SB 1536 Renter Relief

Alan R.P. Journet Ph.D.
Cofacilitator,
Southern Oregon Climate Action Now
7113 Griffin Lane
Jacksonville OR 97530-9342
alan@socan.eco
541-301-4107
February 1^st 2022

Chair Jama and members of the Senate Committee on Housing and Development:

I write as co-facilitator of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now on behalf of the over 1600 rural Southern Oregonians who are SOCAN. Our mission is to promote awareness and understanding of the science of global warming and its climate change consequences and motivate individual and collective action to address the resulting climate crisis.

I write in support of SB1536 which provides assistance to renters who are trying to do what they can to address the climate crisis on a personal level. We understand that, unlike home owners, renters experience a serious obstacle when it come to trying to recued their day-to-day greenhouse gas emissions. They are unable to remodel their homes, and oft-times, are unable even to install devices that would both make life more comfortable and address the climate crisis.

In a collective future that will inevitably confront us with more extreme heat waves and cold spells as the polar vortex returns more often, it is important that we provide renters with an opportunity to address their personal comfort with equipment that is energy efficient. In the current situation, landlords can serve as obstacles to renters installing energy efficient devices, such as window air conditioners, that provide effective heating and cooling.

SB1519 provides regulations that will allow renters to address the problem even against the wishes of landlords who may be committed to preventing such installation or demanding the installations of some preferred and / or expensive equipment.

In the interests of allowing renters to undertake those steps that they feel appropriate to make day-to-day living more comfortable, SOCAN endorses SB1536 and urges its enactment.

Respectfully submitted

Alan Journet Ph.D.
Cofacilitator
Southern Oregon Climate Action Now