Legislative Days 2026: Strong Conversations, Real Opportunities Ahead
Housing Oregon wrapped up another successful Legislative Days with three full days of meetings at the Capitol - June 15-17, 2026. Board members, policy council leaders, and staff met with 24 legislators from across Oregon to discuss the challenges facing affordable housing providers and the policy opportunities ahead of the 2027 legislative session.
Housing remains a priority
Many conversations centered on the impact of potential federal cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other safety-net programs. Legislators expressed concern that affordable housing providers will increasingly become the last line of defense for many Oregonians if those cuts move forward.
Despite those concerns, legislative leaders indicated that affordable housing investments remain on the table. Housing Oregon heard encouraging signals that the Legislature intends to continue making significant investments through the state's bonding capacity, including resources for affordable housing production and preservation.
While the Emergency Board is expected to be cautious this summer because of anticipated wildfire costs, lawmakers suggested they continue to view housing bonds differently from ongoing General Fund obligations, leaving room for meaningful investments in 2027.
Preservation continues to gain momentum
Preservation remains one of Housing Oregon's top priorities, and Legislative Days reinforced that message.
Housing Oregon shared the growing need for portfolio stabilization and preservation resources, and lawmakers showed continued interest in technical improvements to existing preservation tools. Conversations also pointed toward possible committee legislation to make technical fixes to the Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credit.
OHCS also provided an excellent presentation during Legislative Days outlining the current preservation landscape, financial pressures facing affordable housing properties, and ongoing preservation efforts across Oregon.
Insurance is quickly becoming a top legislative issue
One topic came up in meeting after meeting: insurance.
Legislators from both parties recognize that rapidly rising property and liability insurance costs are threatening affordable housing operations across Oregon. There was broad interest in working with providers to identify solutions before more properties fall into financial distress.
Housing Oregon will continue working with Insurance Commissioner TK Keen, DCBS, legislators, and industry partners to evaluate options such as:
- Risk mitigation incentives
- Greater underwriting transparency
- Premium assistance
- Insurance captives and pooled purchasing models
- Other state policy tools that could help stabilize insurance costs
This will remain one of Housing Oregon's major policy priorities heading into 2027.
Housing Oregon would like to thank every member who participated in Legislative Days. Your stories, expertise, and willingness to meet directly with policymakers continue to strengthen our advocacy. As we begin preparing for the 2027 legislative session, we will continue refining these policy ideas through our Policy Councils and member workgroups. We look forward to working alongside you to build on the momentum from Legislative Days.
Housing Oregon Action Fund - A voice for Oregon’s community development sector
Housing Oregon is excited to announce our affiliate organization, the Housing Oregon Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization created to help candidates, policymakers, and voters understand what it takes to make housing more affordable, preserve the homes we already have, and reduce homelessness in communities across Oregon.
Oregon’s housing system is under real strain. Affordable housing providers are facing rising operating costs, preservation risks, insurance pressures, gaps in supportive services, and a shortage of homes affordable to low- and moderate-income Oregonians. At the same time, public investments in affordable housing, homeownership, preservation, homelessness response, and community development are making a real difference.
Housing Oregon Action Fund will be a voice for Oregon’s community development sector to make sure the people closest to this work can have a unified message to educate and convey housing policy solutions to voters and elected officials.
Together as affiliated organizations:
We support pro-housing leaders
We work to build trusted relationships with elected officials, candidates, and public leaders across party lines who understand the importance of community development, affordable housing, and homelessness response.
We educate candidates, policymakers and voters
Affordable housing is complex. We help the public understand housing finance, rental development, preservation, homeownership, shelter operations, resident services, land use, and the real-world conditions facing nonprofit and mission-driven housing providers.
We share the story of community development
We tell the story of what affordable housing investments do for Oregon communities: create stable homes, support seniors and people with disabilities, help families stay rooted, provide pathways out of homelessness, and strengthen local economies.
Oregon needs a strong, practical, pro-community development voice focused on housing finance and production, asset management and preservation, affordable homeownership development and more.
Together, we build thousands of affordable homes a year. We are making an impact. Good work does not speak for itself. It needs a clear public voice, trusted relationships, and the ability to communicate with decision makers and voters.
That is why the Housing Oregon Action Fund exists.
You can join our movement.
To learn more go to - https://housingoregon.org/housing-oregon-action-fund-redirect/
The ROAD to Housing Act Becomes Law
For the first time in more than three decades, Congress has enacted a major bipartisan housing package. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on July 11 after passing the Senate 85–5 and the House 358–32. At a time when national politics can feel incapable of addressing the basic needs of working people, this overwhelming vote sends a clear message: the housing crisis is real, it is national, and communities need the federal government back at the table.
The law updates dozens of federal housing and community development programs. It includes new tools to build and preserve affordable housing, repair aging homes, stabilize manufactured home communities, improve disaster recovery, support modular construction, and reduce barriers that delay development. It also reforms rural housing programs, including changes intended to preserve affordable rental housing for approximately 400,000 rural families nationwide.
