Note:  Education reports after January, 2024, are included in Social policy reports. Education reports prior to February, 2024, can be found HERE.

Please see the Legislation Tracker for 2025 Social Policy bills.

Jump to topic:

• After School and Summer

• Behavioral Health

• Education

• Gun Policy

• Housing Legislation

• Immigration

• Public Safety

After School and Summer

By Katie Riley

The two bills we have been following that most closely align with funding for afterschool and summer programs look like they may be combined and will be focused instead on summer school (emphasis added), literacy, and accountability for that instruction.  HB 3039 would appropriate moneys from the General Fund to the Department of Education and Requires the Department of Education to study methods for increasing the availability of summer and after-school academic and enrichment programs. HB 2007 would modify requirements for the summer learning program. Both bills have received amendments and HB 2007 has received a hearing and a second amendment that deleted the possibility of funding for for-profit providers.  Although HB 2007 refers to “expanded learning” and community-based organizations (CBO’s), any funding would be directed to school districts and through them to CBO’s and there is no specific allocation to CBO’s for summer care. CBO’s are upset about the major focus on summer school and literacy. They support literacy but believe that learning takes place during non-school time as well and includes social emotional learning.  In addition, attendance in afterschool programs has been proven to decrease absenteeism and increase academic achievement.  Further, the task force established by the 2024 legislative session for HB 4082 recommended funding for after school programs and there is no provision for that specific funding in either bill. HB 2007 is now scheduled for an informational hearing in the Senate Committee on Education on March 31st and a work session on April 1st in the Joint Subcommittee on Education.  HB 5047 is proposing $35 million for summer learning in  2025 plus $47 million for 2026 and 27.  It will be discussed in the work session.

A new bill (HB 3941) was introduced last week to allocate $4,990,000 for a grant program to establish up to 5 community schools at $170,000 per year in matching funds.  Community schools coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships to students, families, and community members during and after school hours, on weekends, and during the summer.  A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for March 31st in the House Committee on Education and a work session is scheduled for April 2nd in the same committee.

In an interesting twist, SB 1127 provides for grants to develop and provide educational activities during recess, lunch or after school for Title I elementary schools.  It received a public hearing this past week.

SB 896 which would provide funding for afterschool grant programs passed out of the Senate Committee on Education and  has been sent to Ways and Means.  Another bill (HB 3162) to fund after school programs was introduced but never received a hearing so it is unlikely to be heard from again this session.  

On a positive note, the fact that more than one bill is concerned with after school care makes it more likely that the issue will receive attention from House and Senate leadership. 

Bills concerned with child care are also moving through the legislature.  HB 2593 would direct the Department of Early Learning and Care to study the characteristics of the people who are on the ERDC waitlist (currently over 10,000) to determine the impact of being on the waitlist.   The bill received a hearing this past week with no opposition.

Other bills (HB 3496 and HB 3560) concern establishing guidance to site child care facilities in local areas and expands areas where child care can be cited.  Since these bills are focused on being able to provide child care in more rural areas that currently are zoned to prohibit this use, there are concerns about children being exposed to pesticides.

Behavioral Health

By Stephanie Aller and Patricia Garner

A number of health care related bills have been heard in the Behavioral Health Committee which arose out of the Behavioral Health Transformation Workgroup convened by Senator Kate Lieber and Representative Bob Nosse. They have all been scheduled for Work Sessions and seek to address problems with services for high acuity patients, reduce administrative burdens and improve rates for behavioral health services. They are primarily appropriations bills but instead of appropriating a sum with limited requirements, they reach into the details or “nitty-gritty” of how treatment is provided. Support for the bills is nearly unanimous. They will be sent to the Joint Ways and Means Committee next.

