February 6, 2008
The Housing Alliance Update & Announcements is a bi-weekly electronic newsletter to keep you up-to-date about everything the Housing Alliance is doing to win in 2008 - and how you can get involved!
Please call your Legislator about SB 1073!
The Legislature convened for a one month session Monday morning. Monday afternoon, affordable housing was featured in the Co-Chairs budget, with an announcement that if the Friday Feb. 8th Revenue forecast stays level the co-chairs recommend $2 million for affordable housing. She specifically mentioned that this is a priority issue for both Republicans and Democrats in both chambers!
Then, on Tuesday, an informational session was held in Ways and Means at which the Housing Alliance was asked to present SB1073, and the Housing Council was asked about their proposal to raise the cap on the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit. It was a good hearing. The members of the Ways and Means committee had a lot of interest in the issue, especially sympathy for the residents of this housing. Though we still have some hurdles to get over these next three weeks, clearly there is broad based commitment to act.
This is a great start to the session, but we still have a long way to go. See the detail below about what you can do THIS WEEK to help!
But FIRST – let’s think ahead to 2009!
2009 Legislative Agenda – Call for Proposals!
We will have membership meetings in March and April (We’ll send the dates soon) to develop our agenda for the 2009 legislative session. In recognition of the reality that agenda setting can be a long process we expect that we will start by convening conversations to work through particular issue areas (money, homeownership, inclusionary zoning, homelessness, capacity building, others?).
We need to know what issues are at the top of your lists so that we can start to plan how to bring these conversations together. Please e-mail Amy with the following as soon as you can:
- Any specific proposals and/or requests for money you know you would like the Alliance to advance;
- General issue areas you know you want to see addressed in the agenda;
- Legislation you plan to bring forward that you might ask the Alliance to endorse; and
- Anything else you think we should know.
ACTION TO TAKE THIS WEEK ON SB 1073! (Continued from above)
You can find your legislators’ contact information at http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/. If your legislator is on the Ways and Means Committee it is particularly important that you make the call. Please have your colleagues, coworkers and board members call too.
The following legislators are on the Ways and Means Committee. The number beside their names indicates the number of units at risk of being lost in their districts if we cannot step in and preserve the projects.
Sen. Kurt Schrader, Co-Chair (293)
Rep. Mary Nolan, Co-Chair (709)
Sen. Margaret Carter, Vice-Chair (0)
Rep. Nancy Nathanson, Vice-Chair (226)
Sen. Alan C Bates (382)
Sen. Avel Gordly (0)
Sen. Betsy Johnson (409)
Sen. Rod Monroe (0)
Sen. David Nelson (681)
Sen. Joanne Verger (530)
Sen. Doug Whitsett (261)
Sen. Jackie Winters (77)
Rep. David Edwards (0)
Rep. Larry Galizio (0)
Rep. Bruce L Hanna (130)
Rep. Bob Jenson (274)
Rep. Susan Morgan (209)
Rep. Chip Shields (0)
Rep. Patti Smith (249)
SB 1073 Background:
Senator Betsy Johnson introduced SB 1073 on behalf of the Housing Alliance. This bill requests $2.75 million for two purposes:
- $2 million to seed a revolving loan fund to help preserve existing rent-subsidized affordable housing, and
- $750,000 to support development and implementation of local strategies to end homelessness.
Read a summary of both proposals in SB 1073.
Read an in-depth summary of the preservation loan fund.
Read an in-depth summary on the funding to end homelessness.
Contact your legislators now! Ask them to support SB 1073.
SB 1073 will protect the homes of seniors, people with disabilities and vulnerable families. We need your help in getting the word out to legislators that they should support SB 1073.
We have developed two pieces to help you in your advocacy. These will help you understand what SB 1073 does and give you tips on how to ask your legislator for support.
- Download talking points and answers to common questions.
- Download details on how you can help, including a suggested format for your letters and/or calls (also see below).
We are also seeking endorsements for SB 1073. Please help us gather endorsements from organizations and elected officials. Download the endorsement form.
Here is what you can do!
- Write a letter to your local paper
- E-mail or call your Senator and Representative
Write a Letter to the Editor: One of the best ways to influence elected officials is through the media. Writing a letter is easy. Most newspapers only accept short letters (125 words or less), so simple is the way to go. See below for suggested talking points. Go to you local newpaper's website and you will either be able to submit your letter over the web, or send the letter in by email. We need as many letters in as many papers as possible through the first week of February.
E-mail or call your Senator and Representative: It is very important that your Senator and Representative hear from his or her constituents on SB 1073. Using the same suggested talking points (see below), write a brief letter/email or make a phone call to both your Representative and Senator. In general it's more powerful to call or send a personal letter, but emails are helpful too. You can find your legislators' contact information http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/.
Suggested Talking Points: Every letter, email or call should include a few basic elements: (1) Opening statement of support, (2) a brief explanation of the problem, (3) a statement of why you care about this issue, and (4) why SB 1073 will make a difference.
1. Opening statement: We need the Legislature to allocate $2 Million to create a Housing Acquisition Fund to help preserve 7000 affordable homes in Oregon.
2. Brief explanation of problem: Federal contracts that have provided affordable homes to seniors, people with disabilities, working families for the last 20 years or more are about to expire. If the contracts are allowed to lapse, all of these households will be at risk of losing their homes.
3. Why I care (choose one):
- When people do not have a place to call home, families and communities suffer. Oregon cannot afford to lose vital affordable housing, and these Oregon families cannot afford to lose their homes. We need to protect housing opportunity for all Oregonians.
- It's only fair that everyone has a safe, decent place to live. We need to protect this valuable affordable housing for the seniors, people with disabilities and families with children that call it home.
- Children deserve an opportunity to succeed in school and life, which is tied to having a stable home. Currently, families with children comprise 72% of those being turned away from emergency shelters. Let's protect the housing for families we already have. The Housing Acquisition Fund requires a small investment by the state but saves us all a lot in the long run.
4. Pass SB 1073 and Protect Our Homes: The Housing Acquisition Fund is an essential tool to save our homes. A $2 million investment from the state will leverage an estimated $150 million from private foundations, commercial banks and other local governments. Plus, by preserving this housing Oregon saves well over $250 million in potential replacement costs and lost federal subsidies. Passing SB 1073 is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
Questions about writing a letter or contacting your legislator? Call Michael Anderson at (503) 577-5124 or Amy Fauver at (503) 226-3001 x-102.
Download a PDF of this information to share with your networks.
For more information about joining the Housing Alliance please visit our website at http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/joinus.html.
Want more information on the Housing Alliance? Go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org.
For a full archive of Housing Alliance Weekly Updates, go to http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/updates_archive.html
For information on the 2007 legislative session, click here.
For information on the 2005 Legislative Session, click here.
Please email or call us with questions or ideas for how we can best keep you informed. Contact Amy Fauver or Michael Anderson.
