House Bill 2139 would create a Tribal Housing Grant Fund to provide direct, flexible resources to Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes to address tribal housing needs, agency and governor’s office officials told the Senate Housing and Development Committee April 28.

Swetha Ambati, Senior Housing Advisor in Governor Kotek’s office, and Tim Mayer Macias, OHCS tribal liaison, told the committee the fund is intended to respect tribal sovereignty and give each tribal nation flexibility to pursue community‑specific housing solutions, including rental housing, homeownership and infrastructure. Mayer Macias described the Buy in For Initiative Native American Tribes of Oregon (BAFI NATO) as the initial program through which OHCS allocated homeless services funds to the nine tribes beginning in 2022, and said the Tribal Housing Grant Fund builds on those engagements.

A panel of tribal housing leaders and tribal government representatives spoke in support. Michelle Moore, Social Services Director for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, told the committee that the nine tribes have long faced housing challenges and that a dedicated, sustained funding source would allow tribal governments to implement longer‑term, culturally responsive solutions. Marcus Sloop, Housing Director for the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla, described the partnership with OHCS as ‘‘nothing but positive’’ and said funds have helped tribes in Eastern Oregon keep people warm and housed and to pursue housing development for veterans and elders.

OHCS staff said the fund was included in the governor’s recommended budget and that tribal consultation and a tribal housing work group informed the proposal. The presentation noted projects that blended tribal BAFI NATO and other funding sources — for example, a project that created 26 permanent supportive units for tribal elders — as illustrative of funding uses the new grant fund would support.

The committee received no questions that changed the proposal on April 28. Testimony from tribal leaders emphasized the fund’s goal of providing predictable, non‑competitive funding that aligns with tribal governance structures.