HB 2015 with -2 amendment addresses a number of regulatory barriers in building and operating secure residential treatment facilities (SRTF’s), residential treatment facilities (RTF’s) and residential treatment homes (RTH’s) in Oregon.  The bill is detailed and far-reaching. On the surface it appears to be a bill setting up a study, but it directs OYA to find solutions for a number of these barriers. For example, Trillium Family Services is Oregon’s sole provider of a full continuum of mental health services for youth aged 5 – 24 and has a staff of 685 employees. According to current regulations such a facility must be licensed with and provide services and documentation as both a child caring agency and an adult residential treatment provider. This is time consuming and takes away from the provision of treatment. Another example relates to nurse staffing.  These facilities are required to have one nurse on site at all times, and not just on-call, which is particularly challenging for non-urban settings. OYA also currently requires a facility to be fully licensed before it can accept patients rather than allowing admission after a certain point in the licensing process. Financial compensation for residential services is based on the acuity of an individual’s treatment, but when an individual has received an appropriate level of services, by definition the acuity decreases, and the facility is paid less. The bill seeks to group people in facilities by level of acuity. 

The House Committee on Behavioral Health and Health Care held a public hearing on HB 2059-2 (Behavioral Health Facilities). The League has submitted testimony in support of the bill. HB 2059- 2 would fund residential behavioral health facilities throughout the state by allocating $90 million from the General Fund for the 2025-2027 biennium. This allocation was included in Governor Kotek’s recommended budget. Several witnesses, including OHA and NAMI, detailed the critical shortage of beds in these facilities. Oregon’s sole state psychiatric hospital is occupied almost exclusively by individuals whom courts have deemed mentally incapable of being able to “aid and assist” in their defense of criminal charges, and even when they are ready to be released, there is a lack of residential treatment or step-down facilities that can take them. Because the hospital is full of these individuals, those in need of civil commitment or a hospital level of care are not able to receive it. A number of witnesses also referred to Oregon Advocacy Center v. Mink, a federal case in which the judge has ruled the state psychiatric hospital must accept within 7 days people found not able to “aid and assist” in their defense. Because Oregon is out of compliance with this order, it could be held in contempt and face significant fines. (See KGW8’s report on the recent hearing in the case - KGW8 Mink case). HB 2059-Dash 2 also requires OYA to develop guidelines for distributing these funds, which must at least include the ability to quickly put funding to use – including the availability of service providers, the bed-to-cost ratio with priority being given to shovel-ready projects, geographic equity across the state, and local community input on projects that will serve the highest need.  A work session for HB 2059 has been scheduled for April 3.

HB 2024- 3 provides funding to increase Oregon’s behavioral health workforce. Twenty million dollars is allocated to the OHA to award grants to several classes of behavioral health care providers, including for example: providers that offer office-based medication-assisted treatment, certain Indian health programs, programs that offer behavioral health care and substance abuse rehabilitation services, and programs that provide outpatient behavioral health care for adults or youth of which at least 50% are uninsured or receiving Medicaid or Medicare. The grants can be used for educational scholarships, loan forgiveness, housing assistance, sign-on and retention bonuses, childcare subsidies, tuition assistance, stipends for supervisors of interns or graduate students and more. An additional $20 million is directed to OHA to develop and implement incentive payments which are designed to increase the wages of residential, out-patient, outreach and medically assisted treatment providers so they are competitive with for-profit and hospital providers. Finally, $5 million is allocated to the OHA for the purpose of establishing a “United We Heal Health Medicaid Payment Program” which is designed to enhance training, education and apprenticeship opportunities, as well as provide increased wages, health care benefits and workplace safety standards for residential treatment providers.

HB 2202-1 identifies certain redundancies, contradictions and outdated language regarding services provided by coordinated care organizations. For example, in attempting to deal with parity of mental and physical health treatment, the bill prescribes that the OHA must require CCO’s to report on their document standards or requirements used for providing behavioral health, substance abuse, as well as for medical and surgical treatment and services. The standard for provision of CCO services must also “support an individual’s progress towards clinical goals, as defined by the individual’s service plan,” instead of the prior standard which was defined as “leading to a meaningful improvement in individuals’ lives.”  Abuse reports are also authorized to be made electronically instead of only by telephone. Instead of using the term “emotional disturbances,” HB 2202-1 substitutes the more commonly used phrase “health or substance use disorders.”

