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
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
Oregon is receiving millions of dollars from a federal grant program to help reduce gun violence, and the state is seeking a county representative to help decide how to spend the money.
The state is set to receive at least $7.5M from the federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program through 2026, which can be used to fund a variety of types of programs.
Oregon’s Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) is convening an advisory board to help them determine how to use the grant money, and they are hoping to recruit a county leader to serve on the board. The CJC anticipates the board will meet for about 90 minutes on a monthly basis.
Applications can be submitted here, and questions can be directed to CJC Senior Policy Analyst Bridget Budbill.
Contributed by: Michael Burdick | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
With the governor’s signing of Senate Bill 80 (2023) in July, the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) and Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) began to put in motion a month-long statewide outreach effort to incorporate county input and expertise into a new Wildfire Hazard Map.
AOC successfully advocated for this increased county involvement and representation in the mapping process during the 2023 legislative session and hopes these efforts will result in a well-received and accurate final product.
Pursuant to statute, ODF and AOC will host eight regional Wildfire Hazard Map meetings throughout the state beginning the first week of September, in conjunction with AOC’s eight annual district meetings.
Two weeks prior to their scheduled meeting each region will be provided a draft map for review by county technical staff – planning directors, emergency managers, and administrators.
During the meetings, ODF and state agency representatives will walk through identified areas of concern with county representatives. ODF will provide reasoning for any areas of concern that are unable to be alleviated.
These Wildfire Mapping County Meetings are broken down in the following way.
- AOC District 5: Benton, Lane, and Linn County
- Friday, September 8 in Eugene (Lane County).
- AOC District 7: Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln, and Tillamook County
- Friday, September 15 in Tillamook (Tillamook County).
- AOC District 4: Coos, Curry, Douglas, Josephine County
- Monday, September 18 in Grants Pass (Josephine County).
- AOC District 2: Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, and Lake County
- Thursday, September 21 in Klamath Falls (Klamath County).
- AOC District 3: Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Sherman, Wasco, and Wheeler County
- Thursday, September 28 in Moro (Sherman County)
- AOC District 1: Baker, Grant, Malheur, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa County
- Friday, September 29 in Pendleton (Umatilla County)
- AOC District 8: Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas County
- Wednesday, October 4, in Hillsboro (Washington County)
- AOC District 6: Marion, Polk, and Yamhill County
- Friday, October 6, in Dallas (Polk County)
Governor Kotek has directed all the necessary and appropriate individuals from the executive branch to travel to each regional meeting to participate in person and ensure a thorough and productive process. AOC expects the following state partners to join county commissioners and staff:
Oregon Department of Forestry:
- Cal Mukumoto; State Forester (Availability limited)
- Derrick Wheeler; Legislative Coordinator
- Tim Holschbach; Deputy Chief, Policy and Planning
- Derek Gasperini; Public Affairs Officer
Oregon State University:
- Chris Dunn; Research Associate, Department of Forest Engineering
- Andy McEvoy; Research Assistant
Oregon State Fire Marshal:
- Mariana Riuz-Temple; State Fire Marshal
- Claire McGrew; Fire Protection Risk Administrator
- Chad Hawkins; Fire Protection Risk Manager
Department of Consumer and Business Services:
- Andrew Stolfi, Director and Chief Insurance Officer, DCBS
- Alex Chang; Deputy Administrator DCBS
- Eric Cutler; Section Manager, DCBS
- Alana Cox; Building Codes Division Administrator
- Eric McMullen; Senior Building Code Specialist
Contributed by: Branden Pursinger | Legislative Affairs Manager
Aug 28, 2023 | AOC News
Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) unveils the County Profiles data dashboard, a tool that provides key data about housing dynamics in the state. The County Profiles aims to tell a comprehensive story about housing in Oregon while addressing questions frequently posed to the agency regarding affordable housing, home purchasing costs, and homelessness.
OHCS uses data to inform policy solutions. The agency created these profiles to provide information about various topics connected to housing, such as the race and gender of people living in poverty or the population of a specific county.
Each County Profile has five data sections:
- Population
- Poverty
- Homeownership
- Rental Housing
- Homelessness
The data is primarily sourced from the US Census Bureau’s annual surveys. The dashboard presents many of these statistics by race, ethnicity, and gender when the data is available.
The dashboard will be updated annually and continue to evolve to improve transparency. Individuals, organizations, and policymakers are urged to explore the County Profiles and email feedback, questions, or recommendations to hcs_research@hcs.oregon.gov.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager
