OPB and ProPublica are reporting on Oregon's $1.4 billion in affordable-housing subsidies and the state public-records exemption that keeps itemized project financials secret.
Rep. Pam Marsh, chair of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, and Sen. Khanh Pham, chair of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development, said they plan to introduce legislation in the 2027 session to eliminate a 1997 public records exemption that lets Oregon Housing and Community Services withhold financial details of subsidized housing projects. The agency cited the law in redacting sections of developers' cost reports that ProPublica requested in May. ProPublica's August investigation reported that Oregon has given developers $1.4 billion since 2021, that per-unit development costs have nearly doubled to $540,000, and that $850 million in future state funding is lined up.
Oregon's Sunshine Committee, the state body that reviews records exemptions, is separately examining the 1997 exemption.
An OPB/ProPublica investigation reported that Oregon has given affordable housing developers $1.4 billion while the cost of developing each apartment has nearly doubled to $540,000, and that a state public-records exemption keeps itemized project financial details secret. The reporting said dozens of projects are lined up for an additional $850 million in future state funding, and that California and Washington publish comparable financial records.
Researchers found California was spending $300 million a year in development fees on subsidized housing, enough to have financed another 1,250 apartments annually.