HB 2056 -1  appropriates $64,800,00 for community mental health programs. It comes in response to the 2024 legislative mandate to analyze costs these programs incur when providing crisis services, services to the “aid and assist” population and adults who meet the criteria for civil commitment. The intent of the allocation is to support early intervention instead of resorting to criminal or other last resort systems of care. This funding is also considered to be crucial in meeting Oregon’s Constitutional obligations to provide treatment which is currently under review in federal court. It is argued that if this funding is not provided, Oregon may be fined. The State of Washington was fined $100 million for a similar failure to provide treatment.

Education

By Jean Pierce

Federal Actions affecting Higher Education in Oregon

This week, the federal government reinstated 3 Income Driven Repayment plans for student loans, which had been cut a month ago:

• Pay As You Earn

• Income Contingent Repayment Plan

• Income-Based Repayment Plan

According to the Attorney General’s office, “Most students in Oregon rely on student loans to help pay for their education. The average Oregon student loan borrower owes over $36,091 by the time they graduate. Combined, Oregonians have more than $18.9 billion dollars in student loan debt. “ 

Two resources are available to help students find answers to their questions about the changing policies:

• Since 2022, the state has a student loan ombudsperson

• Representative Bonamici’s office has created a webpage covering the basic questions about returning to loan repayment.

• 
  

Legislation we are tracking

In addition to the bills for which we submitted testimony, LWVOR is tracking a couple of bills which saw action this week in the House Education Committee:

• The committee held a public hearing on March 24 for HB3004, which directs the Youth Development Division to establish a statewide community violence prevention program.

• A work session is scheduled on March 31 for HB3037, which creates a program designed to reduce the administrative burden on small districts applying for and reporting on grants.

Gun Policy

By Marge Easley

A busy week turned even busier when four bills related to firearms (SB 696, SB 697, SB 698, and SB 429), originally slated for an April 2nd omnibus hearing in the Senate Judiciary, were suddenly folded into a fifth bill, SB 243. SB 243 was heard on March 27 with over 80 people signed up to testify, despite only 24 hours notice. A work session is scheduled for April 3. The bill would make the following changes to Oregon’s gun laws:

• Mandate a 72-hour waiting period for the purchase of a firearm

• Require the completion of a background check before the transfer of a firearm

• Ban rapid-fire devices, such as bump stocks, that allow semi automatic guns to function like machine guns

• Raise the age to purchase military-style rifles from age 18 to 21

• Expand the number of public spaces that can be designated as “gun-free zones” 

The League, along with other members of the Alliance for a Safe Oregon, supports these provisions. However, the expected strong pushback from the gun rights community is now underway, as reported by OPB. Stay tuned for an upcoming action alert prior to the Senate floor vote. 

An April 2nd work session in the House Judiciary on two additional gun bills. HB 3075 provides implementation details for Measure 114, while HB 3076 establishes a gun dealer licensing program. An ambiguous third bill, HB 3074, has a hearing and work session on April 8, so it’s possible it will be the catchall for last-minute changes.  

On March 26, a US Supreme Court ruling provided some very good news for gun safety supporters around the country. By a 7-2 vote, justices upheld a Biden-era rule regulating “ghost guns,” untraceable firearms without serial numbers that are assembled from components or kits that can be obtained online. Oregon’s prohibition on ghost guns has been in effect since September 1, 2024.

Housing

By Nancy Donovan and Debbie Aiona

• Predevelopment Loan Program: On March 19, the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness held a hearing on HB 2964, which would give Oregon Housing and Community Services responsibility to administer a grant and loan program for predevelopment costs for new affordable housing for low-income households to rent or own. The department would also provide technical assistance to nonprofits who receive the funding. Eligible predevelopment costs include professional services; studies such as site feasibility; development fees, and community engagement. OHCS would integrate this program into its existing Predevelopment Loan Fund with monies from the General Fund. Properties would be developed with affordability restrictions to ensure that they remain affordable for people with lower incomes. Oregon's population growth has outpaced housing construction leading to a severe shortage of affordable properties. This bill will give our state’s lower income households an opportunity to live in stable, new and affordable housing. The League presented testimony in support of this bill.  