“This is a historic step forward for everyone working to ensure that people have a safe and affordable place to call home,” said Housing Oregon Executive Director Brian Hoop. “Congress has recognized that solving the housing crisis requires more than one program or one level of government. We need to build more homes, preserve the housing we already have, and support the community-based organizations that were built on meeting local needs and remain dedicated to the mission.”
One of the law’s most important accomplishments is the first reauthorization of the HOME Investment Partnerships Program since 1992. The law preserves the set-aside for Community Housing Development Organizations, affirming the central role nonprofit and community-based developers play in creating affordable homes and stronger neighborhoods. It also authorizes the PRICE program for seven years to preserve manufactured homes and parks, expands eligible uses of Community Development Block Grant funding, and supports improvements intended to help households with vouchers move into homes more quickly.
Read the full section by section summary here.
Thanks to Oregon's congressional delegation for their support and the many Housing Oregon members who responded to our action alerts and contacted their congress members urging them to support the bill.
This landmark legislation is not the end of the work. It does not resolve high construction costs, rising insurance premiums, elevated interest rates, workforce shortages, or the need for greater investments in rental assistance and deeply affordable housing. Many provisions will depend on federal rulemaking, agency guidance, and future funding from Congress. Housing Oregon will work with our members and national partners to ensure implementation serves Oregonians with the greatest housing needs. For now, this passage deserves celebration: sustained advocacy and bipartisan cooperation have produced the most substantial federal housing law in decades.
Full Text of the Road to Housing Act
Central Oregon Housing Summit Energizes Regional Industry Professionals
Nearly 250 individuals joined the Central Oregon Housing Summit on Tuesday, June 9 at Eagle Crest Lodge near Redmond, Oregon. The event brought together industry professionals, government officials, and business leaders dedicated to developing and preserving affordable housing in the region. This was Housing Oregon’s third annual rural affordable housing summit.
A major theme was building a collective vision for advancing affordable housing and supportive services in Central Oregon while navigating through significant federal housing policy and state budgetary challenges. At the same time, presenters opened the event acknowledging a success - the annual Point-in-Time count recorded the number of homeless people living in Central Oregon had fallen by nearly 20% - the first time in years that number has not increased.
Thanks to our sponsors who made the event possible including Oregon Housing and Community Services, Pinnacle Architecture, DLCD’s Housing Accountability and Production Office, Hayden Homes, SAJ Architecture, OHCS Multifamily Energy Program, and Hunt Capital Partners.
Lunch Plenary Focuses on Hood River and Bend Dialogues on Local Revenue
Presenters during the lunch plenary shared reflections on dialogues in Hood River and Bend to explore options for new local revenue sources to meet their unique needs and build community understanding and support for funding solutions.
The Oregon legislature has stepped up and provided significant resources for housing production and homelessness services over the past decade. But there are growing signs of public frustration with the pace of progress with government programs funded to address these challenges. The housing crisis in Central Oregon means that community members and essential workers like nurses, teachers and first responders can't find an affordable place to live and work.
According to a 2023 Bend Chamber business survey, 81% of respondents said the lack of affordable housing has significantly affected their ability to attract and retain skilled workers. 91% stated high costs of housing limits business expansion and puts additional strain on the workforce. Data shows that over 50% of Bend's workforce does not reside in the city limits.
Preservation, Wildfire Resiliency, Faith-Based Housing Development and More
Central Oregon developers shared innovative strategies they’re using to increase housing production. This despite increasing challenges regarding constricted land availability and capital stack financing, increasing production costs, access to diversified construction teams, and climate change. Ryan Cain with Pinnacle Architecture led a conversation on efforts to preserve affordability on expiring properties as well as exploring the role of manufactured housing especially in the Columbia Gorge region.
As wildfires become more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest, panelists shared best practices for preparedness planning and options for hardening existing housing stock to ensure the resiliency of affordable housing stock when disaster strikes Central Oregon communities.
A well attended session explored the growing interest amongst faith-based organizations to put mission into practice by developing some of their property for affordable housing and homeless shelters. They shared success stories of how faith organizations and housing developers have carefully built partnerships from early dialogue, navigating predevelopment together, putting together complex capital stacks and construction teams.
Key Take-Aways from Participant Post-Event Evaluations
- Networking and Collaboration: Attendees highly valued the opportunity to connect, share ideas, and build relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders, including service providers, developers, investors, and policymakers, to foster a more unified approach to housing challenges.
- Diverse Perspectives: The summit successfully convened various industry voices, enabling participants to gain a broader regional understanding and appreciate that housing solutions require tailored approaches rather than one-size-fits-all strategies.
- Knowledge Sharing: Participants gained valuable insights into the complexities of the industry, including the specific factors that make implementing affordable housing more costly than market-rate development and the roles of various regional resources.
- Professional Inspiration: The high-quality plenary sessions and workshops provided attendees with a renewed sense of collective will and optimism about their ability to collaborate effectively to address homelessness and housing shortages.
Thanks to Our Planning Partners
Thanks to our event organizing partners including Housing Works, Columbia Cascades Housing Corporation, RootedHomes, Rural Community Assistance Corporation, and Urban League of Portland.