Ballad of HB2004 RIP
Channel: Portland Tenants United
Date: 09/07/2017

House Bill 2004 could have been a historic moment for Oregon. Instead it ended up a pile of rubble, never given the dignity of a floor vote by the Senate. It’s a sordid tale of money and corruption - the Ballad of HB2004.

After struggling with a housing crisis for years, and with no hope of federal relief under the Landlord-in-Chief, Oregon's House of Representatives passed a powerful bill that protected renters from price-gouging and no-cause evictions. But when HB 2004 hit the Senate, it was too much for them to take. Under the guidance of the Oregon Realtors Association and Landlord lobby, Senators took it apart, cleaned out its meaningful protections, added language that helps landlords more than tenants, and then pieced it together with a stapler and duct tape.

To add insult to injury, the very Senators and lobby groups who demanded these cuts could not bring themselves to let it go to the floor for a vote so Senators could be held accountable.

But #tenantpower is real, and so are Senatorial financial disclosures. Attend the tale of HB2004, and call your Senators to remind them - I RENT I VOTE!