ORS 731.870: State of emergency; effect upon insurance policies; rules.

(1) When the Governor declares a state of emergency under ORS 401.165, the Director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services may issue an order that addresses any or all of the following matters related to insurance policies issued in this state: (a) Reporting requirements for claims; (b) Grace periods for payment of insurance premiums and performance of other duties by insureds; and (c) Temporary postponement of cancellations and nonrenewals. (2) An order by the director under subsection (1) of this section may remain effective for not more than 30 days unless the director extends the termination date for the order for an additional period of not more than 30 days or for subsequent additional periods of not more than 30 days. The director may extend the order if, in the director’s judgment, the circumstances warrant an extension. The order must specify, by line of insurance: (a) The geographic areas in which the order applies, which must be within but may be less extensive than the geographic area specified in the Governor’s proclamation of a state of emergency and must be specified according to an appropriate means of delineation, such as United States Postal Service ZIP codes or other appropriate means; and (b) The date on which the order becomes effective and the date on which the order terminates. (3) The director shall adopt rules that establish general criteria for orders issued under this section and may adopt emergency rules applicable to a specific proclamation of a state of emergency by the Governor. (4) The rulemaking authority set forth in this section does not limit or affect the rulemaking authority otherwise granted to the director by law. [2008 c.22 §2] (Temporary provisions relating to paying premiums for property and liability insurance for affordable housing, shelters and other eligible property) Sec. 1. (1) As used in this section: (a) “Eligible entity” means a public, private or nonprofit entity that pays insurance premiums for property insurance that covers losses on eligible property the entity owns or operates. (b) “Eligible property” means: (A) Affordable housing, as defined in ORS 197A.445, that is subject to regulation under the laws of this state; (B) A shelter facility; (C) A Project Turnkey site; and (D) A navigation center. (2) The Department of Consumer and Business Services shall establish a program to assist eligible entities in paying the costs of property insurance or liability insurance premiums for eligible property that the eligible entities own or operate. The program: (a) Must require an eligible entity to purchase and maintain property insurance and liability insurance that covers a loss or liability on eligible property; (b) May make payments only for a portion of the premium that an eligible entity pays for property insurance or liability insurance that covers a loss or liability on eligible property; (c) Must operate in the form of an offset payable to an eligible entity after the eligible entity pays the premium for the property insurance or liability insurance to an insurer, which may include a surplus lines insurer; and (d) Must otherwise conform with rules adopted under subsection (3) of this section. (3) The Department of Consumer and Business Services, in consultation with the Housing and Community Services Department, shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, which include, but are not limited to, rules that: (a) Specify criteria for becoming an eligible entity; (b) Establish an application process for participation in the program described in subsection (2) of this section; (c) Specify the amount, manner and frequency of payments to eligible entities; (d) Specify criteria for prioritizing payments among eligible entities; (e) Establish a wait list or other allocation method for eligible entities with lower priority; and (f) Specify appropriate metrics for measuring the success of the program described in subsection (2) of this section at increasing property and liability insurance coverage for eligible property and the affordability of property and liability insurance for eligible entities. (4) The Department of Consumer and Business Services not later than December 15 of each year shall submit a report in the manner provided in ORS 192.245 to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to housing. The report must describe the success of the program described in subsection (2) of this section, using the metrics described in subsection (3)(f) of this section. [2025 c.600 §1] Sec. 2. (1) The Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund is established within the State Treasury, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Moneys in the Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund may be invested in the same manner as other state moneys and interest earned on the moneys must be credited to the fund. The Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund consists of moneys appropriated or transferred to the fund by the Legislative Assembly and all moneys otherwise credited to the fund. Moneys in the fund are continuously appropriated to the Department of Consumer and Business Services to carry out the purposes specified in section 1 of this 2025 Act. (2) The department shall keep a record of all moneys deposited in the Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund that shall indicate by separate account the source from which the moneys are derived, the interest earned and the activity or program against which any withdrawal is charged. The department may pay the department’s administrative expenses for the program described in section 1 of this 2025 Act from moneys in the Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund. (3) The state shall pay solely from the Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund and not from any other fund or source all payments authorized under the program described in section 1 of this 2025 Act and all other claims against the department for moneys due under or in connection with the program. The state’s liability for payments or claims under or in connection with the program is limited to the amount of the moneys in the Affordable Housing Premium Assistance Fund. [2025 c.600 §2] Sec. 3. (1) The Department of Consumer and Business Services shall study: (a) The feasibility of creating and operating a state reinsurance program or devising another solution to support price stability in the market for insurance to cover affordable housing, as defined in ORS 197A.445, multifamily housing and other residences in this state; and (b) Known commercial, surplus lines and Oregon FAIR Plan Association coverages and product offerings available for purchase in the insurance market. (2) The department not later than December 15 of each year shall submit a report in the manner provided in ORS 192.245 to an interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to housing and homelessness. The report must describe and summarize the department’s progress on, and the results or interim results of, the study described in subsection (1) of this section. [2025 c.600 §3] Sec. 6. Sections 1, 2 and 3 of this 2025 Act are repealed on December 31, 2028. [2025 c.600 §6] PENALTIES