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…