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The Oregon Legislature‘s 2018 session could bring some additional funding for affordable housing, but lawmakers are unlikely to tackle other housing issues, advocates said.

Political watchers are anxiously waiting to see what Oregon’s February legislative session has in store for housing regulations. This year’s session is a short one, beginning Feb. 5 and ending March 9, and some observers expect lawmakers will be hard-pressed to wade into controversial housing bills with budget questions looming large.

Affordable housing advocates will seek more state funding.

The Oregon Housing Alliance is backing a bill that is expected to be introduced by the House Human Services and Housing Committee. The bill would increase a document-recording fee paid by homebuyers to $75, up from $20. That would raise an estimated $105 million per biennium, up from about $28 million currently, said Alison McIntosh, spokeswoman for Neighborhood Partnerships, a Portland-based nonprofit group.

The bulk of the increased revenue 鈥� 76 percent 鈥� would go to build and preserve affordable housing. Another 14 percent would go to homeownership education and counseling, and 10 percent would go to fund emergency rent assistance. In each of those three programs, 25 percent of the revenue must be used to serve veterans, McIntosh said.

The document-recording fee is the only reliable state source of affordable housing funding, McIntosh said. Local governments otherwise rely on bonding or general funds.

鈥淲e really need to act to build affordable homes and keep people in their homes,鈥� she said.

Other housing issues under discussion include broadening the state Housing and Community Services agency’s ability to issue bonds 鈥� which would require a constitutional change to be referred to voters 鈥� establishing a first-time homebuyer’s savings account program and requiring rent-burdened communities to study affordable housing.

There’s a chance legislators may be tempted to make another run at undoing the state’s prohibition on rent control. Another possibility is a bill to limit no-cause evictions, or to take Portland’s fee-based approach to discourage evictions statewide.

But major changes appear unlikely this session, said John DiLorenzo, a lobbyist aligned with landlords’ groups.

鈥淭he math hasn’t changed,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he yes votes are pretty cemented and the no votes are pretty cemented. So I don’t see a lot of change in that regard.鈥�

McIntosh acknowledged the impasse.

鈥淲e don’t have the votes in the Senate,鈥� she said.

Tenants’ advocates and landlords’ groups will be watching a May primary election closely. Sen. Rod Monroe, a Democrat who represents an East Portland district, attracted the ire of tenants’ groups after he helped defeat their bills in the 2017 session. Monroe, who has served in the Legislature since 1977, owns an apartment complex.

He has attracted primary opponents Shemia Fagan, a Happy Valley civil rights attorney, and Kayse Jama, executive director of Unite Oregon.

DiLorenzo said he appreciates Monroe’s lengthy record on issues such as K-12 education. 鈥淟ooking at the totality of Sen. Monroe’s record, they would be very foolish to replace him in that district,鈥� he said.

DiLorenzo said reducing the cost of Portland’s inclusionary housing policy and development fees would result in more new housing than public projects would create.

鈥淚f a lot of that regulatory burden would give way, I personally believe the private sector could step up and build significantly more housing than the public sector could do with their housing bond,鈥� he said.