Oregon Housing and Community Services staff described implementation steps and early uptake for the Moderate Income Revolving Loan Fund (MIRLF) during the Senate committee’s Nov. 17 informational hearing.

Tanisha Rosas, OHCS government relations coordinator, told the committee the fund was part of the governor’s 2024 housing package and that $75,000,000 was allocated overall; $50,000,000 is available for the current biennium with a $10,000,000 rural set‑aside. "Merril is designed as a gap resource for affordable housing, rental housing, and homeownership projects," Rosas said, emphasizing the fund is intended to expand local capacity to support moderate-income households (up to 120% AMI).

Megan Ellertson, the OHCS program manager overseeing the effort, explained how sponsoring jurisdictions create local programs to originate provisionally approved projects, pass project files to OHCS for completeness review, and receive 0% loans. Projects repay the loans through a program fee collected in lieu of selected property tax revenues; those fees return to OHCS and replenish the revolving pool for future projects.

Ellertson outlined an implementation timeline: preplanning after enactment in 2024, a manual completed in January 2025, program launch in February 2025, technical assistance starting in July, and toolkit and resources released in October. She cited early interest from Tillamook County (three planned homeownership projects) and Coos Bay (a large housing development) and said many jurisdictions are engaging with one‑on‑one technical assistance to set up local programs.

On program terms, OHCS said there is an anticipated three‑year construction window (extendable by sponsoring jurisdictions) followed by a 10‑year loan repayment term with annual payments used to replenish the revolving fund. Ellertson also said MUR**L** (program acronym appears inconsistently in testimony) is flexible and can be paired with other OHCS funding, often as last-in funding in layered financing stacks.

Committee members asked whether middle housing permits are faster than multifamily permitting in some regions and how repayment schedules work; OHCS said it would consult DLCD on permitting timelines and reiterated the 3‑plus‑10 repayment structure.

OHCS staff said jurisdictions and nonprofit developers have shown strong interest in using the fund to meet workforce and middle-income housing needs, and the agency is offering technical support to help local governments adopt ordinances and launch sponsoring programs. The committee did not take formal action; staff said they will continue outreach and report back on program uptake and outcomes.