Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Care Workforce Standards topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee sends workforce-standards board bill to Ways and Means after lengthy Q&A over scope and cost
Summary
The committee adopted dash 7 amendments to House Bill 38 38, creating a Home and Community Based Services Workforce Standards Board with broad authority to establish minimum workforce standards; the measure now goes to Ways and Means because the fiscal analysis identified multi‑million dollar staffing and implementation costs.
On June 12 the House Committee on Rules adopted the dash 7 amendment to House Bill 38 38, which would establish a Home and Community Based Services Workforce Standards Board within the Department of Consumer and Business Services to develop and adopt minimum standards for home‑ and community‑based care workers. After extended questioning on enforcement, costs and board authority, the committee moved the measure to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation and referred it to the joint committee on Ways and Means.
The dash 7 amendment establishes an 11‑member board with specified membership categories (public members appointed by the governor, labor and employer representatives, service recipients and state agency representatives), requires the board to examine compensation, schedules and working conditions and to adopt minimum workforce standards covering compensation (not less than applicable minimum wage), curriculum and professional development, benefits including paid leave, and other protections. The amendment also requires compliance with state and federal antitrust laws, public meetings, consultation with the Oregon Health Authority and the Home Care Commission, and fiscal analyses from Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Consumer and Business Services (DCBS), and OHA to determine fiscal obligations including Medicaid reimbursement rate impacts.
Key procedural and substantive points from committee members and witnesses: BOLI authority and enforcement role was raised repeatedly; members sought clarity about how BOLI would implement new investigative powers (including subpoenas and civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation) and whether BOLI has capacity or funding to carry out those duties. Representatives of provider organizations (Amanda Dalton, Oregon Resource Association; Phil Bentley, Oregon Healthcare Association) said they remain opposed and concerned about the breadth of authority delegated to the board, the private right of action retained in the bill, and the potential for new enforcement exposures to providers. Labor supporters, including Felisa Higgins (SEIU), said their goal is to raise standards and transform an industry that experiences high turnover and low pay.
The fiscal impact statement cited by staff estimates implementation costs of roughly $5.3 million total funds and 17 positions in the 2025‑27 biennium and $6.2 million and 17 positions in 2027‑29; because the board could only implement standards once legislative appropriations and, if required, CMS approval are obtained, the amendment requires the board to report necessary funding increases to the governor and Legislature and to align adopted standards with available appropriations.
Committee members expressed divergent views: some praised the bill's aim to give workers a voice and to plan for long‑term workforce sustainability; others warned it creates a new, potentially large bureaucracy at a time of tight budgets and favored directing funding into wage and rate increases identified in prior rate-and-wage studies instead of standing up a new board. After roll call, the committee adopted the dash 7 amendment and moved the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation and a referral to Ways and Means; the motion passed on roll call.
