Events During the record-shattering heatwave in June 2021, more than 70% of heat-related deaths in Oregon occurred in Multnomah County. Oriana Magnera – manager with Portland-based environmental justice nonprofit Verde – shared during a public hearing before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee that certain state protections are necessary to prevent more heat-related deaths.
“Most people who passed away had no access to lifesaving cooling devices such as air conditioning or heating and cooling pumps in their home,” she said. “The effects of the heat wave were deeply inequitable and most harmed the people least able to seek or afford relief.”
Magnera also noted that many families avoid using utilities in dangerously hot weather because of financial pressure; they are forced to choose between their health and the possibility of utilities being disconnected altogether in the event they cannot pay for the usage.
In response to the events of last summer, Oregon lawmakers drafted bills meant to protect vulnerable people from heat-related injury: Senate Bill 1536 would allow renters to install air conditioners in their homes, while House Bill 4058 would provide emergency heat relief to vulnerable communities, prioritizing people of color and low-income households.
HB 4058 would provide $5 million to the Oregon Health Authority to create an emergency air conditioner distribution program and $10 million to the Oregon Department of Energy to support households in purchasing energy-efficient heat pump cooling systems. In hot weather, heat pumps will move warm air outside, cooling the room. Additionally, the bill would direct the Oregon Public Utility Commission to strategize ways of easing spikes in energy bills during extreme weather events.
Nora Apter is the director of the Oregon Environmental Council Climate Program. Her group supports both bills, specifically access to heat pumps, which are more energy-efficient and create less pollution than other available systems.
SB 1536 would require cooling systems in new rental units and make it easier for renters to install portable units in their current apartments. It would also provide $2 million to the Oregon Department of Human Services for the creation of extreme weather relief centers such as cooling centers, warming centers, and clean air shelters.
These bills must now be approved by the House and the Senate.
By Grace Miller
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