Subcommittee backs creation of housing infrastructure financing program at OBDD

House Bill 3031 was advanced out of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Capital Construction on June 24. The bill would create a housing infrastructure financing program inside the Oregon Business Development Department and establish the Housing Infrastructure Project Fund to finance site development and capacity‑increasing improvements to transportation, water, wastewater and stormwater systems that support specified housing developments subject to an affordability covenant.

Legislative staff told the subcommittee that projects financed through the fund are primarily for the support of specified housing developments and must meet location and density requirements; the housing would also be subject to affordability covenants. The work‑session summary noted Senate Bill 5531 includes authorization for $10,000,000 in lottery bond proceeds to deposit into the fund and House Bill 5006 carries $1,200,000 in lottery funds for program administration plus other funds expenditure limitation and a budget note directing OBDD to report to Ways and Means in February 2026 on program implementation and project recommendations.

The co‑chair moved HB 3031 to the full committee with a due‑pass recommendation; the motion carried with no objections recorded in the excerpt. The bill contains eligibility rules and an affordability covenant requirement in the version presented to the subcommittee. The presentation did not list specific projects; LFO materials and companion bills were cited as the source of initial bond proceeds and administrative funding.