Victory for OR Housing Alliance and House Speaker Kotek: Housing Voucher Source of Income Bill Passes Senate and Moves to Governor for Signature.

OR H Speaker Kotek

On what appears to be the closing day of the Oregon legislature the Senate passed HB 2639 (final bill version HERE) that removes the ability to deny an application from a prospective tenant based solely on the fact that the tenant has a HUD housing voucher. (The bill had earlier passed the House late last week).

The bill also sets up a Landlord Guarantee program fund to reimburse landlords for damages above and beyond normal wear and tear, with an upper limit of $5,000. 

Under the umbrella of the Oregon Housing Alliance there were multiple groups and individuals who helped make this possible. I trust that the governor will provide public recognition at the signing ceremony for all of the individuals and groups that made this possible. ( I would list them here, but I am afraid I would miss key groups and individuals and would feel terrible about doing so).

I think that what can be said without hesitation is that without the leadership of House Speaker Tina Kotek the bill would not have enlisted the support, and avoided the strong opposition, that made passage possible.  The industry groups that remained neutral on the bill also deserve props.

Let me add my personal congratulations to Speaker Kotek and her hard working staff AND to all the individuals and groups responsible for expanding housing choice for more than 32,000+ housing voucher families.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.