February 2nd was the start of this year’s short legislative session, which only lasted until March 8th. OSTA Board Members, District Directors and many Members have been busy at work at the capitol, visiting with our representatives and attending hearings. There were some important bills up on the chopping block. Many of these included funding for eviction defense projects, and preservation funds that help residents purchase their parks among others.

On February 5th, OSTA Board members Judy Annin and Rochelle Love Elder, along with District Director Mindy Bachmeier and several other members attended Housing Opportunity Day. This was organized by  Oregon Housing Alliance (OHA) and Residents Organizing for Change (ROC) with over 200 people in attendance from many organizations including St. Vincent de Paul, Homes for Good, Habitat for Humanity and others. We had an opportunity to support bills that will help residents and homeowners in Oregon and was a chance to meet with legislators in-person.

We know that funding is scarce and only a few bills made it through during this short session. We asked legislators which one bill they needed the most support on. Without fail, everyone we spoke to said that the Defending Our Revenue bill, which aimed not to integrate Trump’s tax cuts into Oregon’s tax code, was the most important and also the most likely to pass. Updates to come soon on which bills made it through.