• Individual Development Accounts: On March 26, the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness held a hearing on HB 2735-2 related to funding for Oregon’s Individual Development Account program. The program provides matching funds for lower income Oregonians saving to buy a home, further their education, start a small business, or engage in other efforts intended to meet their financial goals. The funds for the match come from a tax credit that has been capped at $7.5 million per year since 2009. The bill, if passed, would raise the cap to $16.5 million, avoiding the need to reduce the number of participants. The League submitted   testimony in support. 

• Rent Stabilization and Rent Setting Software: Also on March 26, the Senate Committee on Housing and Development held a public hearing on SB 722 to prohibit residential landlords from software and occupancy control, and would apply rent caps for younger properties. This proposal would help prevent displacement by prohibiting landlords of multifamily housing to use price-fixing AI software to inflate rents or occupancy rates. This unethical practice is the subject of national attention. Attorneys General in eight states, including Oregon, have joined the Justice Department in an antitrust suit to disallow this method of sharing and aligning non-public information to drive up rents. 

The bill also would reduce the current 15-year exemption for new construction from our statewide rent stabilization statute down to seven years. This change would provide reasonable rent stabilization protection for an additional 40,000 housing units and between 80,000 to 100,000 Oregonians. The League sent testimony in support. 

• Affordable Housing Insurance Program: The Senate Committee on Housing and Development held a March 26 hearing on SB 829, proposed by Governor Kotek to establish an Affordable Housing Insurance Program in the Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS). The program would provide financial assistance for eligible entities having difficulty covering the cost of their insurance premiums. DCBS would also study the feasibility of creating a state reinsurance program that would bring price stability to the multifamily housing insurance market.  

Of all the expenses multifamily housing providers pay, insurance premiums have increased at the highest rate during the 2010 to 2022 time frame as compared to other costs. This program seeks to address the challenges providers face maintaining financial stability as they work to meet the needs of the most vulnerable households.  

Immigration

By Becky Gladstone and Claudia Keith

• HB 1191, Senate Judiciary heard the “know your rights protection bill”, work session slated for April 2. League testimony supports SB 1191 which excludes the act of informing another person of their civil or constitutional rights from statute defining “commits the crime of obstructing governmental or judicial administration”. This is relevant as League voter service activities and advocacy issues are newly vulnerable to Executive Order classification as domestic terrorism if not aligned with recently changed federal preferences. The League will continue to support legislation for DEI, climate change, immigration, access for voter registration and election process information, protecting our natural resources, and more.

• SB 703 passed 4-2 on partisan lines from Senate Rules, for Dept of Human Services grants to nonprofit service providers to help noncitizens change their immigration status. League testimony in support.

• 
  

Upcoming & Watching

• SB 999: Changing farmworker camps definitions. An April 3 public hearing is scheduled in Senate Labor, with possible work session on April 5.

• SB 939 A: We will be watching for upcoming action, relating to providing nonprofit organization security, passed unanimously from Senate Judiciary, addressing bias crimes.

• SB 1119: April 1work session, to prohibit employers from engaging in unfair immigration-related practices.

• SB 1140: April 1 public hearing, April 3 work session in Senate Labor, prohibits English-only workplace rules, some exceptions.

Public Safety

By Karen Nibler

The Public Defense Services Consortium has been in front of the Ways and Means Public Safety Committee recently.  Since it has been reorganized, the presentations by the staff have been detailed with attorneys working under the new system giving their perspective. The new agency operates under the Executive Branch.  The House Judiciary Committee listened to proposals for public defenders in County Circuit Court Districts. HB 3376 proposes an office of district defender in each county court.

The Early Childhood and Human Services Committee heard testimony on HB 3835 which deals with restraint and seclusion practices within foster care placements and special education programs.  The testimony was extensive and the bill will undoubtedly be amended.  Look for new developments.

Interested in reading additional reports? Please see our Climate Emergency, Governance, and Natural Resources report sections.