturally specific services, and de-escalation tactics. An amended version passed out of the Judiciary Committee (4-3) on 2/8 and was referred to the Ways and Means Committee. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - Passed in Senate, Passed House, Governor signed. Looking ahead: This bill attacks improper conduct on both ends of the criminal justice system spectrum. It prohibits pretextual and unnecessary traffic stops, requires written consent before officers can conduct a search, revamps the parole and probation systems to focus on offenders’ successes rather than failures, and requires special training and continuing education for parole and probation officers. It also provides funds to address racial disparities in Oregon’s criminal justice system. This law means that fewer people will be funneled into the criminal justice system on the front end and that more will successfully complete their periods of supervision, and it should improve relations with minority communities.
SB 1560 - COIN has endorsed this bill. Updates statutory references to individuals who are not citizens or nationals of the U.S. by replacing "alien" with "noncitizen" in all Oregon statutes. There is a work session scheduled for this bill on 2/14 at 8:00 am. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed House with amendment, Passed again in Senate, Governor signed. Looking ahead: This change is symbolically very important for those who come here as immigrants. Witnesses described their feelings of non-inclusion and second-class status from being defined as “aliens.” Replacing the loaded term “alien” with the descriptive term “non-citizen” makes them feel for the first time that they are welcome in Oregon and will be treated here as equals.
SB1584A - COIN has endorsed this bill. It allows for compensation for wrongful convictions of up to $65K/year for imprisonment and $25K for each additional year of parole or post-prison supervision or registration as a sex offender. Click here for COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - Passed Senate, Passed House, Governor signed. Looking ahead: This bill recognizes that wrongful convictions have occurred in Oregon, that they have serious collateral consequences—both direct and collateral, and that the state has a duty to attempt to make those so convicted whole. It provides for $65,000 for each year of conviction and at least $25,000 for each additional hear of parole./post-prison supervision/registration as a sex offender. While the number helped is small, the money and services the wrongfully convicted will receive will help them better reintegrate into society and overcome the stigma associated with their wrongful convictions.
HJR202 - COIN has endorsed this bill. This is a proposed amendment to the Oregon Constitution that would repeal a provision requiring inmates in correctional institutions to engage in full-time work or on-the-job training. If passed, it would be referred to the voters in November. Click here for COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - This bill did not pass.
SB1511-A - COIN has endorsed this bill. It would allow persons convicted by non-unanimous juries to seek post-conviction relief. This bill is a response to a US Supreme Court decision that such convictions are unconstitutional, and allowed states to choose to apply this rule retroactively. Click here for the COIN worksheet on this bill. Status as of 3/15 - This bill did not pass. Looking ahead: This bill would have established a procedure for Oregonians convicted by unconstitutional non-unanimous jury verdicts to petition to have their sentences set aside. It was watered down several times in the Senate Judiciary Committee and then died in the Joint Ways and Means Committee. Now, persons so convicted will have to hope that Oregon appellate courts decide that, under Oregon law, they will be allowed to raise this claim as a basis for post-conviction relief.
HB4149 - COIN opposes this bill. Provides that a person or public body that establishes a gun-free zone is liable for damages resulting from certain crimes committed in gun-free zones, if a reasonable person would believe that possession of a firearm could have helped an individual defend against crime. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee on 2/1 and no hearings are currently scheduled. Status as of 3/15 - This bill did not pass.
If you don't see a bill on this page that you think deserves COIN's support or opposition, click here to Nominate a Bill.
Remember to check this page regularly for updates!
