Committee hears data and funding gaps as lawmakers weigh mandate for cooling in multifamily housing (SB 54)

The Senate Committee on Housing and Development on March 19 held an informational session on extreme heat and a public hearing on Senate Bill 54, a proposal to require indoor cooling in multifamily buildings of 10 or more units and, ultimately, make cooling a habitability requirement for all rental housing.

Oregon State Resilience Officer Janna Papa Efthimiou and public‑health officials told the committee that recent extreme heat events have been deadly and disproportionately affected people without access to high‑quality housing or cooling. "Following that emergency declaration, the state leaned forward in new ways to support local cooling shelters," said Janna Papa Efthimiou, noting that the July 2024 statewide emergency declaration on excessive heat reflected "our new climate reality of longer, hotter summers." She told the committee at least 17 people died of heat in July 2024 and said those deaths were preventable.

Officials from the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Human Services presented health and emergency‑management data: Andre Gusa, administrator for the Center for Health Protection at the Oregon Health Authority, summarized the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke and cited historical data showing 109 deaths directly attributed to the 2021 heat dome. Gusa told the committee that 60% of people who came to emergency departments with heat‑related complaints in 2021 had ZIP codes in places with median household incomes below $50,000. Ed Flick, director of the Office of Resilience and Emergency Management at the Oregon Department of Human Services, described state efforts to distribute air conditioners and coolants and to support cooling shelters, but warned distribution programs meet only a fraction of statewide need.

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) presented results from a cooling needs study required by Senate Bill 1536. ODOE facility engineer Stephanie Cruz told the committee that in multifamily housing statewide, an estimated 21% of households have an immediate need for cooling equipment and 45% will need permanent cooling. The Oregon Rental Home Heat Pump Program — created after 2021 and initially funded at $15 million, with an additional $4 million later added — was quickly oversubscribed, ODOE staff said. The department also described a federally funded Heat Pump Purchase Program that plans to allocate $12 million for rental homes and $8 million for new construction; that program was described as scheduled to open in April with a second round in early 2026.

Sen. Casey JAMA, sponsor of SB 54, told the committee the bill would require landlords to provide cooling for units with building permits issued on or after Jan. 1, 2026 (at least one room per unit), and would make cooling a habitability requirement for all units by 2036, with requirements phased to each bedroom by that later date. "Without statewide cooling standard, more vulnerable people will die from excessive heat," Sen. JAMA said, citing the disproportionate impact of heat in urban heat‑island neighborhoods.

Housing providers and affordable‑housing advocates offered competing perspectives. Home Forward's Carolina Gomez supported cooling standards but emphasized the need to pair requirements with funding to avoid jeopardizing affordable housing providers. Multiple affordable‑housing and tenant‑advocacy groups — Community Alliance of Tenants, Springfield Eugene Tenant Association, Housing Oregon and others — urged the committee to adopt cooling standards, citing heat‑related deaths and undercounting of heat fatalities. Housing providers represented by Multifamily Northwest and other property management witnesses opposed the measure as drafted, arguing costs, electrical capacity constraints, and retrofit complexity create financial and technical barriers for many existing buildings.

Several witnesses offered recommendations the committee could adopt: pair a cooling requirement with grant funding and incentives for retrofits; prioritize funding for senior and low‑income housing; and focus initial requirements on new construction or on publicly supported multifamily housing to reduce displacement risks. Committee leaders announced the hearing would be carried over to the next meeting to allow additional testimony and technical discussion.

Context: Senate Bill 1536 (passed earlier) directed the cooling needs study and created the Oregon Rental Home Heat Pump Program. The committee carried over the hearing on SB 54 to a resumed session on March 24 to allow more witnesses and questions.

Ending: The committee closed the informational portion and opened the public hearing on SB 54; because of the volume of testimony it carried the hearing over to March 24 at 1 p.m. to allow additional witnesses to testify.