Legislative and Policy Affairs Committee Update – 2019 Oregon Legislature
March 20, 2019
The Oregon APA Legislative and Policy Affairs Committee (LPAC) has been active this session in weighing in on a number of land use and planning bills. To learn more about individual bills, the changes they propose, and to see testimony from other groups on a bill, please visit the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) website. To access OAPA’s 2019 Legislative Priorities, and find our testimony on selected bills, please visit oregon.planning.org and click on the Legislative Priorities link. Several of the key bills under consideration are summarized below.
HB 5027 and HB 2075. HB 5027 is the budget appropriation bill for the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD). The bill proposes a budget of $23,494,919, including additional funds for grants and staff to assist with natural hazard and climate change planning. HB 2075 is a companion bill that would establish a new Development Readiness program in DLCD to assist local governments with land use planning for housing and economic development. Each bill has had a public hearing.
HB 2001 and HB 2003. House Speaker Tina Kotek has introduced three housing bills this session, two of which have had hearings. HB 2001 would require cities over 10,000 in population to allow middle housing types where single family dwellings are allowed. Middle housing in this context includes duplexes, triplexes, quad/four-plexes, and cottage clusters. Recently released amendments to HB 2001 would require townhomes/row houses to also be allowed as a middle housing type. HB 2003 is a broader bill that addresses how cities comply with Goal 10, including the types of housing to address in a housing needs analysis (HNA), and would require a housing strategy to be developed and implemented as a means of supporting the development of needed housing.
HB 2020. This bill was introduced by the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction, and represents the most significant bill introduced to date. HB 2020 proposes the creation of a Carbon Policy Office within the Department of Administrative Services, the creation of a Joint Committee on Climate Action in the legislature, and an Oregon Climate Action Program. One of the key elements of HB 2020 OAPA supports is the financial and technical assistance to metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to conduct scenario planning to support land use and transportation planning to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information about LPAC, please contact Committee Chair Damian Syrnyk.