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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
A-Engrossed
House Bill 2346
Ordered by the House April 4
Including House Amendments dated April 4
Introduced and printed pursuant to House Rule 12.00. Presession filed (at the request of Governor Tina Kotek for
Department of Human Services)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability standards.
Digest: The Act creates a new office in DHS to provide human services in emergencies.
(Flesch Readability Score: 65.7).
[Digest: The Act creates a new office to provide human services in emergencies. The Act also
provides that a person who is responsible for a fire may be liable for the costs of helping people affected
by the fire. (Flesch Readability Score: 60.6).]
Creates the Office of Resilience and Emergency Management within the Department of Human
Services. Sets forth the powers and duties of the office.
[Provides that a person who is willful, unlawful, malicious or negligent in the origin or spread of
a fire is liable for the actual costs incurred by the department in providing services to individuals af-
fected by the fire.]
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to emergency management.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. (1) The Office of Resilience and Emergency Management is established
within the Department of Human Services.
(2) The office shall:
(a) Perform duties assigned to the department as described in the State of Oregon Com-
prehensive Emergency Management Plan;
(b) At the direction of the Director of Human Services, support the department in the
delivery and administration of programs and services to ensure continuity of operations in
the department and ensure ongoing access to the department’s programs and services;
(c) In coordination with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, local gov-
ernments as defined in ORS 174.116, tribal governments and other relevant entities, develop
and publish a plan for activating or mobilizing resources to provide mass care or other sup-
port; and
(d) Perform other such duties as may be assigned to the office.
(3) The Department of Human Services may utilize staff, equipment or other resources
from its other programs, offices or divisions to assist the Office of Resilience and Emergency
Management in carrying out the functions of the office.
(4) The office may coordinate with, contract with or provide grants, equipment, assist-
ance or other support to public or private entities, including tribal entities, as necessary to
prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptions or as necessary for
the office or its partners to carry out the duties of the office.
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 330 A-Eng. HB 2346
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(5) The office may adopt rules necessary to carry out its duties.
SECTION 2. (1) The Office of Resilience and Emergency Management is under the
supervision and control of the Director of Resilience and Emergency Management, who is
responsible for the performance of the duties, functions and powers of the office.
(2) For purposes of administration, subject to the approval of the Director of Human
Services, the Director of Resilience and Emergency Management may organize and reor-
ganize the office as the Director of Resilience and Emergency Management considers neces-
sary to properly conduct the work of the office.
SECTION 3. (1) The Office of Resilience and Emergency Management may assist local
governments, as defined in ORS 174.116, and tribal governments with evacuations. The office
may identify, locate and support the evacuation of people, including vulnerable populations,
who may need advance notice and additional assistance in evacuation. The office may com-
municate the locations of vulnerable people and the nature of any special needs to first
responders or other emergency response personnel to assist in safe and orderly evacuations.
(2) As used in this section, “vulnerable populations” includes people who are elderly,
people with disabilities or other medical or mental health conditions, people with limited
English proficiency, people with durable medical equipment and people with hearing or sight
impairments.
SECTION 4. (1) The Office of Resilience and Emergency Management may provide, or
assist in the provision of, mass care and human services as described in this section. In
carrying out its functions under this section, the office shall coordinate with the Oregon
Department of Emergency Management, local governments as defined in ORS 174.116, tribal
governments and other relevant entities.
(2) The office may carry out projects and functions to prevent, mitigate, prepare for,
respond to and recover from disruptions affecting people in this state.
(3)(a) The office, in coordination with relevant authorities, may provide, or assist in
providing, shelter or temporary housing for:
(A) People in Oregon displaced from their homes;
(B) People who arrive in Oregon seeking asylum or refugee status;
(C) People within the repatriation program operated by the United States Department
of Health and Human Services;
(D) People who cannot remain in their housing due to inaccessibility, damage, poor air
quality or other unsuitable environmental conditions or loss of utilities such as electrical,
water or sewer; and
(E) Any other people.
