Aug 28, 2023 | AOC Advocacy
“Aid & Assist” Community Restoration Liability Study Underway
Work with the Oregon Department of Administrative Services (DAS) to study and recommend solutions to third party liability for community “aid and assist” community restoration services began at an initial meeting hosted by AOC on August 16. DAS risk staff are leading a study of the issue with help from county risk and legal experts and providers of community restoration services. The study report, along with recommended solutions, is due to the Legislature by February 1, 2024 thanks to the leadership of Senator Kate Lieber, the Governor’s office, and the coalition of counties and providers who crafted the language and budget note in SB 5506. In addition to the required study and recommendations, the legislature also set aside $2.9M to reimburse a county or its contracted provider for expenses resulting from litigation related to community restoration services.
Liability risk to counties and their providers related to the provision of community restoration services is a new and potentially catastrophic phenomenon arising from recent changes to state policy which aim to place as many individuals as possible in the community instead of the Oregon State Hospital where historically those services were exclusively provided. Eliminating the risk shift to counties arising from court-mandated community behavioral health services was a top 2023 legislative session priority for AOC.
Update on Statewide Homelessness Emergency Response and Technical Assistance NOFA
Disbursement of the $26M to expand homelessness emergency response statewide allocated in HB 5019 this past session is close to being decided by Oregon Housing and Community Services. About $6M will fund new shelter capacity for chosen projects from an RFP process, with the remainder to be divided among Local Planning Groups who responded to an RFP for rapid rehousing activities. Announcement of grant awards is expected in September. The Homeless Housing Response and Capacity Strengthening Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) aimed at providing needed technical assistance to Balance of State communities has extended its pre-application deadline to August 25.
Governor Names New Emergency Management Director
Governor Kotek has named Erin McMahon as the new head of the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. She will take the place of acting director Matt Garrett who has overseen the rollout of the statewide homelessness emergency response alongside Oregon Housing & Community Services Director Andrea Bell. Both Director Garrett and Director Bell have met at least monthly since the Governor’s emergency declaration with AOC staff and the Local Government Advisory Committee for Health & Human Services to facilitate communication and problem solve rollout logistics.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and League of Oregon Cities (LOC) are kicking off a planned series of virtual forums bringing city and county officials and staff together to coordinate, collaborate, and cultivate a shared understanding of local government interests in the future of Oregon’s transportation funding system.
The first meeting, held August 23, provided a detailed overview of federal, state, and local funding mechanisms and how these revenue tools work together to fund the current system [View Recording]. Presentations from the Oregon Department of Transportation, AOC County Road Program, and LOC reviewed the current system, with an emphasis on structural deficits and declining fuel tax revenues.
The AOC/LOC Transportation Funding Forum will continue to meet throughout the next year with an eye toward developing guiding principles and identifying priorities to inform AOC and LOC engagement in an expected transportation funding package during the 2025 legislative session. Forum conversations will also seek to increase transparent, partnership-oriented communication with state agencies, commissions, and the legislature related to transportation funding policy.
Future AOC/LOC Transportation Funding Forum meetings will feature regional case studies highlighting the diverse transportation priorities and needs of Oregon’s cities and counties, insight from national experts, and an exploration of mechanisms like congestion pricing and tolling, road usage or vehicle miles traveled fees, and local options.
Contributed by: Mallorie Roberts | Legislative Director
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
AOC Executive Director Dr. Gina Nikkel, Ph.D. will speak on a White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) webinar on September 27 that will focus on developing and applying for an 1115 waiver from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). During this webinar she will share Oregon’s process and discuss how Oregon would utilize the waiver if it were approved by CMS.
“The Association of Oregon Counties is focused on using the lessons and momentum of our joint pandemic response to grow the state-county partnership and begin to clear away some long-standing roadblocks in the system, like the Medicaid inmate exclusion policy,” Gina said.
The webinar will also include remarks from ONDCP Director Dr. Rahul Gupta and Sheriff Koutoujian from Middlesex County, Massachusetts as well as insights from California’s approved 1115 waiver.
“On January 26, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), approved a first-of-its-kind Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) section 1115 demonstration amendment in California, which will connect justice-involved people in jails and prisons with community-based Medicaid providers 90 days before their release to ensure continuity of care upon return to the community. For those that meet certain criteria, the demonstration will permit the use of federal Medicaid dollars for certain physical and behavioral health care treatment and community services to address health-related social needs,” NACo reported in February of this year.
Oregon is in the process of implementing a number of new 1115 waiver benefits, including for justice-involved individuals in jails and prisons. Acting Oregon Health Authority Director Dave Baden is engaging with the Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) during that process in order to incorporate the expertise of local human services system partners. His July presentation to the LGAC lays out the current thinking and timeline for new benefit implementation.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
The Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) is accepting applications until October 2nd, 2023 for their Technical Assistance Grant program. Technical Assistance Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to fund local government planning compliance projects, land use ordinance updates, or comprehensive plan updates that align with the priorities in the Grant Allocation Plan.
DLCD has published an instruction packet for communities interested in the grants, and will hold a virtual informational session reviewing the grant process and timeline on Wednesday September 6th, from 1:30-2:30pm, which will include a question and answer period.
Interested communities are encouraged to contact their regional DLCD representative for guidance prior to submitting their application (find your regional representative here).
Contributed by: Michael Burdick | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
The National Association of Counties (NACo), the National League of Cities (NLC), and the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS) have joined an effort to promote federal legislation expanding a powerful tool local governments can use to help finance affordable housing developments.
Local governments have been increasingly turning to Private Activity Bonds (PABs) to boost affordable housing construction and alleviate the affordable housing crisis. PABs are a type of municipal “conduit” bond that local governments can leverage to fund construction of buildings, infrastructure, or amenities that provide some public benefit but which are privately owned.
Governments who issue PABs aren’t borrowing any money – the debt is carried by the project developer, who enjoys a favorable interest rate as a result of the federal tax break on investors’ PAB income. Since PABs cost the feds in the form of lost income taxes, states are subject to PAB caps. With the growing popularity of PABs in Oregon, the caps have started to seriously constrain the ambitions of Oregon local governments. As the affordable housing crisis continues, local governments need all the tools they can get to address the problem. The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA) of 2023 (AHCIA, S. 1557 & H.R. 3238) would increase the cap on PABs, empowering local governments to get more public benefit projects built.
Call to Action!
Local government leaders are being invited to sign on to a letter supporting the AHCIA.
[Click here to view the letter supporting the AHCIA]
[Click here to sign on to the letter supporting AHCIA]
The deadline for local elected officials to sign on is September 7.
The ACTION Campaign is the main advocacy arm of this effort, and they’ve partner with the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and the Mayors and CEOs for U.S. Housing Investment to circulate a sign-on letter from local elected officials—specifically, mayors, county executives, and county board chairs—to congressional leadership in support of the AHCIA.
Contributed by: Michael Burdick | Legislative Affairs Manager
