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Committee advances bill to expand emergency housing aid to pregnant people and parents of young children
Summary
The House Committee on Rules adopted dash-1 amendments to House Bill 3970, retaining a provision that expands eligibility for emergency housing assistance to pregnant people and families with young children, and voted to send the bill to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation.
The House Committee on Rules on Tuesday advanced House Bill 3970 as amended, keeping a provision that expands eligibility for emergency housing assistance to people who are pregnant and to families with young children and sending the bill to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation.
The committee adopted the dash-1 amendment, which removes earlier provisions directing the Oregon Department of Human Services and Oregon Housing and Community Services to submit recommendations for the governor's budget and also removes provisions that would have created grant programs and appropriations. The amendment retains the eligibility expansion and includes an emergency clause making the provision effective on passage; staff reported a minimal fiscal impact and no revenue impact for the dash-1 amendment.
Vice Chair Pham moved to adopt the dash-1 amendment and later moved the amended bill to the floor with a due-pass recommendation. Committee members recorded ayes on the roll call; Representatives Bazar Davis and Quasar David were recorded as excused during votes. The motion to move the bill passed, and the committee announced that Representative Emerson Levy will carry House Bill 3970 on the House floor.
The measure, as presented to the committee, would expand the pool of people eligible for emergency housing assistance by adding pregnant individuals and households with young children to existing eligibility categories. The dash-1 amendment removed language that would have required ODHS and OHCS to submit budget recommendations and removed language creating grant programs and appropriations; those policy directives and funding provisions are no longer in the committee draft that passed.
The committee described the change as having a minimal fiscal impact and no effect on state revenue for the adopted amendment. The bill includes an emergency clause making the retained eligibility change effective on passage if the Legislature ultimately adopts it. The committee held a short work session focused on this single bill; there was little extended debate recorded in the session notes.
With the committee vote complete, the next formal step is floor consideration in the House, where Representative Emerson Levy is designated to carry the bill.
