Local, state issues topics at Whisnant, Knopp town halls

Two state lawmakers took a break from the state Capitol on Friday to travel home to Deschutes County, visit with their constituents and listen to their concerns.

State Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, and Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver co-hosted three town halls throughout the county, in Sunriver, Bend and Redmond.

Constituents living in Sunriver came to the first session, prepared with questions and concerns for state leaders.

House Bill 2004 would prohibit landlords from terminating month-to-month leases without cause and lift a ban on rent stabilization, also known as rent control.

Knopp said he doesn’t expect the bill to make it in the Senate because of some issues.

“Ultimately, it’s going to lead to less landlords wanting to keep their properties in the rental pool, and they’ll just sell them and make the problem worse,” Knopp said.

Another issue that both parties are trying to tackle is PERS, an issue that already is having an impact on funds for schools and public safety.

Knopp said the bill is still in committee and legislators are working on some fixes — for example, changing the final average salary calculations from three years to five years.

Whisnant said he is gearing up to fight for his constituents, as bills aimed at housing are being introduced in Salem next week.

“There’s several revenue bills that are forthcoming that we know that are in the system, which will eliminate your mortgage deduction on state income tax,” he said. “One we don’t know what they’re going to look like but, one proposes no (deduction for) second homes, one puts a cap on how much mortgage deductions you can get, and that’s going to affect a lot of my constituents in House District 53.”