Karen Lee Batts, David Guyot and Mark Elliot Johnson are three of the people who have died of hypothermia while living unsheltered on the streets of Portland.
Enough, Oregon House Republican leaders said in a press conference Feb. 6.
“Housing 3,000 over the course of three years is not good enough,” House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby), told reporters. “The remaining 23,000 people across our state who are homeless are suffering. I just want to point out that this is equivalent to the size of the town of Roseburg. This is a very real challenge for our state, and it is time that solutions recognize that the status quo is not solving this problem.”
As Republicans laid out some of their legislative agenda for the 2025 session, they focused heavily on addressing homelessness and the effect of the cost of living on affordable housing. “We want you and your family to keep more of what you make by cutting your income taxes and opposing new taxes and regulations that increase the cost of living,” said state Rep. Lucetta Elmer (R-McMinnville).
She added House Republicans want to freeze property taxes and reduce the “costly” estate tax.
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Elmer is among the chief sponsors of House Bill 2305 to allow landlords to evict tenants the third time their rent is late. (The bill is in the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. Public hearings were held Feb. 17 and 19.)
Drazan has not yet sponsored or co-sponsored any legislation this session that specifically addresses affordable housing or homelessness. Nonetheless, she has many thoughts on the subjects.
She accuses regulations of making housing prices more expensive and said she wants Republicans to target those regulations and gas and income taxes. While expressing concern for people living without shelter, she emphasized how chronic homelessness is “affecting our ability to have safe, drug-free neighborhoods.”
State Rep. Vikki Breese Iverson (R-Prineville), told reporters that housing costs are 22% higher in Oregon than the national average. However, she rejected initiatives by Gov. Tina Kotek and other Democrats to provide more money for housing, saying the state should encourage more private development without government interference.
“The only solution on the table right now is more money for government housing,” Iverson said.
She said she would prefer to strip regulations and provide more buildable land by allowing developers to construct homes beyond local urban growth boundaries. However, she hasn’t signed on to any bills dealing with housing construction so far.
She is the chief sponsor of a bill to exempt farmers from paying unemployment insurance for immigrant workers on H-2A visas.
State Rep. Darcey Edwards (R-Scappoose), linked homelessness to addiction and crime and talked about how they affect livability for the rest of the community.
“Oregonians deserve to live in safe, drug-free neighborhoods,” the real estate agent said. “Homelessness should be rare and temporary, not chronic and permanent. Despite record spending, homelessness continues to increase, and the problem is getting much worse.”
She added one reason the problem is worsening is because of “the enabling practices of so-called low-barrier shelters that allow predators to keep Oregonians addicted.”
Republicans want targeted programs for addicts who want help and hold those who refuse service accountable, Edwards said. “The way we currently treat our neighbors suffering from mental health (sic) and addiction is not compassionate,” she said. “Lax accountability is making the problem worse.”
Edwards also hasn’t attached her name to any housing or homelessness bills. Neither has state Rep. Gerald “Boomer” Wright (R-Reedsport), the other speaker at the press conference. However, Wright is the chief sponsor of House Bill 2033 to repeal the corporate activity tax. The tax is paid by businesses that make more than $1 million in commercial activities and is used to fund schools.
House Republican bills related to housing and homelessness include House Bill 2297. The bill requires people to pay accruing rent or face eviction. The Republican-led bill is in the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. No public hearings or work sessions have been scheduled. The chief sponsor is state Rep. Kevin Mannix (R-Salem).
House Bill 2432 repeals the 2021 law (House Bill 3115) that established the “objectively reasonable” standard for city and county laws regulating the use of public property by homeless residents. The Republican-led bill is in the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. No public hearings or work sessions have been scheduled.
Its chief Republican sponsors are Ed Diehl of Turner, Mannix and Dwayne Yunker of Grants Pass. Other sponsors include Court Boice of Coos Bay, Bobby Levy of Echo, Rick Lewis of Silverton, E. Werner Reschke of Bend, Alek Skarlatos of Canyonville and Wright.
House Bill 2445 repeals the changes made by 2021 law (House Bill 3124) to the laws governing the local removal of homeless Oregonians from established camping sites. The Republican-led bill is in the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. No public hearings or work sessions have been scheduled.
Its chief sponsors are Diehl, Mannix and Yunker. Other sponsors include Boice, Levy, Lewis, Reschke, Wright and Mark Owens of Crane.
On the Democratic side of the aisle, House Speaker Julie Fahey (D-Eugene), said in a press release that she’s proud of her caucus’ progress on homelessness — reporting that Oregon met its homelessness goals last year by creating 817 new shelter beds, re-housing more than 1,000 households and preventing more than 7,600 households from becoming homeless.
“Our job is to make sure that Oregon is affordable and remains a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire,” Fahey said in the press release. “We are fortunate in this state that we have legislators who are serious about getting the work done, both Democrats and Republicans. We won’t always agree with each other, but I truly believe that legislation is improved when it reflects the needs of the whole state and all perspectives are considered.”
Fahey hasn’t sponsored or co-sponsored any bills related to housing and homelessness. Her main bill this session so far is House Bill 2010, which is designed to improve access to health care.
The bill would renew and expand a tax on hospitals and other health care providers. The state uses the money to draw down federal matching funds to help pay for free care under the Oregon Health Plan (the state’s version of Medicaid).
However, President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress are discussing significant cuts to Medicaid — including a slash to the tax on providers.
Kotek’s housing priorities this session are legislation supporting increased production of “middle housing” options, stronger pathways to home ownership, and establishing a tribal housing grant program.
She also supports setting up statewide shelter program standards and establishing a program that funds water, wastewater, stormwater and transportation infrastructure needed for new housing production.
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This article appears in February 26, 2025.