Oregon’s Proposed Senate Bill 603 Seeks to Increase Basic Needs Accessibility

 The Bill would Provide Food, Housing assistance to unhoused and low-income Oregonians

A proposed Bill in the Oregon Senate hopes to address the needs of unhoused and low-income Oregon residents through direct-payment assistance. According to the text of Measure 603B, the bill would ensure that “Participants in the program shall receive monthly payments of $1,000 for a 12-month period. Payments may be used for rent, emergency expenses, food, child care or other goods or services of the participant’s choosing.” The measure is designed solely for those who are at severe risk of housing instability or have already lost housing, and would be ineligible for anyone earning more than 60% of their region’s average income. 

If passed, this measure would be a historic move for the Oregon legislature. This type of program belongs to a category of policies referred to as “Basic Guaranteed Income Programs.” These types of policies were originally advocated by major civil rights leaders and organizations in the 1960s, such as the Black Panthers and Martin Luther King Junior. While test-runs of Basic Guaranteed Income are currently being carried out in LA, Chicago, and New Mexico, it has never been done before in Oregon’s history. 

It is important to note that if this measure is passed, it will only be a pilot: one of the Bill’s mandatory stipulations is that “The Portland State University Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative shall conduct a study on the costs and benefits and policy choices of providing cash assistance to Oregonians who are experiencing severe rent burden or homelessness.” If the program is successful, then the legislature will consider implementing longer-term Basic Guaranteed Income initiatives. 

Currently, proponents of Measure 603B note the proposed program’s ability to serve people who would not otherwise qualify for Federal assistance. Megan Person, a disabled and housing-challenged Oregonian who testified in favor of the bill, said that she was currently ineligible for Social Security Disability. “Accessing housing has been a long-term issue for me,” she said. “Due to a chronic illness, I am unable to work full time, but I am not disabled enough to access Social Security Disability…I have been homeless for a total of three years of my adult life so far.” 

If this measure is passed, Person, and people in similar situations, would likely receive $1000 a month for food and rent, for the full year that the pilot program is
implemented.