Oregon Senate passes bill to keep infants housed while families wait for housing aid

The Oregon Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed Senate Bill 690, a measure aimed at reducing eviction and housing instability for infants and their families by pausing evictions when families have been approved for certain housing payments and by prioritizing young children for housing services.

Senator Reynolds, speaking on the floor, said, “This legislation was crafted over the course of about a year and a half of community input, extensive engagement with state agencies and providers, and collaborations with mothers and families.” She described the bill as intended "to keep babies housed" by protecting families with a child under the age of 1 from eviction while awaiting Oregon Health Plan-related Health-Related Social Needs (HRSN) housing payments and by directing Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) to prioritize families with infants in housing-stabilization programs where possible.

The bill responds to delays in the HRSN program — which can approve assistance but take weeks or months to deliver funds — and to data cited on the floor about Oregon’s high rate of unsheltered children. Reynolds told colleagues that Oregon “has by far the highest rate of unsheltered children in the nation” and that eviction risk is concentrated among families with babies. The measure requires OHCS to prioritize families with children under 1 “whenever possible” in long-term rental assistance and rehousing initiatives and directs the agency to report annually on unsheltered children.

Senator Patterson also urged quick passage, noting tight funding for eviction prevention this session and calling the policy “urgent.” The bill’s sponsors and supporters told the Senate that the measure does not create new programs but reallocates prioritization within existing resources and that large stakeholder groups, including Multifamily Northwest (a landlord association), supported the current text.

The Senate recorded a favorable vote; the clerk declared SB 690A “having received a constitutional majority” and passed. The bill now moves on per legislative procedure toward enrollment and any further steps required for enactment.

Clarifying details discussed on the floor included that the HRSN program provides up to six months of rent under the federal Medicaid waiver but that funds can be delayed; the eviction protection applies while families are awaiting approved HRSN housing payments; and OHCS retains discretion to exclude programs that serve other specific populations (for example, senior-only programs) from the prioritization requirement.

Supporters framed the measure as a narrowly targeted, low-cost change to prioritize scarce housing resources for the state’s most vulnerable — infants and their families — rather than a broad new spending program.

The Senate’s roll-call reflected unanimous support for final passage.