Legislative Update

-Jim Straub, ORHA Legislative Director

A big thank you to all the overwhelming number of ORHA members who showed up in Salem to testify against House Bill 2004 on March 2nd. For those of you who were not there, we literally had hundreds of landlords who showed up to testify. It was an incredible and impressive sight. Unfortunately, not all of us were able to testify at the 8:00 am hearing due to time constraints, but to those of you who were able to return to the 5:00 pm hearing, an extra thank you.

Terry Turner, our ORHA President, wonderfully represented our association with powerful, real and impactful testimony based upon her personal experiences after many years as a property manager. We should be proud as members of our organization to be so well represented by such an articulate advocate for our industry. Thank you, Terry.

We asked for your support and ORHA members overwhelmingly gave it. We had the strongest show of landlord support that I have ever witnessed. I’m very thankful for all of our members who gave testimony that spoke from the heart and did so in a manner that was fair and respectful. Communicating in this manner was important to show not only the legislators but, also the tenant advocates that we communicate in a respectful way.

The next step in this bill’s process is the committee will decide whether or not they will propose amendments to the bill or vote to move the bill as currently drafted out of committee, to another committee, or onto the House floor.

If it gets passed onto the House, it will be scheduled for a vote by the entire House of Representatives. If passed, it will then go to the Senate Chamber, where it will be assigned to a committee, and we will have another round of public testimony.

We won’t know exactly what will happen yet or the schedule until the coming weeks. Typically, we are told a week or so in advance when public testimony is to take place. We’ll let you know as soon as we know the schedule.

Click the link for our latest bill tracking report from ORHA’s lobbyist Shawn Miller. The document contains information on the bills that were introduced since the bill introduction deadline. If you click on the bill number or the bill info, it will take you directly to the full text of the bill’s language on the Oregon State Legislature Website.

There is still time to contact your state legislators about the bills we oppose. Do it in writing and by telephone. Make your voice heard. Go to oregonlegislature.gov for an interactive map to find your state legislator.

Morning Session

Evening Session
(click a button to watch the testimony)