Oregon Senate passes $200M bill to address homelessness, housing

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Oregon lawmakers are holding a press briefing 9:30 a.m. Wednesday after the Senate passed two bipartisan bills addressing the state's homelessness and affordable housing crises.

Both bills -- HB 2001 and HB 5019 -- go to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk for her signature.

Senate President Rob Wagner said the entire Oregon legislature should be proud of this package.

“Faced with a statewide housing and homelessness crisis, we worked across the aisle and with our partners in the House and Governor's office to put Oregon on a path toward a future where housing is available and affordable for everyone," Wagner said in a statement.

HB 2001 would establish an Oregon Housing Needs Analysis through the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. The annual analysis would look to boost housing for Oregonians "at all levels of affordability," and project housing needs for the next 20 years along with needed housing for those facing homelessness, according to the bill text.

Additionally, the bill would create a housing production dashboard with "housing equity indicators," the bill says.

Meanwhile, HB 5019 would allocate $200 million to housing and homeless shelter efforts. The Oregon House passed the bill last week, with lawmakers calling the measure their "top priority."

The bill includes $130 million for Gov. Tina Kotek's Homelessness State of Emergency and her goal to build 36,000 affordable housing units per year along with investments for homelessness in rural counties and aims to prevent non-payment evictions.

In a statement Tuesday night, Gov. Kotek said she is "deeply grateful to the housing providers, developers, landlords, advocates, impacted communities, and elected leaders on both sides of the aisle who have answered one of Oregon’s most pressing calls for help by supporting this response package."

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.