This summary was last updated March 11, 2025
Public hearing – January 28
Work Session – March 6
This bill would create a 16 member task force to study and make recommendations regarding the establishment of a state public bank. The 16 members will be appointed by the President of the Senate (2 seats), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (2 seats), the State Treasurer (4seats) and the Governor (8 seats). The bill specifies details about the required experience of the
appointees, and aims to create a task force that features socioeconomic, linguistic, geographic and experiential diversity.
The principles of the bank are that it must be publicly controlled and operated to the public benefit, serving to save public dollars and to spur economic activity in the state.
The task force is charged with exploring the methods by which public bodies in Oregon manage and invest their public funds. It will also look into the public bank’s potential role as a secondary loan market and depository for credit unions and community banks. The task force will further examine potential impacts of a public bank on affordable housing construction, and on participatory loans originated by private financial institutions to facilitate homeownership for Oregonians experiencing obstacles to securing mortgages.
The task force will also look at the potential benefits and harms of a state public bank with respect to its functioning as a green bank to capture federal funds and leverage private capital.
The task force will also explore governing and corporate structures for public financing entities like this bank, and the means for capitalizing these entities – including function as a depository for credit unions and community banks.
The task force will provide a report on its findings and recommendations to the Legislature, by December 31, 2026.
The bill appropriates $400,000, plus additional unspecified monies, from the General Fund, to hire consultants and for staff support to the Task Force. It also declares an emergency, asserting that it is necessary for immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety.