Tina Kotek#

Christine “Tina” Kotek is Oregon’s 39th Governor, serving since January 2023.1 A Democrat, she previously represented the 44th district in the Oregon House of Representatives from 2007 to 2022 and served as Speaker of the House from 2013 to 2022—the longest-serving speaker in Oregon history.2

Housing has been a central focus throughout her political career. As Speaker, she championed landmark legislation to legalize middle housing and establish statewide rent protections. As Governor, she has declared a homelessness state of emergency, set ambitious housing production targets, and signed multiple packages of housing legislation.

Background#

Kotek was born on September 30, 1966, in York, Pennsylvania.2 She began her public service career as a policy advocate for the Oregon Food Bank and later served as policy director for Children First for Oregon.3 She was first elected to the Oregon House in 2006 and became Speaker in 2013.

Key Housing Actions#

As Speaker of the House (2013-2022)#

  • SB 608 (2019): Kotek authored and championed this bill establishing Oregon as the first state in the nation with statewide rent control. SB 608 caps annual rent increases at 7% plus inflation and limits no-cause evictions for tenants who have lived in a property for more than a year.45

  • HB 2001 (2019): Kotek’s signature housing achievement. She personally championed this “middle housing” bill that ended exclusive single-family zoning statewide, making Oregon the first state to do so. The law requires cities over 25,000 to allow duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, townhomes, and cottage clusters in residential zones, and cities over 10,000 to allow duplexes.67

  • HB 2003 (2019): Introduced alongside HB 2001, this bill requires cities to develop Housing Production Strategies to plan for and meet their housing needs.8

As Governor (2023-present)#

  • Homelessness State of Emergency (EO 23-02): Declared on her first day in office, January 10, 2023, and extended annually—most recently in January 2026 (for a third time) with an added focus on mental health and addiction.910 The 2026 extension set goals including rehousing 1,400 additional households, preventing homelessness for 8,000 households, and investing $20 million in Permanent Supportive Housing.10 Through September 2025, emergency actions resulted in over 6,250 shelter beds, the rehousing of 5,500 homeless Oregonians, and prevention assistance for nearly 26,000 households.11 Despite these efforts, Oregon’s overall homeless population rose 13.6% between 2023 and 2024, and unsheltered homelessness rose 32%.10

  • Housing Production Goal (EO 23-04): Also signed on her first day, this executive order set an ambitious target of building 36,000 new homes per year—an 80% increase over existing construction rates—to address a shortage of approximately 140,000 homes.12 The order established the Housing Production Advisory Council to develop an action plan. By early 2026, the governor’s office announced over 54,000 housing units open or in the pipeline since she took office, including nearly 14,000 affordable homes financed or opened with state support.13

  • 2024 Housing Package (SB 1537, SB 1530, HB 4134): Signed a $376 million emergency housing package that included infrastructure funding, homebuilding support, homeless shelter investments, and rent assistance, along with changes to state land use laws to make it easier for cities to build homes.14

  • HB 2138 (2025): Signed into law in July 2025, this bill streamlines middle housing rules and prevents local governments from blocking duplex and triplex construction on single-family zoned land, building on her earlier HB 2001 work.15

  • HB 2258 (2025): Signed into law, this bill allows the state Land Conservation and Development Commission and Department of Consumer and Business Services to preapprove housing plans for apartments, single-unit dwellings, duplexes, and townhomes, simplifying local approval processes.15

  • HB 3031 (2025): Creates a state program to fund roads, waterlines, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects needed to expand sites where homes can be built.15

  • SB 684 (2025): Creates a state loan program providing long-term, low-interest, state-backed financing for mixed-income residential housing projects.15

  • HB 3145 (2025): Allocates $25 million to accelerate the production of factory-built housing.15

  • HB 3644 (2025): Signed into law on July 24, 2025, establishing Oregon’s first permanent statewide shelter program with $204 million in funding. The program aims to support 4,800 shelter beds, rehouse 3,300 households, and prevent 24,000 households from experiencing homelessness.1617

  • HB 4082 (2026): Introduced at Kotek’s request and passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support, this bill allows cities to expand their urban growth boundaries for manufactured homes and housing reserved for people 55 and older. Cities over 25,000 can add up to 100 acres, and smaller cities up to 50 acres, with at least 80% of units required to be affordable for at least 30 years.1819

  1. State of Oregon Blue Book: Governor Tina Kotek ↩︎

  2. Wikipedia: Tina Kotek ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. OPB: Tina Kotek is a housing champion, a friend to labor and a foe to Phil Knight (October 19, 2022) ↩︎

  4. NPR: Oregon Lawmakers Pass First Statewide Rent Control Measure In The Country (February 27, 2019) ↩︎

  5. OPB: Rent Control Is Now The Law In Oregon (February 28, 2019) ↩︎

  6. Wikipedia: Oregon House Bill 2001 (2019) ↩︎

  7. Sightline Institute: Here’s Oregon’s New Bill to Re-legalize ‘Missing Middle’ Homes Statewide (January 10, 2019) ↩︎

  8. Oregon Housing Alliance: 2019 Legislative Session Recap ↩︎

  9. Oregon Department of Emergency Management: Homelessness Emergency Executive Orders ↩︎

  10. OPB: Gov. Tina Kotek extends Oregon’s homelessness emergency for a third time (January 9, 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  11. Governor Kotek’s Homelessness Response Housed Thousands of Oregonians ↩︎

  12. Governor Kotek’s Executive Order 23-04 (PDF) ↩︎

  13. Governor Kotek Announces Over 50,000 Housing Units Open or Underway ↩︎

  14. Oregon Capital Chronicle: Oregon House passes Gov. Tina Kotek’s housing bill, approves $369 million (March 4, 2024) ↩︎

  15. Oregon Capital Chronicle: Gov. Kotek signs laws to boost housing supply but more work to be done to solve ‘crisis’ (July 29, 2025) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  16. KOIN: OR Gov. Kotek signs HB 3644 into law, creating first statewide homelessness shelter program (July 24, 2025) ↩︎

  17. Governor Kotek Signs Statewide Shelter Program into Law ↩︎

  18. OPB: Oregon governor wants to see more housing built for those 55 and older (March 4, 2026) ↩︎

  19. Governor Kotek Highlights Major Wins for Oregonians in 2026 Legislative Session ↩︎

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