Establishes the Housing Opportunity, Longevity and Durability Fund to deposit Article XI-Q bonds to be used by the Housing and Community Services Department to preserve affordable housing at risk of loss.
HB 4036 establishes the Housing Opportunity, Longevity and Durability Fund in the State Treasury to receive Article XI-Q bond proceeds for the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department to preserve affordable housing at risk of loss. The fund may be used to acquire, construct, remodel, repair, equip, or furnish affordable housing that is or will be owned or operated by the state for affordable housing purposes, and to cover administration and bond-related costs. The bill also declares an emergency, making it effective on passage.
The measure expands and refines the state’s affordable housing preservation program. It directs the department to collect and maintain data on affordable housing, identify properties and manufactured dwelling parks at risk of loss, promote housing stability for affected residents, and regularly publish a preservation strategy framework report with forecasts of future funding needs. It also requires the department to analyze operating expenses of publicly supported housing, aggregate available funding sources, and use those sources to implement preservation efforts under established evaluation criteria.
HB 4036 also requires the Housing and Community Services Department to report by December 1, 2026 on state laws, department practices, and reporting requirements that may reduce the efficiency or increase the cost of operating affordable housing. The report must incorporate feedback from affordable housing providers, finance entities, and tenant advocates, and identify opportunities to streamline or eliminate duplicative reporting for state and federal programs. The bill further amends ORS 456.559 and 456.824 to align the department’s duties with the new preservation fund and program structure.
The bill’s impact on state law is to create a dedicated financing mechanism and broaden the department’s statutory role in preserving existing affordable housing, especially publicly supported housing and manufactured dwelling parks at risk of sale, closure, or physical or financial distress. It also increases appropriations and expenditure limitations for department administration tied to the new fund, while preserving the department’s existing limitation that it generally does not directly develop or operate housing except as specifically authorized.
Overall sentiment appears strongly supportive. The bill advanced through committee unanimously and passed both chambers with clear majorities, suggesting broad agreement that preserving existing affordable housing is a priority. The main point of contention, reflected in the reporting requirement, is the burden of regulation and administrative compliance on affordable housing providers; the bill explicitly seeks stakeholder input on ways to reduce inefficiency, streamline reporting, and address practices that may raise operating costs. There is also an implicit policy balance between using state bond financing for preservation and ensuring the department’s role remains focused on coordination rather than direct housing operations.
HB 4036 creates a new dedicated fund for affordable housing preservation and authorizes the Housing and Community Services Department to use Article XI-Q bond proceeds for acquisition, rehabilitation, repair, and related preservation activities. It amends ORS 456.559 and 456.824 to expand the department’s preservation duties, data collection, funding coordination, and reporting obligations, and it increases appropriations and expenditure authority for administering the new fund. The bill primarily affects the department, affordable housing providers, publicly supported housing, manufactured dwelling parks, and residents of housing at risk of loss.
The bill appears to have received broadly favorable treatment throughout the legislative process. It passed committee unanimously and cleared both chambers with substantial margins, indicating strong bipartisan or near-bipartisan support for affordable housing preservation. The discussion reflected in the bill itself suggests some concern about regulatory burden and administrative complexity, but the overall tone is pragmatic and supportive of using state resources to preserve existing affordable housing.
The main area of contention is not whether affordable housing preservation should be funded, but how the state should structure and administer it. The bill’s reporting section highlights concerns from affordable housing providers, finance entities, and tenant advocates about leasing, screening, vacancy filling, recertification, inspections, rent collection, property management, and compliance requirements that may increase costs or reduce efficiency. Another potential tension is the use of state bond proceeds and the extent of the department’s role in direct preservation activities versus coordination and oversight, though the final votes suggest these issues did not prevent passage.