Legislative panel advances $1.3 billion bonding package

The Oregon Legislature’s budget committee advanced a bonding package Monday that will fund key construction projects across the state, including major investments in school buildings, affordable housing, veterans’ homes, economic development projects, and $100 million to keep the Elliott State Forest in public hands.

Highlights include:

K-12 School Buildings

· $100 million for major seismic upgrades to K-12 schools;

· $100 million for a matching program to help school districts across the state to fix outdated, dilapidated, or hazardous facilities.

Community College Campuses

· $100 million in matching bonds for renovations and other improvement projects at 14 community colleges across the state.

State University Campuses

· $260 million for renovations and other key projects at each of the state universities, including $50 million for an innovative new Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at the University of Oregon, and funds to continue the expansion at the Oregon State University Cascades campus.

Affordable Housing

· $80 million for affordable housing construction through Oregon’s Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) Housing Program;

· $25 million for affordable housing preservation.

Veterans’ Homes

· $10.5 million in matching funds to support development of a new veterans’ home in Roseburg;

· About $2.5 million for projects at veterans’ homes in Lebanon and The Dalles.

Economic Development Projects

· $30 million for multimodal transportation projects through the Connect Oregon program;

· $30 million for special public works projects, including levees and other critical local infrastructure;

· $15 million for water supply development grants;

· $10 million to clean up industrial “orphan sites” – areas contaminated by hazardous substances that pose a threat to human health or the environment, but the responsible party is either unknown, or unable or unwilling to pay for remediation;

· Over $7 million to support the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center , a collaborative bringing together industry, higher education, and government to develop a skilled workforce and address manufacturing challenges;

· Funding to support the next steps of the Portland Harbor Superfund Cleanup;

· $5 million for Oregon’s Main Street Revitalization Grant Program , which was created in the 2015 session to help small and rural communities transform their downtown business districts.

· $2 million for an Innovation and Workforce Training Center in Gresham’s Rockwood neighborhood – a growing, diverse area with high rates of poverty and unemployment.

Elliot State Forest

· $100 million to keep the Elliot State Forest in public hands.

The package, contained in Senate Bills 5505 and 5530 passed out of the Capital Construction sub-committee Monday morning and was set to move to the full budget-writing committee later in the day as the Legislature works toward adjourning before the constitutional deadline of July 10 .