Recent State Relief Allocations
Special Sessions Provide Key Additional Relief
On December 21 the legislature approved 4 of the 5 bills in consideration, including an extension of the eviction moratorium and $600 million in emergency funding:
Eviction Moratorium and Landlord Compensation Fund - ensures renters can't be evicted through June 30, 2021, if they can’t pay their rent during the pandemic, establishes a fund to cover overdue rent payments to help eligible renters avoid falling further behind, while ensuring landlords have a voluntary way to recover payments.
School Limited Liability Protections - provides temporary liability protections to schools that are complying with COVID-19 emergency rules (OSHA & OHA). It also provides whistle-blower protections to third party contractors, such as janitorial service providers, bus drivers, food service providers.
Restaurant Relief - allows restaurants and bars temporarily to sell mixed drinks or wine by the glass to-go if sold in a sealed container. It also caps fees charged to restaurants by third-party delivery providers at 15% of the tab.
Emergency COVID-19 and Wildfire Recovery Funding - appropriates state dollars to the legislative Emergency Fund including $400 million to allow the state to continue to fund critical pandemic-related programs where federal funding expires Dec 30, 2020; $100 million to fund wildfire recovery efforts; $150 million for the Landlord Compensation Fund; and $50 million for rental assistance.
On January 7, the Emergency Board approved pandemic relief resources:
$324 million in federal funds for grants to school districts and for staff for education needs of responding to the pandemic.
$116 million in federal funds for emergency rental and utility assistance to Oregonians from the Dec 2020 stimulus package.
$100 million to fund a commercial rent relief program.
$46 million to the Oregon Community Foundation for further support of the Worker Relief Fund, Quarantined Worker Fund, and creation of a Small Enterprise Fund for small business.
$19 million to the Oregon Health Authority for the public health response to COVID-19.
$15 million for residential and day camps that provide school-age child care and other services.
$12 million for community behavioral health providers.
$10.4 million to fund a temporary rate increase for Aging and People with Disabilities nursing facilities and for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities programs
$9 million for grants of $1 million each to Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes for needs arising from the pandemic and associated economic hardships.
$1 million for the Runaway and Homeless Youth program to help providers facing service delivery challenges due to COVID-19.