On March 7, the Oregon Legislative Assembly did not pass HB 4162, a bill aimed to provide monetary funds to colleges and universities in Oregon to improve students’ basic needs.
The Student Emergency Needs Package is a bipartisan $6 million emergency fund for public colleges and universities across the state. The package sets aside $5 million that colleges and universities can customize to improve student basic needs programs and infrastructure.
According to Oregon Student Association Legislative Director Nick Keough, the failure to pass the bill was due to budgetary restrictions, since the 2024 legislative session primarily focused on funding for housing and behavioral health.
“There [were] some big investments made in those areas, there wasn’t a lot of money left over for all the other things that the state needed to fund,” Keough said.
Since the beginning of winter term, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon have been aiming to establish an on-campus food pantry to provide students with accessible basic needs services. According to ASUO’s Secretary of Campus Health and Safety Madison Studer, ASUO was hoping to receive a portion of the funds from HB 4162 to help subsidize the on-campus food pantry.
“We would have hoped that portion of it went to the food pantry but that was really up to the discretion of the Basic Needs team,” Studer said.
According to Studer, the Basic Needs Program is responsible for the distribution of funds that support various programs. HB 4162 would have provided extra funds to support those programs. Studer also said that ASUO is currently looking at the internal structure within the university to receive recurring funding to help fund the on-campus food pantry.
“As for the food pantry, we’re looking at the more internal structures of the university,” Studer said.
According to Studer, ASUO worked with the UO Division of Student Life to submit a proposal to the Budgetary Advisory Group. The BAG committee will then recommend the “most pressing” proposals to UO president John Karl Scholz. Scholz will further decide which programs will receive recurring funding in the future.
“I’m really hoping it [the proposal] will go through,” Studer said.
If the proposal is declined, Studer said ASUO will then “look at more non-profit areas” to help support the initiative for an on-campus food pantry.
HB 4162 was initiated by OSA, in partnership with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, Swipe Out Hunger and Open Oregon Educational Resources Program.
Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon Communications Lead, Jacki Ward Kehrwald, said that the support of basic needs “felt short sighted” as legislators overlooked the importance of basic needs.
“It’s the right thing to do, ethically, to support students in crisis. It’s also a strategic investment in the future of Oregon, to invest in students facing crises and support them when they’re pursuing their degree,” Ward Kehrwald said.
In 2021, OSA, Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon and Portland Community College worked together to pass HB 2835, the Benefits Navigator Bill. HB 2835 placed a Benefits Navigator on every public college and university in Oregon with the purpose to help students to apply for and receive assistance from benefits programs.
According to Ward Kehrwald, following the implementation of the Benefits Navigators, it was found that universities and colleges varied in the ability to provide their Benefits Navigators with tools to support students who are in need of housing and/or food resources.
“So some universities can give their Benefits Navigator tens of thousands of dollars in annual budget to support stocking a food pantry or doing trainings to support that position, and other colleges or universities literally have a budget of $0,” Ward Kehrwald said.
According to Ward Kehrwald, HB 4162 would have set up a grant process that allowed Benefits Navigators who are in need of resources to apply for grants.
“It was a really good use of this money because it would only be used for specific departments that needed it and other schools that don’t need it wouldn’t apply,” Ward Kehrwald said.
Keough highlighted that college and university campuses across Oregon will be impacted following the failure of HB 4162.
“We really are disappointed and mourn deeply for the impact this loss leaves on our campus community, ” Keough said.
Looking ahead, Keough is hoping to reintroduce a version of HB 4162 in next year’s 160-day legislative session.
“We [OSA] absolutely will be working to reintroduce some version of this bill during the 2025 legislative session, and since it’s a long legislative session, there is going to be a lot more potential for success and stronger investments during that time,” Keough said.
Keough also said that OSA will continue to talk to campus communities and engage with legislators to find a way to reintroduce a version of HB 4126 next year.
“Leading up to the 2025 session, we will do the same thing where we will continue to talk to our campus communities, we’ll continue to engage legislators around this issue, and we will find a way to reintroduce some version of this policy during the 2025 session,” Keough said.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated that the proposal of funding to the Budgetary Advisory Group is awaiting approval by current ASUO President Chloé Webster. This is not the case. In fact, the proposal will be reviewed by the BAG, which will then be potentially recommended to UO President John Karl Scholz. Scholz is the final voice in deciding whether to approve or not approve proposals by the BAG.