(b) To provide, or assist in providing, shelter, temporary housing or transitional housing
to people, the office may:
(A) Provide direct support;
(B) Provide rental assistance;
(C) Assist with dwelling repairs;
(D) Provide manufactured housing;
(E) Provide emergency group shelter sites;
(F) Provide semipermanent and permanent construction;
(G) Provide referrals;
(H) Identify and provide accessible housing or access to other sources of housing assist-
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ance;and
(I) Collaborate with the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement to provide cul-
turally and linguistically responsive support for individuals seeking asylum or refugee status.
(4) The Office of Resilience and Emergency Management may provide, or assist in pro-
viding, food and water, including prepared meals and foodstuffs:
(a) To people who are in shelter;
(b) For respite services;
(c) To displaced people;
(d) To support operations of the Oregon Health Authority; and
(e) To any people or communities served by the Department of Human Services.
(5) The office may provide ice, water, water vessels and related equipment to people who
are experiencing a shortage of potable water due to drought, contamination, temporary dis-
ruption of water delivery systems or other water supply disruptions.
(6) The office may provide hygiene and sanitation services, including:
(a) Temporary restrooms or shower facilities;
(b) Laundry facilities or services;
(c) Sewage or wastewater removal;
(d) Trash removal; and
(e) Personal hygiene kits.
(7) The office may deliver emergency first aid and personal care services to people in
need of such services due to a disruption.
(8) The office may provide bulk distribution of emergency items to people in need of such
items due to a disruption.
(9) The office may collect information about people impacted by a disruption and provide
that information to family members or others only for the purposes of safety, family assist-
ance, reunification, recovery, impact assessment for case management and wraparound ser-
vices.
(10) The office may take actions to reunify individuals who have been separated or im-
pacted by a disruption.
(11) The office may, in collaboration with the State Department of Agriculture, support
sheltering or temporary housing for household pets, support animals and service animals.
(12) The office may receive and distribute donated moneys and usable donated goods.
(13) The office may assist people in becoming prepared, building resilience, achieving re-
covery and making progress toward stability and self-sufficiency in relation to disruptions.
Such assistance may include replacement of personal property impacted by a disruption.
(14) The office may assist individuals with identifying and applying for local, state or
federal benefits or resources.
(15) The office may implement or support the implementation of an individual assistance
program to help people recover from a disruption, including:
(a) Programs to replace destroyed personal property;
(b) Assistance in obtaining loans, food assistance, crisis counseling, unemployment ben-
efits, legal services or other federal and state benefits;
(c) Direct financial support to individuals or payments to vendors on behalf of individuals;
and
(d) Support and services for special needs populations.
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(16) At the request of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the
office may provide support for emergency repatriation when United States citizens or their
dependents are officially processed back into the United States under conditions where mass
care services are required due to a large-scale incident, including natural disaster, war or
other adverse events.
(17) The office may assess community social service needs in preparation for and follow-
ing a disruption, identify areas of critical need and individuals with access and functional
needs or limited English proficiency, identify key partners in service delivery and promote
the independence of community members.
(18) The office may provide guidance to local governments, state agencies and federal
agencies in aiding local and tribal partners in providing for the social service needs of com-
munities.
(19) The office may assess the impact of a natural, technological or human-caused inci-
dent and support the stabilization of:
(a) Individuals;
(b) Local, state, tribal and nongovernmental social service delivery systems;
(c) Food, shelter and hydration lifelines;
(d) Department of Human Services programs, workforce, facilities and infrastructure;
and
(e) Facilities regulated or operated by the department.
(20) The office may provide clear and accessible recovery communications to communi-
ties regarding access to social services.
(21) The office may carry out planning, exercises and services related to continuity of
operations and continuity of government, as directed by the Director of Human Services or
the Governor, including:
(a) Support to public or private facilities to support continuity of business operations and
service delivery; and
(b) Support for programs carried out by the department to ensure continuity of services
for clients, including direct support to clients related to disruptions in services.
(22) The office may carry out all other human services programs and functions delegated
to the office or department by or in accordance with provisions of state or federal law.
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