Tribal members and farm workers would get boost from federal and Oregon legislation

This is shaping up to be a good week for Oregon tribal members and farm workers desperate for safe and decent housing. On Tuesday, bipartisan legislation designed to improve and increase housing for farm workers was approved by the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee.The measure, Senate Bill 1, would create a personal income or corporation tax credit for farmers' operating costs of housing for agricultural workers. It closes a loophole in current state law, which gives farmers incentives to build worker housing, but offers them no help for the expensive operations and maintenance components. Currently, farmers have absorbed these costs without a tax write-off, which has prevented many from building more housing. SB 1 would let farmers deduct operations costs and stabilize this agricultural business cost.Agricultural workers would, in turn, benefit from having safe and stable housing, and the trickle-down economics would benefit valley communities.The bill has Republican and Democrat sponsors: Sen. President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and Sen. Chuck Thomsen, R-Hood River. It also has the support of the PCUN farm workers' union, the Farm Bureau, the Agricultural Workforce Coalition, and others.It has been referred to the Joint Committee on Tax Credits.